This set of mostly guitar versions of holiday favorites is a bit different from what one might expect, primarily because the roster isn't what one would expect from Windham Hill. Sure, there's
Liz Story and
Jim Brickman doing solo piano pieces, but there's
Toto's Steve Lukather performing "O Tannenbaum," guitar god
Steve Morse doing "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear," even label stalwart
George Winston performing
Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song" on guitar. Add
Jim Cregan,
Leo Kottke,
Will Ackerman,
Tuck Andress and
Robin Le Mesurier, and it's obvious this isn't a regular Windham Hill session. For all that, it's still pretty familiar territory, both in terms of song selection and the mood it evokes, but it's still immaculate and well played. ~ Ross Boissoneau