Fans of Fiona Mackenzie may already know she's a regular on BBC television and radio. They may also know she won the An Comunn Gaidhealach Gold Medal in 2005, or that she's the Mairi Mhor Gaelic Song Fellow for Highland Council. Having said all that, I have to confess I couldn't completely get behind her double CD, Duan Nollaig: A Gaelic Christmas.

Ms. Mackenzie calls Duan Nollaig a "unique album of both traditional and contemporary Scottish Gaelic Christmas songs and carols, in excitingly fresh arrangements, marrying different styles and cultures to hopefully to [sic] suit all musical tastes." Unfortunately, trying to suit all musical tastes in one collection means a portion of the offerings risk failing to appeal to any one individual listener. Such was the case for me.

The opening track ("The Blessed Infant") gets off to a bad start and for me is a sour note. Too sticky-sweet to be interesting, the instrumental stylings fall alarmingly close to "elevator music". In particular, the flute in this one makes me cringe. Right off the mark I'm afraid that an effort to "suit all musical tastes" means sanding off all interesting edges of songs until nothing remains but bland commercial pablum.

The second track does nothing to alleviate my fears. Ms. Mackenzie's voice is unrelentingly flawless, but already I see a running theme of cloying, over-sweet arrangements and styling, particularly in the accompaniment. This problem crops up repeatedly throughout the two-disc set, most notably in the first two tracks and in "In the Bleak Midwinter."

I was greatly relieved when the third song, "Song of Christmas," picked up the pace and the appeal. It's the first hint of something more interesting in the offing, slow and melodic, with an unusual but distinctly Gaelic flavor. Other songs grew on me after a couple listenings, such as "There Were Shepherds in an Eastern Country," in which the simpler accompaniment makes for a more pleasing effect, and "Great Christmas Night," sung completely unaccompanied to showcase Mackenzie's vocal control and talent.

A favorite off Duan Nollaig: "A Child of Bethlehem" from the first disc. It's the first track in which the musical accompaniment adds to the loveliness of Mackenzie's voice, rather than detracting. The haunting piano and more wistful-sounding minor chords are pure perfection. Track Seven of the same disc, "When Rose That Sun of Righteousness," is also more interesting than most, with a ballad-style approach to the arrangement and a very modern feel to the accompanying piano (lyrics by Tiree Bard John Maclean, 1787-1849). Other favorites include "New Year Song," for being more melancholic, beautiful, and superbly well-suited to Ms. Mackenzie's voice; and the final track of the first disc -- "Halleluiah" -- just because it's so amazingly cool to hear a Leonard Cohen song in Gaelic.

"Mary's Joy" is another track with the same interesting ballad approach to the presentation. But like the overwhelming majority of the tracks on both discs, it just doesn't evoke the sense or spirit of a Christmas song. Not so with the lovely a cappella "Christ Child's Lullaby," traditionally sung during Christmas Eve midnight mass on the isles of Barra, Eriskay, and South Uist. Mackenzie must like this one, too; it reappears with slight variations on the second disc.

Another overtly recognizable Christmas tune is "Silent Night." The first verse, sung unaccompanied by Michael Klevenhaus, is beautiful, reminiscent of the echoing halls of a church or concert chamber. Unfortunately, when the instruments enter, the beauty of this distinctively Christmas piece flies right out the window. The musical accompaniment descends into what I can only describe as "shopping mall music." Again, here's a modern-sounding arrangement ostensibly made to appeal to a wider audience, but losing all interesting edges and planes of the traditional piece. It becomes a rather bland dish, like pasta without herbs or sauces.

With the majority of these songs, when they manage to steer clear of "elevator" mode, they are ... nice. Nothing more.

I liked the second disc considerably less. More diverse presentation and arrangement are attempted with this one, perhaps in response to Ms. Mackenzie's stated intention to appeal to children and to fill a "need for Christmas songs for use in ... (Gaelic nurseries) and Gaelic Medium classes in schools." The styling ranges from rock-n-rollish to country-twangish, often deliberately trying for a more child-friendly sing-along quality. The songs become lullaby-like at times (sometimes overtly so, as in "Sleep My Baby Sleep" and "Away in a Manger"). Most inexplicable, and perhaps my least favorite offering of the entire enterprise, is "He is Rushing," a hoedown-style Santa song set to the tune of "She'll be Coming 'Round the Mountain." They lost me at the "Yeee-hawwww" opener.

I tended to prefer the more traditional-sounding tracks, but a couple modern arrangements won me over as well, most notably "The Robin" by Angus Macphee of North Kessock, Inverness. It was apparently inspired by a disgruntled robin observed on a snowy lawn one winter morning. Translation snippet: "Why do you look so angry ... do you think we put the seed out just for you?"

My favorite actual Christmas-sounding song (of which I would classify fewer than a quarter of the tracks overall) was a gorgeous rendition of "On the First Day of Christmas." The Gaelic translation seems to have a slightly different flavor from traditional English versions. The liner notes indicate "Thrushes, doves, cuckoos, turkeys and owls have frequent mentions -- along with the card full of kisses and a dozen roses!"

Now there's a Christmas song I can get behind.