1. Winter Wonderland
2. Hark the Herald Angels Sing
3. White Christmas
4. Carol of the Bells
5. O Come All Ye Faithful
6. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
7. I'll Be Home for Christmas
8. Gloria in Excelsis
9. Christmas Time Is Here
10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
11. Some Children See Him
12. The Little Christmas Tree

Musicians:
Al Jarreau (vocals, background vocals)
Chris Walker (vocals, bass instrument, bass guitar, background vocals)
Claude McKnight, Dave & Ian Thomas, Joey Kibble, Mark Kibble, Alvin Chea, Take 6, Cedric Dent (vocals)
Ross Bolton (guitar)
Michael O'Neill (guitars, electric guitar, nylon-string guitar)
Michael Thompson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar)
Ramón Stagnaro (nylon-string guitar)
Dan Higgins (flute, wooden flute, pennywhistle, clarinet)
Larry Williams (flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards, synthesizers, vibraphone, bells)
Phil Ayling (oboe)
Joe Turano (tenor saxophone, piano, sleigh bell, background vocals)
Jerry Hey (flugelhorn)
David Witham (Fender Rhodes piano)
Larry Goldings (organ)
Dave Carpenter (acoustic bass)
Bob Wilson & His Orchestra, Mark Simmons (drums)
Lenny Castro (tambourine, percussion)
Alyncia Mack, Montina Cooper (background vocals)
Larry Turtle - stick

If ever there was a singer suited for a holiday album it was Al Jarreau, whose friendly, honeyed croon always felt warm and welcoming. Those traits are evident on his 2008 seasonal album Christmas but so are his scatting roots, perhaps a little bit too much so for this to be the kind of soothing soundtrack to a Christmas party that it might initially seem to be, particularly as the first section of the album is loaded with just a little bit too much syncopation and swing. As Christmas rolls on, things settle down into a smooth quiet storm groove, never pushing too hard on either the vocal or arrangement front, which is a bit of a relief after the slightly overcooked first half. This back-end -- containing a silken "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," a light "The Little Christmas Tree" and a mildly funky "Gloria in Excelsis" -- is what Jarreau fans would hope, even expect, from an Al Jarreau Christmas album and it's the reason to give this a seasonal spin. --- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

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1. We're In This Love Together
2. Teach Me Tonight
3. So Good
4. After All
5. Wait For The Magic
6. Your Song
7. Heaven And Earth
8. Through It All
9. Let It Rain
10. Not Like This
11. Brite N' Sunny Babe
12. Secrets Of Love
13. My Foolish Heart
14. Goodhands Tonight

Personnel:
Al Jarreau - Arranger, Composer, Rhythm Arrangements, Vocal Arrangement
Patti Austin - Vocal Arrangement, Vocal Producer
Linda Biancaniello - Composer
Louis Biancaniello - Composer, Producer
Robbie Buchanan - Arranger
John Burk - Original Recording Producer, Producer
Billy Byers - String Arrangements
Sammy Cahn - Composer
Tom Canning - Rhythm Arrangements
Milton Davis - Composer
Gene DePaul - Composer
George Duke - Arranger, Composer, Original Recording Producer, Producer
Barry J. Eastmond - Arranger, Composer, Producer
David Foster  - Arranger
Jay Graydon - Arranger, Original Recording Producer, Producer, Rhythm Arrangements
Steve Harvey - Composer
Elton John - Composer
Tommy LiPuma - Original Recording Producer, Producer
Jeremy Lubbock – Arranger, Composer, String Arrangements
Marcus Miller - Arranger, Original Recording Producer, Producer
Roger Murrah - Composer
Paul Rayner-Brown - Original Recording Producer, Producer
Rex Rideout - Arranger, Composer, Producer
Al Schmitt - Original Recording Producer, Producer
Dan Shea - Arranger
Sue Shiffron - Composer
Keith Stegall - Composer
Bernie Taupin - Composer
Peter Vale - Composer
Narada Michael Walden - Arranger, Original Recording Producer, Producer, Rhythm Arrangements
Ned Washington - Composer
Miles Waters - Composer
Larry Andrew Williams - Arranger
Victor Young - Composer

It's kind of surprising that Al Jarreau's catalog hasn't been treated with greater care. Best of Al Jarreau, released by Warner Bros. back in 1996, remains the best anthology of Jarreau's career, and the various Love Songs series put together by different labels have tended to exist merely as a way to take advantage of the Valentine's Day market (Sony BMG released a Love Songs comp for the Bay City Rollers, of all artists), but this particular Love Songs is more than something to fill the shelves, compiling many of Jarreau's biggest hits released from 1976 through 2006. Since it skips across 30 years, a number of favorites are bound to be missing -- "Your Precious Love," "Since I Fell for You," and "Moonlighting," for instance. Even so, this covers the basics rather well. ---Andy Kelman, Rovi

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