Up until now, there have been only two perfect Christmas albums: Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song," and Johnny Mathis' "Merry Christmas." By perfect, I mean you can't find a song on those albums that is less than first rate.

Country music has never produced a Christmas album that could stand alongside those two classics. Collin Raye, John Berry, Vince Gill, Ricky Van Shelton, and Patty Loveless have come close. But Alan Jackson, with his "Let It Be Christmas," has turned the trick. This album is every bit as good as those all-time pop albums by Cole and Mathis.

Unlike his first Christmas album, which is very good in its own right, Jackson has put it all together here. The song selections (all classics -- except for the one penned by Jackson), the arrangements, and the production are flawless.

You won't find a single song that will disappoint you ... in fact, there is not a single selection that is less than outstanding.

You may be surprised to hear quite a bit of orchestral accompanyment in this album, but it works. LeAnn Womack also integrates lots of non-traditional country instruments in her Christmas album, but it doesn't work nearly as well as it does here.

"The Christmas Song," "Silent Night," and "Away in a Manger," are all challenging songs for a vocalist to pull off. Sing those well, and you can probably handle the other, less-demanding Christmas songs. Jackson produces wonderful versions of all three songs, and throws in equally pleasing versions of standards like "Jingle Bells," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and "O Come All Ye Faithful."

You can buy any number of Christmas albums. But only three are all-time classics. This is one of them.

Postscript: I wrote the above review in October 2002. Three years later (October 2005), this CD remains one of only three 'perfect' Christmas albums ever recorded. I just listened to each song again, and I'm still blown away by how good this is. My 7 year-old daughter, Katie, feels the same way.

First off, I'm not a big fan of country music. I happened to be on the treadmill, flipping channels, on a cold November day, and I noticed the Alan Jackson Christmas special (which I think aired originally in 2002) on CMT. I was going to continue flipping, but I love the Christmas season, so I figured I'd watch. Turns out that I really enjoyed the special. It was very traditional and family oriented, and the songs were also traditional Christmas favorites. After a couple of days, I just couldn't get the excellently arranged songs out of my head, so I went out and bought the cd. I've listened to it dozens of times over the last month, and its the best musical purchase I've made in a long while. I know this cd will now be among my few continuously played Christmas favorites, every holiday season, no question about it. The cd features a great mixture of slow and fast Christmas classics, along with one original song - the cd's title track, "Let It Be Christmas." I'm generally not a fan of original Christmas songs, but this song is worth the entire price of the disc. The music, the lyrics, and everything else about this song is just perfect, and it will bring forth peaceful feelings and fond memories in all but the most scroogish of listeners. I can't do this album justice with words, all I can do is recommend it with my highest praise.

Alan Jackson's first Christmas release, "Honky Tonk Christmas", was a wonderful release. It was original and managed to avoid simply rehashing pop standards and religious numbers that everyone from Bing Crosby (successfully) to Maria Carey (not so successfully) have covered. So I was a bit concerned when I heard that Alan had released a 2nd holiday collection this time consisting of pop standards and religious numbers that everyone from Bing Crosby to... well you get the idea.

The wife wanted it though so we picked it up. Guess what? It works. Alan is a natural for this material. The religious numbers are reverent and beautifully arranged and the pop standards such as "White Christmas" and "The Christmas Song" are delivered with a sincerity and respect for the material that makes them stand up well to other versions - even those by those two guys: Bing and Nat?

"Winter Wonderland", "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", and "Jingle Bells" are all given swinging Big Band arrangements with just enough sense of fun to keep the proceedings from getting too heavy.

The one new number here, a Jackson-penned original entitled "Let It Be Christmas", is a beauty and like his recent hit, "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning", seems to provide just the sentiment that we need in these uncertain times. A very effective number that hopes for love and peace, but acknowledges the "anger and fear and hate" in the world.

Certainly one of the best new Christmas releases in recent memory.

I almost never write reviews but I just had to express how I feel about this CD. If I could give it ten stars, I would. It honestly is that good!! I was moved to tears several times by the sheer beauty of Jackson's renditions of these classic Christmas songs. And the original title track "Let It Be Christmas" had me singing along with a smile on my face the very first time I heard it. It is such a joyful, uplifting song, which truly captures the spirit of the season. If you haven't bought this CD, don't wait another minute. Buy it now!! You won't regret it.

Let there be more! This is a great CD. As for those who have never been exposed to country music...buy this CD and introduce yourself to Alan Jackson. You won't be dissapointed.