Jamie Cullum leads charge of festive music on offer

MAJESTICA — A CHRISTMAS CAROL

What do you get if you cross Iron Maiden, Danny Elfman and Charles Dickens? The most absurdly original album of 2020, namely Majestica’s A Christmas Carol. For the uninitiated, Majestica is a symphonic/power metal band from Boden in Sweden, the brainchild of frontman Tommy Johansson (who also is in heavy metal band Sabaton).

The relentless pace of the guitars to the angelic — yet demonic — chants part ways into a joyous thrashing around familiar carols, whipping up to a fabulous crescendo.

The way that popular classic festive tunes have been woven into an 80s-style prog-rock anthem is epic. A Christmas Has Come starts with such a sense of Disney-like princess castle whimsy, you can almost feel your sleigh dashing through the snow, before everything becomes just that touch more Nightmare Before Christmas. This has been an awesome addition to my Christmas playlist. 9/10 (Review by Rachel Howdle)

MICHAEL BALL AND ALFIE BOE — TOGETHER AT CHRISTMAS

The reliable cosiness of Michael Ball and Alfie Boe singing Christmas classics is probably just what many people need at the end of a year of unexpected challenges and stress.

Like a Premier Inn room, listeners get exactly what they expect as the hugely popular pairing pack their fourth duet album with Christmas classics such as O Holy Night and Silent Night as well as pop hits such as Mistletoe And Wine, White Christmas and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.

Gregory Porter joins the duo for a gentle reworking of The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire). New song My Christmas Will Be Better Than Yours is a light-hearted and entertaining duet and a spine-tingling version of I Believe, a song written nearly 70 years ago to give people hope, is perfectly timed.

Ball’s melodic voice and Boe’s deep tenor work well together but it is the warmth of their long-standing friendship, which began on a 2006 production of Kismet, which gives this album true Christmas cheer. 7/10 (Review by Beverley Rouse)

JAMIE CULLUM — THE PIANOMAN AT CHRISTMAS

Despite creeping into his 40s, Jamie Cullum maintains his reputation as the fresh-faced poster boy of UK jazz. With his first Christmas album, he takes that title a little further, positioning himself as a modern-day festive crooner.

Yet Cullum’s tongue is firmly in cheek as he works his way through 10 originals, penned during the summer at the family home he shares with wife Sophie Dahl and their two daughters, and recorded with a classic big band at the famous Abbey Road Studios.

His appreciation of Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra shines through in spacious, full-bodied compositions such as It’s Christmas, while Hang Your Lights shows off the poppier instincts that have ensured his crossover appeal.

Aside from striking a much-needed mood of merriment, Cullum has also managed to make his songs sound like classics. You may not have heard them before, before they will strike you as pleasingly familiar. The album’s cover — a dolled-up Dahl asleep on her husband’s shoulder in the back of a cab — sums it up: festive and fun with a dash of romance. 8/10 (Review by Alex Green)

ANDRE RIEU — JOLLY HOLIDAY

The King Of The Waltz invites listeners to revisit his landmark Christmas concerts in his native Maastricht. Andre Rieu performed with his Johann Strauss Orchestra across three nights to an international crowd of more than 35,000 in December last year.

His trademark brand of pomp might have sometimes been considered kitsch by the British public, but with hindsight these shows are pure emotion. Rieu says the live recording “will take all of you on a beautiful music journey to experience the magic of Christmas” and he’s not wrong.

Fake snow falls on an ecstatic crowd draped in tinsel, as singers in a rainbow of pastel-coloured gowns belt festive standards such as Jingle Bells, Silent Night and What A Wonderful World, accompanied by brass, strings and dance. It’s hard not to love knowing the current state of live music.

Accompanied by a DVD, Jolly Holiday offers a much-needed dose of Christmas cheer and a reminder of what will soon be possible again, with a little luck. 7/10 (Review by Alex Green)

ANNIE LENNOX — A CHRISTMAS CORNUCOPIA

From pop sensation and outspoken political activist Annie Lennox, this re-issue of her 2010 album A Christmas Cornucopia feels a little uninspiring. The brightest moment on the new record, which has been remastered, comes from a previously unheard track.

Lennox has said her 2010 version of the haunting 17th-century aria Dido’s Lament, by Henry Purcell, is for “the dying of our planet”. The song offers a change of pace from some of her cheesier re-imaginings of festive classics.

The rest of the album, however, feels much less creative and sees Lennox perform well-known carols and songs without putting much of her own personality into the recordings. Her rendition of The First Noel and Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem feel particularly pedestrian and dull.

Lesser-known festive songs such as Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant and Lullay Lullay offer a slightly more interesting listen, however this album does not come close to replicating the success of some of Lennox’s more inventive releases. 5/10 (Review by Tom Horton).