The album received generally favorable reviews . The New Yorker commented that Dylan had welded a pre @-@ rock musical sound to " some of his croakiest vocals in a while " , and speculated that Dylan 's intentions might be ironic : " Dylan have a long and highly publicized history with Christianity ; to claim there 's not a wink in the childish optimism of ' Here Come Santa Claus ' or ' Winter Wonderland ' is to ignore a half @-@ century of biting satire . " In USA Today , Edna Gundersen pointed out that Dylan was " revisiting yuletide styles popularized by Nat King Cole , Mel Tormé , and the Ray Conniff Singers . " Gundersen concluded that Dylan " couldn 't sound more sentimental or sincere " .