All but two of the dozen tracks were recorded specifically for this compilation; Harry Connick Jr.'s solo piano rendition of "Winter Wonderland" was cut for the movie When Harry Met Sally. Tops on this CD is Rosanne Cash's tender version of "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," accompanied by guitar, violin, and mandola. T-Bone Burnett turns in a sparse "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," with sonorous dobro and violin from Jerry Douglas and Mark O'Connor. Shawn Colvin steams things up a bit with a jazzy "Have Yourself a Merry Christmas," but the most unusual track belongs to the unlikely pairing of Poi Dog Pondering with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band: prepare to second-line for their festive version of "Mele Kalikimaka."