Rock Bands & Pop Stars
Bette Midler Pictures
Artist:
Bette Midler
Origin:
United States, Patterson - NJUnited States
Born date:
December 1, 1945
Bette Midler Album: «Cool Yule»
Bette Midler Album: «Cool Yule» (Front side)
    Album information
  • Customers rating: (4.5 of 5)
  • Title:Cool Yule
  • Release date:
  • Type:Audio CD
  • Label:
  • UPC:
Customers rating
Track listing
Review - Product Description
This is Bette's first ever Holiday album! Bette delivers the ultimate present - Cool Yule! Experience the excellence of Bette's vocals with delightfully lush arrangements that will help you get into that Holiday spirit! If you are a fan of Bette's, this is a CD you MUST have! It is includes the new holiday version of "From A Distance" with orchestration by Robbie Buchanan and Noel-inspired lyrics. This album is sure to become a new holiday favorite!
Review - Amazon.com
She smiles, she sizzles, she coos, she swings. So goes the lively and completely charming Christmas record by the cheeky Divine one. There's never a note out of place, a chart too excessive, or the sentiments too sentimental. Plus Midler's tasty stable of producers and arrangers have packed the big band and stringed arrangements with their own musical warmth against Midler's smart song choices and contagious vocal performances. Cool Yule mixes the standard traditional pop pieces--like Steve Allen's snappy title track, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and "I'll Be Home for Christmas"--with the sole hymn, "O Come, O Come, Emanuel." But nobody's picking up this stocking stuffer because they want to go to church. Bette's got merrymaking on her mind more than anything else. Her duet with Johnny Mathis on "Winter Wonderland/Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" is as much fun as her "From a Distance (Christmas Version)" is a somber and sobering antiwar statement. How she can move from sounding girlish and playful to sophisticated and jazz-smart in the space of one note to the next may not be supernaturally inspired, but it sure is fun to hear the joyful sounds she makes. From her lips to your ears, you gotta love it. --Martin Keller
Customer review
77 of 80 people found the following review helpful:
- Bette's Cool Yule Shall Rule !!!

This is one incredible Christmas CD from Bette Midler. Bette's first Christmas album is full of great renditions of the standards of this time of year including "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas;" "Ill Be Home For Christmas;" "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?;" "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and "White Christmas." Bette throws in a lot of her own pizzazz and wonderful eggnog with a new song "Cool Yule" and she does a wonderful duet with Johnny Mathis as they perform "Winter Wonderland/Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" Terrific!

The CD opens strong with "Merry Christmas." This song boasts a great musical arrangement and Bette's voice is in excellent form--as it is throughout this album! Then the CD shifts gears and revs up the motors a little bit with "Cool Yule." This song, written by Steve Allen with additional lyrics by Eric Kornfeld, is a lot of fun and you'll be eager to listen to it again and again!

Another fun song on this CD is "Mele Kalikimaka." This is how to say "Merry Christmas" in Hawaiian; this adds a very personal touch to the CD because Bette was born in the state of Hawaii. It offers a great musical composition that starts off with a brief romantic flavor and then twists into a very catchy tune! Could this be a new classic in the making? I think this song will become increasingly popular with time as it is very well written and Bette does a great job with it. The numerous background vocalists are wonderful as well.

Bette Midler fans will recognize the special Christmas version of "From A Distance." It is touching as it was when it was first released and it remains just as relevant today as it was when it was first released in 1990. Newcomers will enjoy this special song as well.

I especially like how Bette masterfully handles the romantic, sentimental lyrics of "I'll Be Home For Christmas" as well as "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" Bette breathes new life into these standards with her beautiful voice, energy and passion.

The quality of the sound is excellent even on a portable CD player. The liner notes are wonderful, too. There are nice photos of Bette both in the liner notes and on the back of the CD artwork, too. You get the song credits and there's a well written essay by Jay Landers. Nice!

Overall, I would recommend this CD for Bette Midler fans and anyone who appreciates beautifully arranged Christmas music. Bette's voice has never sounded better and I applaud her fine efforts to make her first Christmas CD a splendid reality. "Mele Kalikimaka" to you! SMILES

Customer review
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
- We Need A Little Christmas - NOW!

What a treat. The Divine Miss M strikes again. This hasn't been out of the CD player since I brought it home. There is so much to praise - where do I start? The highlights are "Mele Kalikimaka" - which transported me back to those wonderful "Optimistic Voices" from the "Bette Midler" album from the early 1970s. Steve Allen's "Cool Yule" is a wonderful swing number with a great big band feel. The duet with Johnny Mathis on "Winter Wonderland/Let It Snow" is inspired (I adore Johnny Mathis - had a big crush on him when I was a teenager). "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" is delightful, and her reading of Frank Loesser's "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" is perhaps the best I've ever heard. Midler at 60 has reached yet another career peak. Christmas came a little early this year. Hooray!

Customer review
33 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
- Christmas Bette

Disappointing Christmas album. Why do artists refuse to sing all the classics we love at christmas? Duet with Johnny Mathis saves the album.

Customer review
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
- A Cool Yule, Indeed!

We finally have a Christmas release from Bette, and it is signature Bette at her best. I say this as a Christmas release of traditional songs alone would not be her signature style. Here we have a mix of beautiful traditional songs, and some great fun reads as well.

Mele Kalikimaka is a great nod to Bette's home state of Hawaii, and how appropriate this song was first made a Christmas staple by the Andrews Sisters, and Bing Crosby. Her own, Cool Yule is just that, cool !, and

her medley with Johnny Mathis conjures thoughts of Hot Chocolate on the stove.

Bette really shines on her reads of Christmas standards, White Christmas, I'll Be Home For Christmas, and What Are You Doing New Years Eve .

The releases standout is her reworking of From A Distance, as this is the season when we yearn for peace, and goodwill towards all mankind, how appropriate this anti-war song is.

Cool Yule is a Christmas Classic in the making!

Customer review
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
- Have a little Divine at Christmastime

This is not my favorite Midler CD, but how could I have a collection of Christmas music and not include the Divine Miss M?

The openers, "Merry Christmas" and "Cool Yule" made the purchase worthwhile for me. "Cool Yule" got repeated so many times it hit my Top 25 in iTunes in 3 days!

"From a Distance" is a Christmas take on the old standard with a very strong peace on earth message. Very appropriate changes.

So--would I recommend you buy this CD? If you're a Bette Midler fan or a Christmas music collector, this is a great CD to have. If you just want different, listen to the samples of the tracks and just buy a couple.