I love Martina McBride.........she has an incredible voice and brings such emotion to the lyrics when she sings. However, I was disappointed when I put this CD in only to discover it is mostly a re-recording of the Christmas songs from her first Christmas CD with a few more additions. I was hoping that she would have re-recorded the songs differently....... oh well, I guess I should have listened first.

I was extremely disappointed that this CD was almost a duplicate of her wonderful 1999 "White Christmas" CD with what appears to be only 4-5 of the SIXTEEN tracks actually new material.

In the notes, she says "This album was a joy to make." Apparently the "joy" must've been as result of the clear ease in nearly recycling a CD done 8 years ago.

Yes, the songs are beautiful--wonderful, classic songs of the season. Martina McBride at her best. For sheer musical artistry, it would rank 5 stars.

But it is really sad, when so many artists are trying to create new and original material, that McBride slides in old stuff under new packaging like this.

This was my most-played Christmas CD this holiday season (and I have a lot to choose from!) She has a beautiful voice and the songs are so well-chosen. From the traditional "White Christmas" to the fun version of "Baby It's Cold Outside" with Dean Martin, Martina shows her exceptional range that makes her a muti-talented singer in any genre.

For 2007, Martina's "White Christmas" album has been newly expanded and reissued, and is the ultimate presentation of this modern day Christmas troubadour. Originally released in 1998, it was expanded with 2 more songs in 1999 (O Come All Ye Faithful and Do You Hear What I Hear). Now, in addition to the songs added in 1999, the album has been further expanded with 4 more newly recorded songs (her not-to-be-missed 2006 'virtual' duet with Dean Martin on Baby, It's Cold Outside, along with Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Winter Wonderland, and Jingle Bells).

I've attended Martina's Christmas show extravaganza's each year, and had the pleasure of meeting her before last year's show. To me, she has become the female equivalent of Bing Crosby when it comes to performing Christmas music, and presenting it in a Christmas show format. She could easily resurrect the annual Christmas variety special on TV each year, ala Bing, Perry Como, and Andy Williams. Her powerful, angelic voice lends itself perfectly to the music and carols of Christmas, coupled with traditional, orchestral arrangements of these standards. From the bright and jaunty / jolly Let it Snow, to the beautiful and sacred O Holy Night, there's something on this album to fit everyone's Christmas taste. Only Ebenezer Scrooge himself could fail to be moved by and put in the Christmas spirit by these evergreens, sung by one of the finest voices in the music industry today. Give her a spin, you won't be disappointed!

This is an excellent CD. Martina has an unbelievable voice and this Christmas album with classic songs is great. I would highly recomend this album to anyone who enjoys the traditional Christmas songs sung by a perfect voice.

This is my favorite Christmas album along with another one by The Carpenters. I love Martina McBride. She sings so great and she is so beautiful and adorable. She really makes these Christmas songs enjoyable. She's so warm and loving, and I love that about her.

I love Martina, but not this album. I gave it three stars because an album with 16 tracks on it is great and her voice is too lovely for words. However, the songs are all standard--she does not add the powerful tone of her voice to these lyrics. She does not "own" the songs and make them hers; therefore the effort becomes very bland. Only buy this if you must own all of her cds; otherwise, listen to Burl Ives and all the others who have really mastered these tunes.

I loved this CD. I didn't love it so much that I would purchase it twice. I bought this CD years ago when Martinas' hair was very short and she was in a white outfit. While Christmas shopping recently I saw this Jacket Cover on the CD and THOUGHT it was a new CD. Be careful NOT to mistakenly buy this CD TWICE.

I'm usually a very savvy buyer when it comes to stealth reissues but I fell for this one hook, line, and wallet while doing my gift shopping at a big box retailer. The complete repackaging and the handful of unfamiliar tracks (and probably those mesmerizing blue eyes) convinced me to brush aside the little voice that said, "But wasn't her first Christmas album - that we already own - called 'White Christmas'?"

Yes it was. And this is it. Somewhat.

The 1998 tracks have the same liabilities/benefits as they did then. There are no original arrangements and they are virtually straightforward covers of classic versions. But this is good when it comes to singing along with them - no curves are thrown at you. And MM's voice is, of course, insanely beautiful.

The new tracks produced by Martina herself make some gutsy calls and I like that about them. Her Danny Elfman-esque take on 'Jingle Bells' is funny and just a little creepy and I loved it in spite of myself. She's definitely overheard her kids watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory one too many times!

Her time-traveling duet with Dean Martin is captivating. She has an extremely broad stylistic range and is a terrific mimic. If no one told you the lady's voice was a 21st century superstar you would think it was a Rat Pack-era songstress holding her own with Dino. Brilliant!

It almost makes up for the covert ops.

I'm not necessarily a country-music fan as a genre, but I do have a number of country-music artists that I truly love. Martina McBride is absolutely a member of that list. So it is with absolute bewilderment that I: a) find out I essentially bought a CD that was released in 1998 but was packaged throughout as "2007" with "extra tracks"; and b) am utterly disappointed with the results.

But since I didn't look at the "original release date" carefully enough and just went for the gusto because I couldn't contain my excitement, I won't fault Martina for a little creative repackaging and voila: a previously-released 12-track holiday CD from nine years prior gets another previously-recorded track from 2006 plus three truly "new" songs from 2007, and you have a super-sized 16-track CD for the 2007 Christmas season and thereafter.

Martina may be a "country" singer, but don't expect a "country" Christmas here. The treatment here is strictly traditional vanilla, designed to please the average American palate; if translated to radio terms, the material would fit crossover pop, adult contemporary, and country. In other words, the most bang for the buck.

McBride is blessed with a powerful, soulful voice, but rarely is she given the opportunity to display it. She does come alive on her reading of "O Come, All Ye Faithful," and also on "What Child Is This?" and "O Holy Night." (A piece of trivia: Did you know that the melody to "What Child Is This?"--which was originally called "Greensleeves"--was composed by England's King Henry VIII? Who knew he had time to compose music in between bedding, and beheading, all of those wives?)

One of the new tracks, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," begins with such promise. Dennis Burnside's arrangement commences with an exciting, bombastic, classical-sounding flourish that continues throughout Martina's vocals. Then, inexplicably, the flourish picks up again after her vocal and suddenly stops with nowhere to go--no resolution, no logical conclusion. As a professional musician, I literally sat there agape, waiting for the next musical "shoe" to drop. It was the most illogical ending of an arrangement I've ever heard. It was simply preposterous.

The opening track, "Let It Snow" (times three), doesn't stick around long. It's less than two minutes long. The requisite inclusion of Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" is bland and uninspiring. Nat King Cole would definitely NOT approve.

Another complaint is that when second and third verses to carols are not only available but fairly well-known to the average listener, Martina and/or arranger Burnside (for both the 1998 and 2007 tracks) generally choose to either sing the verse and chorus through only once--making for a very short song--or repeat the one verse and chorus ad nauseam.

On popular holiday standards such as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," the title track of "White Christmas," and "I'll Be Home for Christmas," there are lesser-known introductory verses that are sung by vocalists maybe a quarter of the time on average, but in each of these three tunes, these verses redefine or enhance the songs' meanings substantially. It is with profound sadness that each time, Martina just plows right into the blandly familiar chorus that everyone knows, when that touch of the special would have made these tracks something so very much more. Such a waste.

McBride is a singer so far above material this mediocre. It's mind-numbing when one thinks just how good the original 1998 CD and the new tracks could have been. To be fair, though, new track "Winter Wonderland" does have an enjoyable lilt to it, and original track "Away in a Manger" is deftly arranged so that both familiar melodies are worked into the track to fit the lyrics. That's the mark of a truly good arranger. The other 2007 track is "Jingle Bells" and works as much as you could expect "Jingle Bells" to work. (Please don't try to think of Barbra Streisand's landmark version in her 1967 masterpiece, Christmas Album; it'll only make your head hurt even more.)

This leaves the fully-orchestrated 2006 track, "Baby, It's Cold Outside," arranged by Patrick Williams, as the one gem on the CD. Using the magic of digital editing that first wowed us all in 1991 when Natalie Cole "dueted" with her late father, Nat King Cole, on "Unforgettable" from her CD Unforgettable: With Love, McBride "duets" with the original hitmaker of the song, ol' Dino himself, Dean Martin. (In fact, the liner notes list the track credits as "Dean Martin With Martina McBride.")

Most of the musicians that performed on the 1998 CD also play on the three new tracks (not counting the '06 Dean Martin duet), and the Nashville String Machine offers the production a pleasantly lush sound. But Martina is not given a lot to work with here. Yes, as her liner notes reveal, she was aiming for a "classic" and "nostalgic" Christmas album, but her voice is too beautiful and powerful to be put into the same category as "boring."

I fault Dennis Burnside's uninspired arrangements--then, and now. While the new tracks are slightly better than those of 1998, the asinine "cliffhanger" ending of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" trumps the good work done on "Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bells" collectively, and he ends up with a major "net loss" for the 2007 tracks. That means overall for the entire CD, it's just a plain old train-wreck.

I love Martina McBride with all my heart, but I have never given an artist such a low rating on [...] before. I hate to play Scrooge and do it at Christmastime, but I must. Therefore, Martina, I'm sorry to tell you that you get coal in your stocking thusly:


CD RATING: ** (out of 5) -- 30 Nov 07 -- BOB BOURBEAU

Being released, not just once before, but twice with the addition of a few new songs, this is deceptive marketing in its most blatant form. I love Martina's songs, but if she is going along with this underhanded approach of tricking people out of there money, then I'm through buying her CDs. I unknowingly bought this albulm thinking it was new from the one I bought last year. I remembered the other one was white. Well, you can imagine how upset(edit a more colorful word) I was when I started comparing songs. This is pitiful. Martina, if you don't want to lose fans, stop this BS now.

I am a big Martina McBride fan and have her original Christmas album. I purchased this since it has a few new songs on it. The new songs do not have the same flow or sound as the others, which makes it seem strange going back and forth between the old and new. Still, I love her voice and her version of O Holy Night is as good as any I've ever heard.

Good addition to my Christmas CD collection. I buy one new Christmas CD each year and sometimes disappointed with my selection of artist. Not this year - Martina is great!

Although I give it 5-stars... some of the songs have too much orchestra, when a simplier version highlighting Martina's excellent voice would have been preferred by me (but that's just me).

I'm not a country music fan, but I'm always looking for a new {to me} and fresh collection of Christmas carols. I expected a routine rendition of the usual, classic holiday tunes every artist is obligated to do...but this singer REALLY has a gorgeous voice!! It may not surprise her many fans, but it's new to me. I normally don't care for the 'twang' of most country singers, but it doesn't come thru here. What does impress me is the time and care she takes with the melody and esp., with the lyrics.
Too many good Christmas song lyrics are lost amidst the screeching voice or overdone musical score. But Martina allows us to hear all the beautiful words that remind us why these songs are classics and timeless.
Thanks for your great work on this, Martina!!

This is the SECOND time that this CD has been RE-released. I used to love Martina, but I'm getting tired of the manipulative marketing practices she (or her record company) uses to get people to buy re-cycled material.

I bought the original CD when it first came out in 1997, and then it was released the next year with additional tracks. I was so angry that additional songs had been added, and I would have to purchase the CD again. But after several emails with Martina's fan club, and her record company I was able to exchange my CD for the new one. (By mailing it in and paying postage.) They definitely didn't go out of their way to accommodate me.

Now I see that they're releasing it yet AGAIN with more tracks! Althought I love this CD, I refuse to spend another dime on it. Martina McBandit's gotten enough money out of me!

Originally released with just 10 tracks and later expanded to 12, this third edition contains a further four tracks, bringing the total to 16. The new tracks are Jingle bells, Hark the herald angels sing, Winter wonderland and a duet with Dean Martin, Baby it's cold outside. The sequence of the album is completely different from the earlier versions.

All these songs have been recorded many times before by many different singers. However, Martina has such a wonderful voice that I forgive her for not including any original material.

From the opening strains of Let it snow let it snow let it snow, it is obvious that this is a high-quality album from a singer who is inspired by these songs. Best of the lot is O holy night; although I've heard many covers of it, I regard Martina's as the ultimate performance of this song.

There is a huge market for Christmas albums full of familiar songs and Martina knew it when she chose these songs. If you are looking for such an album in an easy listening style, they don't come any better than this.

Note that the 12-track version remains in print (at least for the time being) at a lower price, but the four extra tracks are well worth the price, especially if you haven't got either of the earlier editions. If you have one of them, it may be a difficult decision whether to buy the latest. After all, who knows if Martina will one day decide to add more songs and release a fourth edition with 18 or 20 tracks? You must make your own decision, but there's no denying that Martina brings something special to Christmas music (or any music, come to that).

Martina's voice is like no other today in music-- all of the songs on here are beautiful and fun!!!! Her newest additions: Hark the Herald Angels Sing- gorgeous!! The orchestra has a beautiful arrangement and w. Martina's voice you can not go wrong!!! Jingle Bells-for those who have seen "A Christmas Story" with Ralphie and his BB gun- this song could have been part of this movie!!! LOL This song is so funny!!!! Winter Wonderland- awesome rendition- Martina just knows her Christmas songs. Finally Baby, Its Cold Outside- this is the sweetest and coolest song. I was not much a 50's music fan as that is not my generation but this verison of Dean Martin's song ROCKS!!! Martina sounds so cute and innocent and just adds flavor to this song. As for the other songs- NO ONE can sing O Holy Nite or What Child is This like Martina- the notes this girl can hit are unbelievable. Do You Hear What I Hear and Silent Night are sung so softly with such tenderness. Let it Snow is just a fun fun song. I'll Be Home for Christmas-just a sad song in general especially in these times w. our troops not home for the holidays-beautiful version. All of Martina's other songs- Silver Bells (great arrangement and singing), White Christmas- gorgeous; Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and others are very sweet. This album is very much worth buying if you love Christmas music. Martina never disappoints on any albums and continues this streak with WC.

I haven't bought this, and I don't know that I will. I love Martina McBride, I think she has a fantastic voice, and I bought this CD the first time around. I think that when they decided to re-release this album, they really should have included a lot more than 4 other songs. It's a gem if you didn't buy it then, because you're getting a good deal. Those who bought the album when it first came out are now paying full CD price for basically four songs. I think that with as many Christmas songs as there are, this could very well have been a double CD.

I was so excited when I found out she was re-releasing this with 4 new songs. I saw her Christmas concert last winter, and it was amazing. She sang a few songs there that weren't on the previously released "White Christmas" like Baby It's Cold Outside with Dean Martin and Winter Wonderland. I thought it was so cool that she added those on this re-release. I love everything Martina does!

So basically what has changed is 4 new tracks which are:
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Winter Wonderland
Baby, It's Cold Outside
Jingle Bells

They all sound great! Jingle Bells' chorus was a little overdone and I think would have sounded way better with just her, but I think she was just trying to make it fun, and it is.

The other difference I noticed is the order of the songs is not the same. I think now it is in the order in which she performs them in her concert. It works very well and sounds great!

Check out Martina's Christmas concert if you get the chance. My mom and I loved, loved, loved it!!

Martina McBride released this CD several years ago. At the time I bought her CD and could not stop listening to it during Christmas.
Now they have packaged it with 4 new songs. Jingle Bells and Winter Wonderland are my favorite new songs on the CD. Silver Bells is my favorits song on the entire CD.
If you are a Martina McBride fan or if you just like Christmas music, this is for you.
Martina could possibly have the best voice in Nashville, and now she sings our favorite carols as well..............You have to buy this one

This is a great Christmas CD, and how could it not be with the Christmas songs that we know from our childhood sung by someone with such a beautiful voice. This is a must have Christmas CD for those who enjoy listening to Christmas songs around Christmas-time, or anytime really. I will warn you that this is a re-release of her White Christmas CDs released in 1998, and 1999. The one released in 1998 contained 10 songs, and the 1999 re-release added two more songs to that list. This CD, adds four more Christmas classics to the collection. I would have to say this is a great buy for anyone who enjoys Christmas Songs, or Martina McBride. Even if you have one of the earlier releases, I'd still reccommend purchasing this one. You won't regret it.

These are great songs, but I purchased the album thinking this was a new Christmas CD by Martina. It is not! It is just a re-release of her 1999 White Christmas album with 4 additional tracks. Come on people! Give us something new that we haven't already bought! I want my money back!

I bought this used and there is a tiny crack on the case front.. That is fine. The CD looks great. Thanks for the fast service.

Dean