Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Sal is a smooth voiced singer from Pennsylvania and this is a rather impressive entrance into the crowded field of Christmas music albums. Credit must go to Bruce Greer and Mary Dawson who produce five tracks here and also composed the excellent new song "Only Those", a mid tempo number with a bubbling keyboard riff. Elsewhere, the musical partnership even manage to breathe some new life into "Good King Wenceslas" (thanks largely to a nice synth bass riff). Unfortunately, the five tracks produced by Marty Mellinger and Sal himself are far less interesting with the singer's lounge versions of "Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bells" sounding exactly like the kind of smooth snow flake-flecked muzak piped around airports this time of year. Throughout this album Sal's voice is as smooth and warm as a mug of hot chocolate. But he needs a batch of original songs of the calibre of "Only Those" to go beyond his existing bunch of supporters.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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