Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 23, 1993 TAG: 9312250119
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By TOM SHALES
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Connick is the immensely agreeable pop singer who has awakened new generations to the joys of big-band music, carrying on grandly in the Sinatra style. Naturally the special includes several glibly upbeat holiday tunes, from the opening ``Sleigh Ride'' through ``Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' and that other nutty item from the '50s, ``All I Want for Christmas (is My Two Front Teeth).''
But Connick shows he has emotional as well as musical range, doing a solid job on more serious seasonal songs like ``Blessed Dawn of Christmas Day'' and a finale called ``When My Heart Finds Christmas.'' Guest star Carol Burnett joins him briefly in the last quarter of the show for a dramatic vignette built around the song ``What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?''
Burnett's appearance is fleeting but she makes the most of it, looking great and getting entirely into the spirit of a little fantasy about a janitor (Connick) who meets a big Broadway star (Burnett) backstage after a performance.
There are, however, no actual carols, unless you count a couple of snippets tossed around by Connick and guest Aaron Neville, the very breathy and whispery singer who, like Connick, hails from New Orleans.
After a few lines of ``Ave Maria,'' Connick tells Neville, ``That's incredible, man. I like to do those old numbers, too.'' Not everyone will be amused by Connick's referring to songs they consider sacred as ``those old numbers.'' But he means well. And he sings well, too.
Connick is continuing in a noble television tradition here, and if there's anything television has in short supply, it's noble traditions. In earlier days, singing stars like Perry Como, Andy Williams and, of course, Bing Crosby--Mr. Christmas himself--always hosted annual holiday specials.
Some of the best were directed by video veteran Dwight Hemion, who also happens to have directed Connick's, too. Thus a continuum.
Connick is most at home singing and swinging in his tux in front of his classy band, a band that brings back memories of Doc Severinsen's ``Tonight Show'' troup. The new rule in television appears to be that the only music allowed anywhere is rock, rap or country. Too bad. We're only getting a teeny portion of the spectrum.
Unfortunately, as Christmasy specials go, Connick's comes up a little short in the warmth department. He has an infectious smile, an affable manner, and an accent so lilting that he seems almost to be singing even when he just talks. But he doesn't make you feel like you just gulped down a mug of hot cocoa. Maybe only Crosby could really pull that one off.
On an episode of ``Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' that aired in the `70s, a famous bandleader appeared on the screen and declared, ``I'm Guy Lombardo, and when I go, I'm taking New Year's Eve with me.'' Lombardo did go, and some may feel New Year's Eve has never been the same.
But every year around this time, Bing's balmy voice is always only a radio away. He didn't take Christmas with him. No one could.
Connick's special was produced on film, rather than tape, which gives it a softer and warmer look, and suggests CBS hopes it will join the long, long list of holiday perennials. It certainly makes a bright and sparkling addition to the group. Connick is 99 44/100 percent pure charm.
And to quote one of the lines from one of the standards sung in the show: ``Although it's been said, many times, many ways--Merry Christmas to you.''
by CNB