30 CCM 30 CCM newsboys Christmas! A Newsboys Holiday (Inpop) FOR FANS OF: newsboys, Christmas music QQ The quick five-song offering celebrating the holiday season from the newsboys is confusing to say the least. The mix is all over the place, with a playful “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and “Jingle Bell Rock” placed alongside a heavy-handed, electric “O Holy Night” and an oddly arranged, old- fashioned “The Christmas Song.” It’s a strange compilation to say the least, and in the end, Christmas! lacks any cohesive purpose or vision. –Matt Conner WE LIKE: “O Holy Night” Jason Crabb Because It’s Christmas (Spring Hill) FOR FANS OF: The Crabb Family, Collin Raye, Vince Gill QQQQ He may have started out singing southern gospel with The Crabb Family, but these days Jason Crabb can capture everything from his roots to rock, pop, country and even blue-eyed soul. Just take a listen to one of this season’s most stellar Christmas discs to find his refreshing interpretations of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” “Mary Did You Know” and a handful of equally engaging originals. There simply isn’t any style Crabb can’t conquer and this superb holiday offering is sure to increase fans’ appetites for his next proper studio CD. –Andy Argyrakis Point of GraCe Home For the Holidays (Word/Curb) FOR FANS OF: Wilson Phillips, Amy Grant, Avalon QQQ Considering Point of Grace’s somewhat recent foray into country-influenced pop, Home For the Holidays certainly has a rootsier feel than 1999’s A Christmas Story and 2005’s Winter Wonderland. Though the quality of holiday collections is getting to be excessive, at least the girls are mixing up the formula ever so slightly across several usual suspects (“White Christmas,” “Little Drummer Boy”), a few lighter hearted selections (“Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Candy Cane Lane”) and the crocodile tear-inducing ballad “The Giver and the Gift.” –Andy Argyrakis WE LIKE: “Not So Silent Night” Christmas reviews Christmas All release dates and album titles are subject to change. For the most up-to-date release schedule, visit www.TodaysChristitanMusic.com/NewReleases. Christmas new releases 11.09.2010 DAvE BARNES VeRy MeRRy CHRIsTMAs (RAzOR AND TIE/PROvIDENT) SuSAN BOYLE THe GIFT (INTEGRITY MuSIC/ PROvIDENT) KATHARINE MCPHEE CHRIsTMAs Is THe TIMe To sAy I LoVe you (uNIvERSAL MuSIC/EMICMG)