Reviewed by Tom Lennie

This is a two CD package of Hillsong's two original Christmas outputs - 'Christmas' and 'Celebrating Christmas', dating to the years 2000 and 2005 respectively. There are several good points about this offering. First, it's a two-for-one package, so good value for money if you like the type of music on offer. Secondly, the packaging itself is pretty smart, with the CDs made to look like old 7" vinyl discs, and including a full-lyric booklet. Third, the music on both discs is, as you'd expect from Hillsong, performed and produced to a very high standard. Fourthly, there's a wonderful mix here of old, traditional favourites sitting neatly alongside new Christmas compositions from Hillsong writers (a 50/50 mix, approximately). Fifthly, these are not mushy Christmas songs that focus on Santa Claus or dancing round the Christmas tree. Virtually every one of these tracks focuses instead on Christ - the "real" meaning of Christmas - and all that his coming into the world signifies. Yet another plus feature is the musical format these songs take - not boring and predictable repetitions of old classics, but smart rearrangements of those old (and new) beauties - most songs being performed to slick soulful, gospel or jazzy style. The result is a genuinely worshipful 26-piece set of songs and (a few) instrumentals. Definitely worth considering if you love Christmas music and don't already own either of the original albums.

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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Celebrate Christmas with Darlene Zschech and the Hillsong team, with this beautiful Christmas album.

You will love the diverse songs on this stunning album, featuring a rich array of sounds from ‘big band’ to traditional carols. It’s Christmas is a re-release of previous Hillsong christmas albums Christmas and Celebrating Christmas.