WILLIAMS’ TRADITIONAL HOLIDAY VISIT

The idea of an Andy Williams Christmas concert is a natural: Williams’ TV Christmas specials have given him a close association with the holiday, and his warm, rounded vocal style is well suited to sentimental Christmas songs. But though the idea is as obvious as a chestnut roast, Williams didn’t begin his annual 20-city Christmas tour until two years ago.

Opening a three-night stand at the Universal Amphitheatre on Sunday, Williams presented a seamless program that balanced pop and sacred Christmas songs, established favorites and lesser-known pieces. He also presented a few songs that are often performed during the holidays but aren’t specifically Christmas-themed, including Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things” and the joyous last movement from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. To break things up, he performed a medley of his hits and a song from “Close Enough for Love,” his new album of romantic movie music.

Williams has a casual, easygoing style and a lightly self-deprecating air reminiscent of Bing Crosby and, especially, Perry Como. He’s still capable of considerable vocal power, as he showed on the booming “Love Story,” and innovative phrasing, as he revealed on Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song.”

But occasionally he takes the easy way out. An excessively light arrangement undercut the drama of the haunting “Days of Wine and Roses.” And for every challenging song in his repertoire, such as “How Do You Keep the Music Playing,” there’s a featherweight bit of fluff, such as “Hawaiian Wedding Song.” Williams shouldn’t settle for just singing pretty , but should seek to maximize the drama and emotion in his material.