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5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 Stellar Album That Perfectly Evokes The Christmas Spirit Nov 21, 2007
From Rodgers and Hammerstein's "My Favorite Things" down to a previously unreleased track, "I'll Be Home For Christmas," this stellar album offers an array of Christmas songs that you'll greatly enjoy and will add a glow to your holidays. It boasts of some of the greatest musical moments of the bright career of Tony Bennett, who believes that his key to success is "making music that lasts." He is backed by an orchestra and a choir conducted by none other than a fine arranger/orchestrator, Robert Farnon, whose body of work has greatly influenced Johnny Mandel, Henry Mancini, Quincy Jones, John Williams and André Previn. In this album, he brings a wealth of experience in the field of creative chart arrangements and gleaming orchestrations to Tony Bennett's unique vocal artistry and timeless style.
Some of my favorites are the spectacular tracks that were recorded in London - "The Christmas Song," "White Christmas," "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." The medley of "I Love The Winter Weather/I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" is an absolute beauty! His takes on "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," "Winter Wonderland" and the title track, "Snowfall" are such delights and so remarkable. The inclusion of "Where Is Love," an achingly beautiful theme song from the musical "Oliver" is such a surprise, but it blended harmoniously with the rest of the Christmas carols from the medley. A previously unreleased track "I'll Be Home For Christmas" was sung in a jazzy fashion and this was taken from "The Jon Stewart Show."
"Christmasland" composed by Brian Farnon and Dennis Farnon is a sentimental Christmas song that brings to mind fond memories of childhood. It is so melodious and Tony Bennett gives a heartfelt reading of the lyric making it one of the highlights from this collection.
With Tony Bennett and Robert Farnon teaming-up artistically in this album, I guarantee there's not a single dull moment and there's nothing to whine about. This is Christmas music that can warm your hearts even on the coldest winter day. So give it your welcoming ears and enjoy it with your Christmas celebrations.
From my heart to yours...my greetings for an old-fashioned Christmas filled with love, joy and kindness and a New Year full of blessings, hope and good cheers!
Tony Bennett and one cool Christmas C.D.!! Dec 19, 2005
If you enjoy the cool and uptown Christmas sounds from Tony Bennett, then I know you will enjoy this C.D. from the artist Frank Sinatra enjoyed listening to. There are some great tracks including "Snowfall", "Winter Wonderland" and the track that appeared on an MTV program, "I'll Be Home For Christmas". It's great to listen to!
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 I Like it! Dec 18, 2005
Each year, I pick up a new Christmas CD or two to add to my very diverse Christmas music collection and make my own compilation CDs of favorites to listen to in the car and around the house. I always search for something that stands out above the other music I usually hear. This year, I've heard this CD's version of "I'll be home for Christmas" many times on a local radio station that's playing all Christmas and Holiday music throughout the season. It really has a great swing to it and it stands out among many great versions of this song. Tony's voice has a really cool warmth and slight edge to it in these recent years and it really adds a lot to this performance, which is making this CD a definite need for my collection. The other songs sound good in the audio samples too, although I prefer his upbeat stuff with the voice of recent years best.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
My Christmas In July Aug 06, 2005
During the most recent heat wave, I actually thought it might help to drag out a few of my favorite Christmas recordings and, at least, chill out mentally. It was worth a try, I suppose--not that it actually worked. In fact, all it really did for me was load Christmas anxiety on top of my already burdensome heat exhaustion.
But then I figured, hey, before you know it, the clime will have shifted and we'll be hankering for chestnusts roasted on an open fire--instead of feeling like WE'RE being roasted on an open fire. And since, I never think to post reviews of actual Christmas product until, I dunno, maybe Christmas Eve, at least this year, I get a jump on the gun and maybe even garner a couple of "helpful" votes by Thanksgiving weekend.
Tony Bennett's SNOWFALL is arguably as much a "winter" record as a purely holiday one. It's always seemed something of a shame to me that all the joyful Christmas music gets put away well before winter has really set in. (At least the Russians are smart enough to celebrate it in January, which can help forestall the winter doldrums for a short while at least.) The fact that the title song on this seasonal album is "Snowfall" and not "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" at least gives you some kind of excuse to play it well into January, heck, maybe even February. Or as in my little experiment, in July.
And, of course, "Winter Wonderland" and "I've Got Our Love to Keep Me Warm" are good for the whole calendar season too. "My Favorite Things," is a canny choice for an opener too. It's seasonal the way its source film THE SOUND OF MUSIC is seasonal: it evokes familial warmth and good times, even if the packages are in brown paper and "tied up with string" rather than ribbons.
And then there's the almost bizarre medley of actual Christmas songs that concludes with a conventional romantic ballad ("Where Is Love?"). Musically, it fits just fine, but thematically, it's a bit strange--almost as if Tony's saying, "Hey, I'm down with the holiday stuff, but THIS is what I really do..."
As an interpretive singer, Bennett has the unique ability to be warm and a little breezy at the same time. When I read somewhere recently that "I'll Be Home For Christmas" was actually a WWII song, and meant to be sung with at least a hint of melancholy, I thought of the live version included here(from a JON STEWART SHOW broadcast), which is certainly more breezy than reverential. But, of course, by this point in that song's history, it has lost much of its sombreness, and, hey, it really does lend itself nicely to a little jazz pizzazz.
That track, by the way, is the album's closer, and it is really the only new entry on this collection, most of which is culled from material released in Bennett's 60s heyday. It's certainly interesting to hear how his voiced has changed and how he's learned to compensate in warmth and wit for what he may have lost in vocal technique.
Bennett was and is a singer for all seasons.
4 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Classic Rediscovered Nov 19, 2004
Frank Sinatra once remarked that for his money, there was no singer he'd rather hear than Tony Bennett.
As one of the last surviving crooners of his generation, Tony has become a swingin' elder statesman of the music world, and has even enjoyed the unlikely honor of a buzz clip on MTV in the 90's. When it comes to tunes with a holiday flavor, you will not be disappointed by his velvety vocals, and Snowfall certainly delivers quality material.
It is decidedly commonplace to repackage gifts for the holidays, and Snowfall neatly fits that idea. Many of these tracks are original recordings from around '64, during Tony's peak, and showcase his pleasant, smooth warbling. This album was originally released to CD in 1994, and comes back to the forefront again in 2004 with the added bonus of a previously unavailable performance of "I'll Be Home for Christmas".
The new track (recorded live on the Jon Stewart Show) is worth the re-release, and easily this reviewer's favorite for its up-tempo swinging bounce. Fans who own either of the previous two versions of this album may be a little skeptical on purchasing it again for one new song, glorious CD packaging notwithstanding.
The body of this album has some really nice pieces, including Bennett's elegant, fast-waltz interpretation of "My Favorite Things" and a moving, emotive "The Christmas Song" that would make Nat "King" Cole proud. There's a great well-arranged medley of "I Love the Winter Weather" and "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" that does something fresh for both songs, particularly when you consider how often they get recorded.
"Snowfall" and "White Christmas" both serve the purpose off stimulating reflection by way of Tony's clear, intoxicating vocals. "Christmasland", "Winter Wonderland" and a medley packed with traditional standards like "Silent Night" and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" create a sense of nostalgia for classics-and that's no surprise, Tony Bennett is a classic himself.
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