Linda Ronstadt´s A Merry Little Christmas plays, in part, like an old Nat King Cole Christmas record, with orchestrated versions of classics and a knowing vocal command at work on every track. Where Ronstadt makes her departure is midway through the 14-song set, when the CD suddenly becomes an album of sacred music, complete with "The Welsh Carol," "Lo, How a Rose E´re Blooming," the lesser-known "O Magnum Mysterium," and "Past Three O´Clock." Ronstadt´s record also features two producers and two respectable choirs, one from Tucson, Arizona, and the other from Los Angeles, and she works well with them and as a soloist, including her take on what may be this year´s most covered song, Joni Mitchell´s bittersweet lament, "River."