Glen Campbell Complete Capitol Christmas Recordings CD

Real Gone's 2015 compilation The Complete Capitol Christmas Recordings is anchored on 1968's That Christmas Feeling LP, but it also has seven bonus tracks -- five of which were recorded between Glen Campbell's golden age of 1969-1972, while the other two were newly recorded cuts from 1990 intended for the budget-line comps Christmas for the 90s.

That Christmas Feeling is very much of piece with Campbell's '60s LPs -- it's soft and warm, its strings don't flair but are woven into the structure of the arrangements -- and it's a perfect foil for Campbell's honeyed voice. Plus, the song selection is terrific: it relies on standards from the Great American Songbook -- "Christmas Is for Children," "It Must Be Getting Close to Christmas," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Blue Christmas" -- with Roger Miller's "Old Toy Trains," and Willie Nelson's "Pretty Paper" functioning as country coloring. It's a terrific holiday record: the songs are strong, unmarred by a silly novelty, and the feel is as cozy as spending a snowy evening inside by the fireplace.

The bonus tracks are a little spotty -- the recitation of "The Night Before Christmas" feels cornball, but the 1972 sides "I Believe in Christmas" and "New Snow on the Roof" are nice; the production on the 1990 cuts are too clean but the sensibility remains the same -- but it's still nice to get this all in one place.