Christmas albums range from naughty to nice

Calvin Coolidge, of all people, once astutely noted that Christmas is not a date. It is a state of mind.

It is that state of mind in all its many shadings - joyous, blue, reverent, sassy, loving, somber, playful, warm and thankful - that successful holiday music strives to express in art.

This year brings a somewhat smaller bundle of new Christmas discs, but there's still a diverse selection of albums from artists of varying sensibilities and generations.

Here are some of the most notable new entries to the Christmas music catalog.

"Midwinter Graces" by Tori Amos (Universal Republic)

Amos is part feminist, part pagan pixie and part creative loon. She's also the slightly wayward daughter of a Methodist minister. On "Midwinter Graces," Amos strives to reconcile that bumptious mix in a coherent blend.

The album honors the ancient pagan traditions that celebrate the natural cycle of death and renewal, winter and spring. Indeed, Amos divides the album into the four elements of air, earth, fire and water. She gives voice to her mystic heart on original songs such as "Winter's Carol" and "Snow Angel." Yet she also respectfully updates traditional carols honoring the Christ child, including "What Child Is This," "Coventry Carol" and "Silent Night."

I'm a little surprised to say this, but it's my favorite new Christmas disc.

"My Christmas" by Andrea Bocelli (Decca)

Like Josh Groban, Bocelli has become a candlelight icon by combining operatic chops with pop romance. Produced by David Foster, "My Christmas" has Bocelli singing carols such as "Silent Night" and "Adeste Fideles" with a full orchestra and several large choirs, including the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Salvation Army boys choir.

Some unexpected carolers show up on the doorstep: Bocelli sings "Jingle Bells" with the Muppets, and Mary J. Blige more than rises to the moment on "What Child Is This." But other matches have the chemistry of a snowman and a sunlamp. Bocelli tries to croon his way through "Blue Christmas" while Reba McEntire operates in her Aretha Franklin gear. And why would anyone think Bocelli belongs in a sleigh with a playful trifle such as "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"?

"Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection" (Big Machine)

Swift's charm is that she accurately expresses the dreams and yearnings of an adolescent mind from direct experience. She hasn't been the top-selling recording artist of the past couple years because she's a great interpretative singer.

As such, "Holiday Collection" doesn't play to her strengths. She's about 20 years too young for the gold-digger tease of "Santa Baby," and it's still beyond her to bring anything new or noteworthy to "White Christmas." The best tune in the set is a bouncy Swift original, "Christmas Must Be Something More," that wrestles with the meaning of the day through a series of what-if questions.

This is an inexpensive six-song EP sold through Target, but only devoted followers are likely to care.

"Christmas in the Heart" by Bob Dylan (Columbia)

The great irony of Dylan's recording career is that he's an enormously influential singer with minimal vocal talent. Aside from a few forgotten forays such as "Self Portrait," Dylan has rarely done many covers, relying sensibly instead on his legendary talents as a writer.

But "Christmas in the Heart" finds Dylan wheezing his way through familiar tunes such as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Silver Bells" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." Producing under his occasional guise of Jack Frost, Dylan surrounds himself with '50s and '60s touches such as female backup groups and achieves a level of wretchedness rarely attained since the Barking Dogs' "Jingle Bells."

Perhaps, like the Barking Dogs, this was meant as a seasonal joke. If not, "Christmas in the Heart" is musical angina.

"Gold and Green" by Sugarland (Mercury)

Christmas music is evidently a passion of Kristian Bush, and that affection has helped him and partner Jennifer Nettles fashion what may be the year's most likable holiday disc.

The original tunes, which account for half of the songs on the album, have a distinct flair for the visual and emotional climate of the season. "City of Silver Dreams" evokes New York in December with a snowy Central Park and St. Patrick's Cathedral aglow with candles, while "Coming Home" is an original Christmas gospel tune rendered as a letter home to Mama, with Nettles referencing the group's first hit, "Baby Girl."

Even the covers occasionally dodge the obvious suspects with lesser-visited memories, such as the comic recitation of crimes and misdemeanors in "Nuttin' For Christmas." Bush even gets to sing lead on a couple of tunes. Altogether, it's a very warm and affable outing.

"If On a Winter's Night . . . " by Sting (UMG)

One of the most successful Christmas anthology series has been the "Very Special Christmas" series of benefit discs (Vol. 7 came out this week), and among the strong tracks that helped launch that series was Sting's atmospheric reading of "Gabriel's Message."

Appropriately, that song opens Sting's first full-blown seasonal collection, which blends English folk tunes, Christmas carols, lullabies and new material from the musician.

It's the most literate of the new holiday discs. "Cold Song" takes its lyrics from English poet John Dryden, and "Christmas at Sea" is based on a Robert Louis Stevenson poem about a mariner fighting a winter gale in the turbulent seas below the cliffs of his home village.

As he explains in the liner notes, Sting is an agnostic with a sincere respect and affection for the old carols that infuse "Winter's Night" with a chilly medieval beauty.

"Oh Blue Christmas" by A Fine Frenzy (Virgin)

A Fine Frenzy is the musical handle of singer-songwriter Alison Sudol, whose instincts are part pop-rock and part folkie. It's never easy to take songs that have been recorded hundreds of times and put your own mark on them, but Sudol largely pulls it off.

Her "Blue Christmas" goes back before Elvis' chesty blues to the song's original country roots. On "Winter Wonderland," she slows the tempo way down and delivers the lyric with a childlike innocence. There are also three exceptional originals: the haunting "Redribbon Foxes," the bouncy folk-pop of "Winter White" and the emotionally complex "Wish You Well."

MORE HOLIDAY CDS

"Christmas From the Heart" by David Archuleta (Jive). The "American Idol" finalist stays with mostly traditional carols.

"Night Castle" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Lava). First new music in five years from the massive Christmas touring machine is a non-holiday concept album on two CDs. (Trans-Siberian Orchestra will perform at 3 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Bradley Center.)

"A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 7," various artists (A&M). Latest CD in the series includes Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus, Sean Kingston and Colbie Caillat, among others.

"A Family Christmas," various artists (Putumayo). An NPR-esque Christmas mix with the likes of Brave Combo, Leon Redbone, Maria Muldaur and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

"Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship" by Chris Tomlin (Sparrow). Top Christian contemporary music artist alternates original worship songs with familiar carols.

"A Cherry Cherry Christmas" by Neil Diamond (Columbia). Several new cuts are added to cuts from Diamond's previous holiday albums.

"This Christmas" by Michael McDonald (Razor & Tie). Mostly a compilation of sides from his first two Christmas albums.

"Cosmic Christmas" by Eban Schletter (Oglio). A science fiction/fantasy Christmas.

"If Every Day Could Be Christmas" by Richie McDonald (Stroudavarious). Former Lonestar frontman introduces new tunes such as "Peterbilt Sleigh" and "Christmas Lights."

"Suckin' It for the Holidays" by Kathy Griffin (Twist). Despite the CD's title and Griffin's naughty elf costume on the cover, it's not really a holiday album but rather concert bits on fellow celebs such as Donald Trump, Justin Timberlake and Maya Angelou.

"Not So Silent Night" by REO Speedwagon (CMG). Veteran rockers rely on familiar pop tunes and carols.

"Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas," movie soundtrack (Denon).

"Handel's Messiah Rocks: A Joyful Noise," various artists (Sony Classics). Following in the chords of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, blending classics with prog rock.

"A Christmas Gift For You," various artists (Legacy). A reissue of one of rock's storied holiday albums, produced by Phil Spector.

"Every Day Is a Holiday" by Mary McBride (Bogan Records). First Christmas disc from roots-rocker often compared to Bonnie Raitt and Lucinda Williams.

"Merry Kidsmas" by the Song Trust (Giantslayer Records). A consortium of Nashville writers mixes new tunes with the likes of "Little Drummer Boy."

"A Small Town Christmas" by Simple Gifts with Billy McLaughlin (Proton Records). New project from Minneapolis guitarist and former Narada recording artist.

"The Irish Tenors Christmas" by Irish Tenors (Razor & Tie). Christmas for a PBS audience. (The Irish Tenors will perform at 8 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Riverside Theater, 116 W. Wisconsin Ave.)

- Dave Tianen