Merry Christmas
She's been hailed for her multi-octave vocal range--a tool that sometimes detracts from her pop recordings, but actually works quite beautifully in the context of this charming holiday collection. Fans will surely approve of Carey's renditions of slinky secular songs like "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" and a nicely subdued "All I Want for Christmas Is You." But where she really surprises is in her unadorned delivery of a passel of traditional carols, highlighted by "Silent Night" (which she sings quietly, avoiding the temptation to wail those high notes) and "Jesus, Oh What a Wonderful Child." A must for diehards, and a pleasant surprise for the unconverted.--David Sprague