[.ca] V4 A Very Special Christmas Li

From Amazon.com:
Fans of the Very Special Christmas albums will get few surprises with this in-concert follow-up to the three studio compilations. Only 2 of the 11 songs have never appeared on one of the previous editions; one of those, Eric Clapton's "Christmas Tears," is a fiery performance with Blues Traveler head John Popper guesting, while the other is a collaboration between Clapton and Tracy Chapman on "Give Me One Reason," not exactly a Yuletide standard. That mix of the useful and the puzzling is typical of the whole CD. It's good to hear Mary J. Blige's force encouraging Sheryl Crow to push her vocal limit, even on a tune as lightweight as "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." But why doesn't Blige, the 1990s' preeminent female R & B voice, get to work out on, say, Phil Spector's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"? Mainly because Jon Bon Jovi is instead called upon to lamely replicate Bono's vocal from the first Very Special disc. This too-often calcified offering is hardly this charity series' finest. --Rickey Wright

Very upbeat:
I enjoyed every song on this 38 minute CD. I have a pretty good collection of various types of Christmas music and I consider this to be a great addition. I didn't realize this was part of a series and plan to purchase at least one more of this series. I'm not a rap fan but I enjoyed the Run DMC rendition of "Christmas in Hollis". "Christmas Tears" sung by Eric Clapton was spectacular. I see that Eric Clapton sings and/or plays guitar on 5 songs. I see that they have no song listing, so here it is: 1) Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (Mary J. Blige and Sheryl Crow) 2) Christmas In Hollis (Run DMC) 3) Please Come Home For Christmas (Jon Bon Jovi) 4) Christmas Blues (John Popper with Eric Clapton) 5) What Child Is This? (Vanessa Williams) 6) Christmas Tears (Eric Clapton) 7) O Holy Night (Tracy Chapman) 8) Give Me One Reason (Tracy Chapman and Eric Clapton) 9) Merry Christmas Baby (Sheryl Crow with Eric Clapton) 10) Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (Jon Bon Jovi) 11) Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (All artists listed above)

best christmas record around. really rocks at a party:
essential disc for your christmas party. sound unbelievable. clapton is god. track with john popper goes to the records books for the harmonica guitar duet as does his track with tracy chapman. must have music. the other stuff is great. i bought 5 copies for christmas gifts.

My Favorite:
This is absolutely my favorite Christmas CD. Whenever I need a pick-me-up I pop it in and I'm dancing away. My only regret is that it's not available on DVD. I'd love to see the artists performing and President and Hillary Clinton having a great time. It's the best out of the collection.

A Very Cool Christmas Album!:
The best Christmas album of the season. Cool & rocking yet full of Christmas spirit. All your favorite musicians AND the proceeds go to help physically disabled children--a refreshing reminder of what Christmas is really all about. Everyone should buy a few...it is perfect for Christmas stockings or the office grab bag!