Hip-O's
Christmas Number 1's compilation crosses a whole lot of holiday genres, from the slick sidewalks of contemporary country (
Vince Gill's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas") to novelty ("Chipmunk Song [Christmas Don't Be Late]") and Motown (
the Jackson 5 and
the Temptations), but what keeps this collection from coming apart at the seams is the inclusion of a few Christmas standards by the artists most people associate with them. While
Elton John and
Bernie Taupin's "Step into Christmas" is in no danger of becoming a standard, it wouldn't be the "most wonderful time of the year" without "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" from
Nat King Cole, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" as performed by
Gene Autry, or
Bing Crosby dreaming of a "White Christmas" and
Brenda Lee "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." ~ James Christopher Monger