Unsolicited Christmas albums are piling up on my desk, so I figured now is the time to launch a new featureone which I fear will be fairly regular, given how lucrative the market is for holiday musicwhere I take very cursory a look at these seasonal cash-ins:
I'll Be Home for Christmas - The Isley Brothers
Judging from the cane, the fur coat and the ample jewelry he's sporting in this cover shot, Ronald Isley is still sticking to his popular Mr. Biggs persona, surely making this the first Christmas album ever recorded under the guise of a villainous, septuagenarian pimp.
Miss Patti's Christmas - Patti LaBelle
Patti LaBelle breaks out some classicsand a very, very large dressfor the holidays.
A Swingin' Christmas - Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton's virile glare assures the ladies that this album is about matters far more sensual than Christmas. The back cover credit says it all: "Produced by Michael Bolton for The Passion Group." [Italics added for emphasis].
A Christmas of Love - Keith Sweat
'Tis the season… for baby-making music.
My Favorite Time of the Year - Dionne Warwick
Straight from the less-than-modest back cover: "A legendary artist, a timeless voice, songs for a joyous celebration: My Favorite Time of the Year, Dionne Warwick's first-ever holiday CD, spotlights one of the world's most treasured vocal stylists on her favorite Christmas selections, both traditional and new … All of the musical colors glow as Dionne Warwick, a truly extraordinary artist, presents a radiant suite of songs to decorate a magical season of the heart for this holiday and all your Christmases to come."
