A Very Special Christmas Live!
Fans of theVery Special Christmasalbums will get few surprises with this in-concert follow-up to the three studio compilations. Only 2 of the 11 songs have never appeared on one of the previous editions; one of those,Eric Clapton's "Christmas Tears," is a fiery performance withBlues TravelerheadJohn Popperguesting, while the other is a collaboration between Clapton andTracy Chapmanon "Give Me One Reason," not exactly a Yuletide standard. That mix of the useful and the puzzling is typical of the whole CD. It's good to hearMary J. Blige's force encouragingSheryl Crowto push her vocal limit, even on a tune as lightweight as "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." But why doesn't Blige, the 1990s' preeminent female R&B; voice, get to work out on, say,Phil Spector's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"? Mainly because JonBon Joviis instead called upon to lamely replicate Bono's vocal from thefirstVery Specialdisc. This too-often calcified offering is hardly this charity series' finest.--Rickey Wright