Search - Rosie O'Donnell & Various Artists :: Another Rosie Christmas

In what looks like another bid for canonization and extreme groovy hipness at the holidays, Rosie O'Donnell sends up in grand style and taste her second annual record of Christmas songs to benefit the For All Kids Foundation. The CD features a sleigh-load of leading contemporary acts and a couple of powerhouses from yesteryear. With more than $1 million going in advance to the foundation--plus proceeds from the 14 artists who sing solo or in collaboration with her bad self--who could even begin to criticize such a magnanimous project? Not even good ol' Santa Claus. Some of the coolest collaborative performances here include a rocking Smash Mouth workout of "Nuttin for Christmas," Macy Gray's delightfully raspy "Winter Wonderland," Billy Gillman's (inevitable) "I'm Gonna E-mail Santa," and a live-in-Detroit version of Robert Earl Keen's recent raucous country classic "Merry Christmas from the Family" with the Dixie Chicks. Donna Summer disco-steps to the appropriate "Rosie Christmas" and Ricky Martin threatens to upstage everyone, including solo performances from Jewel, fellow Latino Marc Anthony, and Barry Manilow. But it's the mesmerizing lyrics and vocal gymnastics of Destiny's Child on the hip-pop song "Spread a Little Love at Christmas" that puts Another Rosie over the top. --Martin Keller