Even if you don’t know you do, you know who Burl Ives is. It may be only from his role as the sunglasses-wearing snowman in the claymation Christmas movies, but you know who he is. And even when he isn’t singing about the colors of reindeers’ noses, Mr. Ives brings the same timeless gentility to everything he does, as opposed to Bing Crosby, whose charm was lost as soon as he strayed from the fireplace-glow that made his Christmas songs so unforgettable. Burl Ives, on the other hand, is aware of the magic he conjures, and he casts his spell upon every song on this record.