Merry Christmas, Baby

As with all Christmas albums, the joy is in hearing old favourites sung by a beloved voice, but this isn’t simply an exercise in sentimental nostalgia. There’s a reverent “We Three Kings” in which Stewart and Mary J. Blige recapture the awe and devotion of the star-led travelers, a slinky country take on “Blue Christmas,” and a beatific “Silent Night” that first brings in a children’s choir, then the rest of the family to send it home harmoniously. As an extra-special gift, there’s “Red-Suited Super Man,” a Stewart original in which he swings like his hero Sam Cooke.