Christmas 2011 ~ A Very Glee Christmas...

Now that the Factor known commonly as X is over, it's all about Doctor Who, Downton Abbey and (OF COURSE!!) Ab Fab on Christmas day. Sadly, I won't be in the country as I will have the hardship of being in Vegas on Christmas Day this year, so will have to catch up on iPlayer upon my return. Anyhoo, the excitement surrounding these Christmas specials got me playing the new Glee Christmas album and thinking, ooo I must review it. so here is an overview of what you get, plus some decent festive tv from the ghosts of Christmas Past...

Glee: The Christmas Album, Volume Two...

Certain things you can take as read when it comes to the second Glee Christmas album - and their festive show offering in general. These are ~

• Nothing on it will be as amazing to me as the simply joyous and nigh on perfect version of last year's We Need A Little Christmas. They set a very high standard for themselves.
• There is a certain audacity in performing Do They Know It's Christmas at a soup kitchen (above) in the festive episode that only Glee could pull off. OK, they don't pull it off, it's somewhat cringey, but I'll wait for the full episode to assess!
• If this was the UK, a show of that calibre would have this episode air on Christmas Day where it would be a massive musical event...
• Ally McBeal still rules in terms of musically themed festive episodes. I think one year there were 3 seasonal offerings!!

That's not to say that Glee Christmas 2 isn't a jolly entertaining affair. For starters it has some Darren Criss on it, which is always a winning combination - and he remains the main reason I watch Glee. His duet with Lea Michele on the original, Katy Perry-esque Extraordinary Merry Christmas is a delightful romp, while his big band duet with Kris Colfer, Let It Snow, is a worthy follow up to last year's Baby It's Cold Outside. Elsewhere Lea excels on Joni Mitchell's River, while Amber Riley takes the lead on a not-too-dissimilar-to-Mariah-Carey All I Want For Christmas cover. And hurrah from quite amazing moments from onscreen couple Santana and Brittany with a rather funky yet classic sounding Santa Baby and perky Christmas Wrapping respectively. So yes, there are some lovely moments here and no doubt combining volumes one and two could actually lead to a rather spectacular selection of Christmas tunes...

Like this? Try these...

• Glee: The Christmas Album, Volume One ~ Aside from the aforementioned giddy delight of We Need A Little Christmas and essential Klaine duet, Baby It's Cold Outside, there is much to dig your teeth into here. The jazzy Jingle Bells stands out, as does the ensemble number The Most Wonderful Day Of The Year which - like We Need A Little Christmas - has a wonderful cinematic, old school hollywood vibe to it which I just adore. Ace.
• Ally Mcbeal: A Very Ally Christmas ~ yes it's essentially a Vonda Shepard cd, but that fit in perfectly with how music worked within the confines of the show. The most fun is had with Calista Flockhart and Jane Krakowski vamp it up on Santa Baby & I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, but all the songs are a lovely listen and beautifully arranged. I do miss the Mcbeal. Must start watching from the start again...