by Thom Jurek
Aaron Neville is not the type to go on singing Christmas songs like &Santa Claus Is Coming to Town& or &Jingle Bells.& The deeply spiritual tone of his mellifluous tenor is here singing carols, beautiful carols that deeply reflect the character of the season. His interpretations of usual favorites like &Joy to the World& (with the Blind Boys of Alabama), &O Come All Ye Faithful,& &The First Noel,& and &Hark the Herald Angels Sing& are complemented by more unexpected choices like &Ava Maria,& &Mary's Boy Child,& and &Go Tell It on the Mountain.& There is one concession to the popular songbook here, in &White Christmas,& but it is not only out of place here, but is simply a negligible version. Neville brings home the Christmas season and its good news origins with a quiet passion, a deep sense of reflection, and elegance.