The Manhattan Transfer: The Christmas Album
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This came out in 1992. I don't remember when I first got it, but I'm listening to it again in 2021 to write a review. I often struggle with identifying what genre(s) I'm listening to on all these Christmas CDs, and I'm sure I sometimes get it wrong. But this time I definitely know it's jazz. Very soft jazz.

It begins with "Snowfall", with which I'm not really familiar, but it's also on Tony Bennett's Christmas album, which is actually titled "Snowfall". Which I think is kind of interesting, because Bennett is featured on one of the other songs on this album, "The Christmas Song" (which is also on his album, but without Manhattan Transfer). Anyway, I'm not sure how I feel about this "Snowfall" song. It's very subtle and kind of sweet, I guess, but I know I'm not going to remember it.

The second song is "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow", which starts with some lyrics that don't sound at all familiar to me. But soon enough it gets into the familiar part. Like the first song, this also sounds subtle and sweet and slow. (Really slow.) It's not bad, but far from being one of my favorite renditions. The third song is a medley: "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town/Santa Man". I'm pretty sure I heard them sing at least the first part on a Christmas episode of Home Improvement. Anyway, it's an interesting rendition that really accentuates the lyrics "to town!" The fourth song is "The Christmas Song", which as I mentioned before features Tony Bennett, and of course he sounds good. I like him better than the band on this song. Next up is "Silent Night, Holy Night". Up until now I've been noticing it feels like the band really slows down all their songs, but I think it's less noticeable on this one, since it's always slow. But it is still somewhat noticeable. Anyway, it's not bad. The next song is "Caroling, Caroling", and it's the shortest track on the album. And they actually sing it reasonably quickly. I like it, because it's a song I'm familiar with but don't hear very often. Then there's "Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season". It's also sung at a reasonable pace, but there's a long instrumental section in the middle. Track 8, "A Christmas Love Song", is an original, so I have nothing to compare it to. So I think that makes it easier for me to appreciate than the other songs on the album. Not that I'm going to remember it. Next up is "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear", and the band is back to being slow. And there's another longish instrumental part. But like all the songs on the album, it's not bad. The penultimate track is "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", and I like it fairly well. The final track is "Goodnight" (at least that's how they spell it on the album; it should actually be "Good Night"). Wikipedia informs me that it's a Beatles song, but it doesn't sound like something I've heard before. It's pretty, but I'm not sure what it's doing on a Christmas album. And I'm sure I won't remember it. There's also a part with some kids talking about Christmas presents. (I have no idea if that part was on the Beatles' version, but I tend to doubt it.)

One thing I can say about the whole album is that the singers harmonize really well. But I think I liked it more in the 90s than I do now. I still think it's a decent album, but probably not one I'd ever feel the need to listen to again. And I feel bad about that, because I feel the album is definitely better than my subjective appreciation of it.