Was this album needed?

Is it genetic and musicians follow obsessively this inner urge? Or is there a secret agreement within the UN Charter which calls them to be binding? Or is it even anchored firmly in the constitutional law of some states and disregard would have legal consequences?
Irgendworan it must be but that (at least felt) every musician, if he succeeds only long enough, sooner or later eintütet a Christmas album. In itself, that's not even bad if this was going to be gone zuwerke least with a little originality and a touch of creative intent. Such examples there are quite well. "Merry Christmas, Baby" is not one of them.

It's not about a Christmas-revolution in order to tell a brutally possible musical reconstruction of popular songs, only to end can, it was something unprecedented created. But a few ideas spark justifying the production of a Christmas album to some new original songs, for example, or dig out some rarely heard songs on the subject and so you really only deals with the dead tormented classics, should be Interpretation, then at least show through anything which exceeds its own throughout the implementation of their own vocal coloration, not that it is at the end of the single eye-catching contrast to other recordings - and especially one should "White Christmas" just leave! Bad enough that it apparently only a catalog of about 25 Christmas Classics are, over and over and over again resorted to in the productions and, but this song, since he was in 1942 for the first time preserved by Bing Crosby, since really on any Christmas album is going prepares conspiracy theorists the floor!

All those who (1998) could not do much with the publications by Rod Stewart in the new millennium, after the last official rock album "When We Were The New Boys," is only the fact that he now has a Christmas plate comes probably give the rest. Who his conversion to crooner over the past decade like - and qualitatively, the five "American Songbook" albums and "Soul Book" LP absolute right to exist - will be able to "Merry Christmas, Baby" quite like.
Moreover, if there were not already hundreds of recordings of "Have Yourself A Merry Christmas", "Santa Clause is coming to town", "Winter Wonderland", "Let it snow" etc. and thousands of "White Christmas", then would be the all a five star album.
The recording is first class, musically brilliant and pleasant jazz-heavy, everything blends and certainly creates the desired mood.

"Merry Christmas, Baby" is a thoroughly good album and certainly no disgrace, no mistake. Only it is unfortunately entirely predictable and calculated in bestürzendem extent and Creatively already almost a total failure.
Only "Red-suited Super Man" gives an idea how the album could also be. The song is not only the only really new (ie written exclusively for this album), but also the first of Rod Stewart highly self-composed piece for the aforementioned album from 1998. The number is vaguely reminiscent of the "Motown Song" sounds like a something entschleunigter offshoot of hits from the early '90s. More of them would have given the album more reason for existence.
It remains, as well as it is also basically unnecessary. Well produced, but unfortunately totally unimaginative in song selection and song implementation.

PS: A list advertising in the CD gives us hope. In the spring before a new album of Rod Stewart appears - a rock album with new original songs! - 15 years after "... new boys" !!! If Christmas was perhaps only moved into the spring?