Originally released in 1985, The Spirit of Christmas is one of the great Christmas albums. It’s adult—a rarity—and musically sophisticated. Where many artists caricature themselves when they cut seasonal music, Charles embraced the breadth of his talents. “What Child is This” moves from a hushed, patient verse into a swinging, big band break featuring Freddie Hubbard, then “Little Drummer Boy” includes a soulful Brother Ray vocal, country touches, and an extended coda during which he ad libs on the Fender Rhodes while the Raelettes repeat “Me and my drum.” He nods to the kid-oriented nature of the holiday with lighter versions of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “Rudolph, the Red- Nosed Reindeer,” the latter of which is genuinely funky. Even they swing and have a complexity that is often missing from Christmas music, and the lesser known tracks—Brook Benton’s “This Time of Year,” “All I Want for Christmas” and the oftcollected “This Christmas” being the highlights—remind us that the limitation of any musical genre is the limit of the artist’s imagination. The Spirit of Christmas shows how remarkable Charles’ imagination was.