It's not very often that one can say with certainty in the music business that any particular group is the very best of its type in the world. Yet we can say as much with this barbershop chorus as they have 11 gold medals to prove it ­ more than any other chorus in history. We therefore always have high hopes of their new recordings and expect something close to perfection. Well once again they surpass themselves on this holiday gem. One of the things that always impress is how such a sweet, sometimes so gentle; sound can come from such a large chorus of male only voices. Director (and arranger of many of the songs) Jim Clancy truly has a talent for coaxing the very purest of sound from a chorus. There is the occasional accompanied Christmas ornamentation and some very strong solosby Jay Dennis, Steve DeCrow and Jeff Oxley but it's the harmony that counts, and this recording has some of the best!

Listen to Birthday of a King in RealAudio.