These Are Special Times Celine Dion CD Christmas

It’s almost impossible to believe it didn’t already exist, but now that it does, you can bet the sure-to-go-platinum These Are Special Times will turn up under many a Christmas tree this year (the perfect gift for the person who has everything?). The prolific princess of pop has thrown together a mixture of contemporary and traditional holiday favorites, bordering on too-cute and kitschy only on the intro to “Feliz Navidad.” For many, Dion is an acquired taste, but even naysayers may enjoy her rare moments of restraint on a smoky version of “Blue Christmas.” “The Prayer,” a duet with Andrea Bocelli, is set to become this season’s “Time to Say Goodbye,” but it will have to battle it out with the R. Kelly duet, “I’m Your Angel,” first. –Rebecca Wallwork Review Where coproducer David Foster leads her gently back toward the classics, be they “Blue Christmas” or “Brahms’ Lullaby,” Dion makes a perfectly adequate successor to abdicated Christmas queen Streisand. — Entertainment Weekly