Jingles and some jangles

ROCK, pop, folk, jazz, hip-hop even quasi-classical are among this year’s plethora of holiday-themed releases. Here’s a sampling:

*** Anita Baker, “Christmas Fantasy” (Blue Note). This is one for a cold winter night in front of the fire, and Baker supplies the spark. Her burnished vocals heat up the ballads and put plenty of sass in the bouncier tunes.

*** Brave Combo, “Holidays” (Rounder). This multiple Grammy-winning Texas combo’s 1988 album “It’s Christmas, Man!” is a contemporary classic of pan-cultural holiday spirit, so it seems the only place the group could go from there was to treat every day like Christmas. The result is a batch of original songs elucidating the special qualities of Groundhog Day, Mardi Gras, Father’s Day, Labor Day, etc., winding up in December. The batting average is surprisingly high.

** 1/2 Steven Curtis Chapman, “All I Really Want for Christmas” (Sparrow). The five-time Grammy-winning Christian singer-songwriter finds special inspiration at this time of year, which he applies in several originals that stand alongside the yuletide classics. The title tune’s plea, from a child who has no family, is more powerful than other attempts to capture the glory of Christmas in grand-scale pop-folk.

*** 1/2 Rosie Flores, “Christmasville” (Durango Rose). The combination of youthful sweetness and rollicking good spirits this veteran roots-country singer-songwriter exhibits is nearly ideal. Half a dozen smart originals alternate with cleverly re-imagined versions of several standards.

* 1/2 Il Divo, “The Christmas Collection” (Syco Music/Columbia). The hunky classical-pop quartet that was the brainchild of “American Idol’s” Simon Cowell aims for ultra-dreamy with orchestrated arrangements of secular and religious songs, but mostly winds up ultra-draggy with glacial tempos that would test the patience of Job.

*** Diana Krall, “Christmas Songs” (Verve). The ice queen of jazz uses her ultra-cool delivery to sultry effect over the unerringly tasteful backing of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Her lazy-swing take on “White Christmas” and Ella-worthy reading of “Jingle Bells” are highlights, while the inclusion of Irving Berlin’s “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” underscores her debt to Rosemary Clooney.

*** The LeeVees, “Hanukkah Rocks” (Reprise). Guster’s Adam Gardner and the Zambonis’ Dave Schneider take an unsurprisingly irreverent look at the Jewish holiday. But as whimsical as songs such as “Latke Clan,” “At the Timeshare” and “Kugel” are, they’re incessantly tuneful and, therefore, well-suited for repeated play.

**** Kate & Anna McGarrigle, “The McGarrigle Christmas Hour” (Nonesuch). These veteran Canadian folkies strike an exquisite balance of spirituality and holiday spirit, of musical grandeur and hominess in a session wonderfully free of rote caroling. They get help from talented family members (including Kate’s kids Rufus and Martha Wainwright) and friends (Emmylou Harris, Beth Orton) and among them contribute five originals.

*** Jane Monheit, “The Season” (Epic). Monheit brings a Streisand-like tone and meticulous musicality to her Christmas outing, sometimes with a little too much Babs for her own good, since Streisand has done a sterling job with her own holiday recordings. But when Monheit moves away from the languorous ballads to tunes that swing, her jazz chops take over and there’s no mistaking who’s at the microphone.

*** 1/2 Odetta, “Gonna Let It Shine” (M.C. Records) The celebrated folk singer applies those gorgeous pipes to a gospel-soul telling of the Christmas story with as much spirit as you could ask for. Listeners will find it hard not to get caught up in the joy of the moment.

** Regis Philbin, “The Regis Philbin Christmas Album” (Hollywood). “Hey Kelly -- getta loada this! A guy’s got a TV show, suddenly he thinks he’s Sinatra! Even lets his pal Donald Trump -- calls him ‘The Trumpster’ -- in on a tune. Gimme a break! Oh, this Philbin fella sounds OK, but with all these Christmas classics and studio pros around him, so would Letterman. Am I nuts?”

*** Martin Sexton, “Camp Holiday” (Kitchen Table). The Massachusetts singer-songwriter takes a low-budget approach that embodies the humility that’s at the heart of the Christmas story. Sexton’s voice swings between the urgent soulfulness of Stevie Wonder and the heartfelt yearning of Rufus Wainwright, and the low-key folk-jazz-R&B; accompaniment of mostly acoustic guitar provides a nice alternative to the overdone production typical of seasonal recordings.

*** Brian Wilson, “What I Really Want for Christmas” (Arista). It would have been bolder for Wilson to skip the remakes of two of his Beach Boys Christmas classics and play up the sweetly hopeful originals on which he collaborated with lyricists Bernie Taupin and Jimmy Webb. As it is, the arrangements and harmonies on those plus several traditional carols sparkle as much as the glittering CD cover.