Making a Christmas album is always a tricky thing for an artist, giving it’s damned if you do, damned if you don’t approach. People either love traditional favorite yuletide fare or they’re ready to hear brand new songs to add to their favorite Christmas mix (over the years a cassette, CD and now iTunes mix). It’s precisely this mix of old yuletide chestnuts and new holiday tracks that Phil Vassar balances on Noel, his first collection of holiday music (outside of his free 5 song EP from last year that doesn't get repeated here). The album features five classic holiday tunes and five brand new tunes that allow the piano-playing entertainer to showcase some of his always there jazz influences, without ever sacrificing what is the core of him as an everyman artist.

Classics like “What Child Is This,” “Away In A Manger” and “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” don’t change too much but that’s really the point when recording classic songs like these. These are songs with familiar melodies yet Phil and co-producer Dane Bryant have managed to breathe a little new musical life into the tunes to allow them to shine and while all of them are good, It is the new tunes like “I Saved Christmas,” “Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas Without You” and the sultry “Let’s Make A Little Christmas Tonight” that make Noel worth owing. They sparkle with superb melodies, sparkling jazzy instrumental accompaniment and Phil Vassar’s baritone voice.

There aren’t too many new holiday albums from country artists this year and this means that Phil Vassar can get better store placement with Noel, a strong jazzy holiday album worth adding to any Christmas music fan’s collection.