Tony Bennett’s The Classic Christmas Album features 17 songs from 4 of Bennett’s Christmas Albums, hand-picked by Tony Bennett himself, as well as the previously unreleased ‘What Child Is This’. 5 tracks are from the Grammy-nominated A Swingin’ Christmas (featuring the Count Basie Big Band).

A beautiful arrangement of ‘I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm’ (which also happens to be a rare duet with his daughter, Antonia Bennett) compliments the great accomplishment of treating standards, like ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas’ and ‘My Favorite Things’ - as though they were ripe for the reimagining (which, of course, they are).

There are also tracks from Bennett’s 1968 release, Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album, which features a playful orchestral backup, courtesy of Robert Fanon. The versions of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ and ‘The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)’ emphasize the romantic elements to great effect, while Bennett’s take on ‘My Favorite Things’ is superlative.

Where so many artists just re-make the same holiday album every other year, Bennett has opted to append new material to his sole original. The London Symphony Orchestra lend support on 4 more traditional favourites; ‘Deck The Halls’, ‘O Little Town Of Bethlehem’, ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ and ‘Silent Night’.