Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Benson have assembled some gospel heavyweights (such as Fred Hammond, Hezekiah Walker, Commissioned, Angelo And Veronica), brought in some up-and-coming acts (eg, Veritas, Kim Rutherford and that very black sounding white man Gary Oliver) and got them all to perform Christmas songs which range from the unimaginative (Angelo And Veronica's "O Come All Ye Faithful") to the superlative (Fred Hammond And RFC's "He Is The Reason"). There are some trad gospel sounds (the Colorado Mass Choir and Hezekiah Walker), a touch of jazz (Ben Tankard's cocktail lounge version of "Away In A Manger") and some pretty funky R&B sounds. Not absolutely convinced it has the cohesiveness of an album but with generous playing time, and some mighty vocalists on offer, this is a lot better than many a Christmas offering.

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