The Spirit of Christmas [Green]

Released in 1985, The Spirit of Christmas arrived at a surprisingly late date in Charles’ career for a first anything — he was 55 at the time —

but it demonstrates a man who still knew how to control his voice and his fingers like few other performers ever could, even if it’s not the perfect Christmas album it perhaps could have been. Most of the blame for such imperfection lies at the feet of its bookends. “What Child is This” opens the album on a somber note but finishes with an upbeat jazz coda that makes little sense in context with its first two minutes. “Christmas Time” closes and is a soup of heavy reverb effects, fatigued vocals, and syrupy production.

- Pop Matters