Gift of Love

What's a nice Jewish boy doing singing about Santa? Never you mind. Barry's been doing it for a while now, and A CHRISTMAS GIFT OF LOVE turns out to be his second album of holiday music in 12 years. Although this Brooklynite plays it safe with perfectly well done versions of perennials like "Winter Wonderland" and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town," he also does a fine job going off the beaten path in seeking out unexpected holiday fare. "White Christmas" may be a best-selling Christmas song that's been done ad nauseum, but few artists perform it as a swinging medley alongside the more obscure Irving Berlin nugget "Happy Holiday." Making like a Semitic Sinatra, Manilow offers arrangements that swing hard thanks to conductors including Patrick Williams and Ray Ellis. Other surprising inclusions are Joni Mitchell's "River" conducted and arranged by the legendary Paul Buckmaster and a lush version of Frank Loesser's "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" that ends up being a nice respite from "Auld Lang Syne."