Nat King Cole: The Christmas Song

Partridges, as ground-nesting seedeaters, have no business in pear trees, unless they're waiting for said fruit to fall and yield its seed. Or maybe they're hanging out for acoustical purposes, to amplify the marginal snickering that passes for partridge birdsong. Certainly they can't compete as singers with Nat King Colewho could? As for "The Christmas Song," Rudy Reindeer prefers Nat's first recording, despite its being long shelved in favor of remakes with syrupy strings. In any form, though, it's the coolest possible yuletide greeting, with Jack Frost nipping at your nose and partridges dressed like Eskimos in pear trees.