Mariah Carey
Merry Christmas II You
★★★

Sixteen years have passed since Mariah Carey released her first blockbuster
holiday album, but she hasn't lost her desire to dress up in a Santa suit or
the silky flexibility of her voice. Her take on a new batch of traditionals
like "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is straightforward and sweet, full of
strings and torchy piano arrangements and outfitted with a cameo from her
opera-singer mom, Patricia, on "O Come All Ye Faithful/Hallelujah Chorus."

Half of the disc's new originals are ballads — including "Christmas Time Is
in the Air Again" and "One Child," both thick with gooey orchestration — but
Mariah bops to a schoolyard-chant beat on "Oh Santa!" and digs out a retro
groove for "When Christmas Comes."

It's hard to figure out what's "extrafestive" (as the full song title promises)
 about her "All I Want for Christmas Is You" update, and far easier to determi
-ne what's wrong with "AuldLang Syne" (an awkward dance beat), but the LP's
warm heart is in the rightplace.


瑪麗亞凱莉發行他首張一鳴驚人的聖誕專輯Merry Christmas已經有16年，16年來她並沒有
不想重新穿上聖誕老人裝、和丟掉像絲綢般圓滑的嗓音。

專輯收錄了簡單、甜美的管弦樂，加上鋼琴編曲的全新"O Little Town of Bethlehem"。
以及邀請曾經是歌劇歌手的母親Patricia合唱了一曲"O Come All Ye Faithful"。

專輯中原創作品有一半是抒情曲－包括"Christmas Time Is in the Air Again"和
"One Child"，這兩首歌都有非常感性的編排－但咪咪同時也創作了一首非常具有高校風
格的"Oh Santa!"，以及一首帶有復古的"When Christmas Comes"。

很難體會Extra Festive版本的All I Want for Christmas Is You是EXTRA在哪，而且也很
容易感覺到"Auld Lang Syne"的舞曲節奏中有些不搭嘎，但整張專輯在此時此刻，是一張
讓人溫暖的作品。


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