First, let me say that I am a total Josh Groban fanatic and when he is on tour I follow him throughout the country because I love him that much. For me everything Josh Groban records is stunning, and “Noel” is nearly there. Josh’s voice is perfection, and the song arrangement logical and pleasing. I enjoyed “Silent Night”,”Petite Papa Noel” and “Panis Angelicus”. His version of “Ave Maria” was good, but not thrilling as I had hoped it would be.

My personal disappointment regarding this CD centers around the utterly unpleasant, shrieking gospel singers; Faith Hill’s coarse voiced and out of synch duet; and most of all I disliked the inclusion of various soldiers and kids yakking it up on “I’ll be Home for Christmas”. IMO it will instantly date this CD once the Iraq war ends, if ever! Speaking strictly for myself I wish that the production would have been free of this sort of bombast.

Next, although I love David Foster’s work on Josh’s other CDs, particularly “Awake“, on this album the overblown, mega arrangements are just overwhelming, specifically on “O Come All Ye Faithful” in contrast with the intro music on “Silent Night” which was superbly “spatial”, clear and sparse and created a sense of standing in quiet reverence while looking at a starry night. It was entrancing until the mega arrangement came in and blew away the moment. I cannot give this CD a 5 star rating although I will always give Josh Groban a Gazillion Stars Plus for the exquisite quality of his voice. He towers as a GIANT over other popular singers in the current music market. Every concert that I have attended was sold out and a total lovefest for Josh. That tells it’s own story of how much he is revered worldwide.