Darlene Love - 'It's Christmas, Of Course'

You may not have heard of Darlene Love, but the 60-something-year-old vocalist has been singing R&B and Soul music since the 1950s. Her name has also become synonymous with Christmas to viewers of David Letterman's talk show: every year since 1986, Darlene has sung a Christmas song on the show during the holiday season. In October 2007, her latest holiday album, It's Christmas, Of Course, was released, and on it, Darlene offers her renditions of yuletide songs from the 1970s and '80s. It's an uneven collection - the songs are hit or miss - but the songs that hit are fun to listen to.

Although the heart and sentiments are in the right place, the execution of Darlene Love's It's Christmas, Of Course leaves quite a bit to be desired. Darlene has a strong, powerful voice, but that voice isn't particularly nuanced or refined. When it comes to belting out some of the album's songs, like the warm and happy "Christmas Wish," the sad and bluesy "Please Come Home For Christmas" and the upbeat and hopeful "Christmas Is the Time to Say 'I Love You'," (originally by '80s rocker Billy Squier) she does a fantastic job and manages to make the songs shine.

Conversely, Darlene's voice definitely shows it's age on some songs. Among them: the ballad "2,000 Miles," (originally recorded by new wave band Pretenders) on which she sounds tired instead of wistful; the oversung "Thanks For Christmas;" and a disappointing rendition of John Lennon's peace song, "Happy Xmas (War is Over)," on which she fails to capture the emotional impact that was so evident on the original version. In fact, despite having a strong (albeit aging) voice, there's not a lot of emotion here: Darlene seems to just be singing old Christmas songs for the sake of singing them.

There are some really good moments on It's Christmas, Of Course, but unfortunately, there's quite a few not-so-good ones as well. If you're a fan of Darlene's old-school R&B vocal style, or of 1980s pop, or even a collector of Christmas songs, this album may be worth your while. But for everyone else, this isn't an essential addition for your music collection.