Christina Aguilera's biggest problem thus far in her career has been working with subpar material, so unleashing her booming voice on a disc's worth of tried and true Christmas standards would seem to be an ideal solution. Indeed, Aguilera shines on "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," as she moves up and down the scales with enough flair to dazzle without crossing over into ostentatious vocal acrobatics. And "Merry Christmas, Baby," a sultry duet with Dr. John, delivers the blues-diva promise suggested by Aguilera's live Etta James covers. Unfortunately, Aguilera's
Kind Of Christmas also includes Dianne Warren dreck; two of the lamest choir-assisted conclusions since Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is"; and the goofily named cipher "XTina's XMas." Celebrity Status and Ron Fair, the team behind "Come On Over," contribute more polished pop product with the album's funky opener, "Christmas Time," but the rest of the new tunes are harder to devour than hardened fruitcake.
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