Harry Connick Jr., 'What a Night! A Christmas Album'

The buzz: Swingin’ New Orleanian Harry Connick, Jr., takes a third crack at Christmas cheer, hoping to continue the success he found with his first two discs of melodious yuletide.
 
The verdict: Connick’s 1993 album, “When My Heart Finds Christmas,” remains his best-selling to date, and its soulful, Sinatra-styled neo-swing deserves the acclaim. Ten years later, Connick scored the biggest Christmas album of the year with the jazzy, big band–backed (and unfortunately named) “Harry for the Holidays.” This third outing lacks the novel neo-retro freshness of the first, or the fun and casual creativity of the second. Though the production cannot be faulted, as Connick ably leads his band through another polished set of updated arrangements, his croon feels unusually charmless and fails to connect on most cuts. A “Winter Wonderland” duet with his young daughter presents one of the album's few bright points, but the little girl provides the bulk of the track’s charisma. In the past, Connick has succeeded at the tricky task of Christmas crossover—sadly, this time it seems he put the sleigh on cruise control.

Did you know? As an extra stop on their holiday tour, Connick & Co. will play at the annual lighting of the giant Christmas tree at New York’s Rockefeller Center in early December.

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