Do You Hear What I Hear, various artists (Nettwerk)

The label that brought us the Maybe This Christmas series of Christmas compilations featuring mostly Canadian bands appears to have decided to skip physical copies for 2006 in favor of this download-only album. They kick off with Barenaked Ladies' "Jingle Bells" from their holiday CD and swing into Adrienne Pierce's "Joy Is Within Reach," a bit of a cross between Enya and Nellie McKay. "Welcome Christmas" from the "Grinch" special gets a bluegrass arrangement from the Clumsy Lovers, and Sarah McLachlan was holding out on us with "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," not on her new Wintersong CD. Martha Wainwright's "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" from the McGarrigles' holiday CD is here too. There's a lot of more conventional sounding stuff on here too, like a typical jazz take on "Baby It's Cold Outside" from Gabe Dixon and Leigh Nash and a few others, ending with the Mediaeval Babes' antique approach to "The Holly and the Ivy." A mixed bag as a full album, but you can always download what you like best.