Dean Martin's Christmas music is satisfying in ways that his arguably more talented peers (including Frank Sinatra, Nat "King" Cole, and Johnny Mathis) did not manage to achieve. Why? Unlike those legendary crooners - who grew generally stuffy on their respective holiday platters - Dino got loose (pun intended). On Making Spirits Bright (1998) (or the subsequent upgrade, Christmas With Dino), Martin sounds like he's having fun - more full of horny vigor (or spiked punch) than pious reflection on the season - capturing the same sexy, silly, lubricious vibe that made him such a loveable cad onscreen.

Making Spirits Bright compiles seasonal recordings from 1953 to 1966, including some rare singles and selections from two Christmas albums for two different labels: A Winter Romance (Capitol, 1959) and The Dean Martin Christmas Album (Reprise, 1966). A Winter Romance (repackaged in 1965 as Holiday Cheer) is far the better of the two, a typically suave, sexy Martin LP - though it's as much a concept album about winter as a traditional Christmas album. Rather than blathering on about Santa and Frosty, most of the songs revolve, literally, around romance in winter - c.f. "Baby It's Cold Outside" and "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm." Rudolph, however, pokes his nose in near the conclusion....

A Winter Romance has been reissued on CD twice (more counting imported versions). The first version - a 1994 reissue by Capitol - contains one bonus track, Martin's smokey chestnut "The Christmas Blues" (1953). The second version - part of a restoration of Martin's catalog by Collector's Choice - is superior in most ways, including the comparatively hefty four bonus tracks. But, none of those tracks are Christmas songs - meaning, obviously, that none of them are "The Christmas Blues." Too bad.

The Dean Martin Christmas Album was recorded after Dino switched to Reprise, a label founded by his Rat Pack peers. But, by the mid-60's Martin was moving rapidly towards the middle of the road like most old school vocalists. So, unlike A Winter Romance, Christmas Album is a traditional holiday offering - that is, it's a deadly dull affair with little to recommend it beyond Dino's customary croon. Though never reissued verbatim on CD, most of the contents are found on Making Spirits Bright.

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