Anyone who has seen--or even heard--Barry Manilow live should know what to expect from this Christmas release. True to his persona, some of the songs are as kitschy as a roving-eye cat clock: the Andrews Sisters-esque chorus of Manilow's spirited "Jingle Bells" may be a bit much for nonfans. The title track, however, is the singer at his Barry best, a touching, hold-your-honey-closer-type piano ballad that he really knows how to drive home. The standards are here too, including "The First Noel" and "Silent Night, Holy Night." But as his arrangement of "Jingle Bells" makes clear, there's never anything predictable with Barry Manilow, even when he's dealing with tradition. --Steve Gdula