The Beach Boys were one of the earliest modern-era rock acts to provide its audience with original Christmas songs, so Mike Love was right there at the start, and still there later when they made a second attempt in the 1970s that was only released a couple decades later. Love had previously done holiday singles, but 2018 is the first time he went for a whole Christmas album. The best things here are opening track "Celestial Celebration," the Hanson track "Finally It's Christmas" with Hanson on board, a new version of the unreleased Beach Boys song "Alone on Christmas Day," and a faithful remake of "Little St. Nick." The title song, "Must Be Christmas" and the version of "Jingle Bell Rock" are just OK, and the remaining versions of "Do You Hear What I Hear," "Away in a Manger," "Bring a Torch," "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "O Holy Night" are mainly filler featuring Love's family members taking vocal turns.
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