A Christmas Album
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
Top
A Christmas Album
- Artist: Amy Grant
- Rating:
- Release Date: 1983
- Total Time: 37:35
- Type: Christmas, Lyrics are included with the album
- Genre: Gospel
Review
At the age of 22, Amy Grant took another step in her career by issuing her first Christmas album in 1983. It was a logical-enough release for a Christian performer, but also one that suggested she was an established headliner, an artist whose versions of standards like "The Christmas Song" and "Little Town" (aka "O Little Town of Bethlehem") would be interesting to listeners because she was singing them. In her carefully planned march to mass popularity, the album represented at least one tentative outreach in a musical direction Grant would not pursue. The leadoff track, "Tennessee Christmas," found her husband and co-writer, Gary Chapman, playing a pedal steel guitar on a song that seemed intended to probe the country market and that actually earned some country radio play. But despite being a scion of the Nashville aristocracy (i.e., the wealthy families that long predated the rise of country music in the city), Grant was never really a country artist, and the rest of the album, cut at James William Guercio's Caribou Ranch studio complex, reflected the increasing influence of West Coast pop on her sound, with Los Angeles studio aces like Lenny Castro, Bill Champlin, Victor Feldman, Richard Page, and Dean Parks among the credits. Also increasing his influence was songwriter/keyboardist Michael W. Smith, who contributed such songs as "Emmanuel," a synthesizer-heavy pop/rock track that could have fit on one of Grant's regular albums. So could some of the other material, in fact. A Christmas Album was a record for the audience Grant had attracted with her 1982 breakthrough (and about to be gold) LP, Age to Age, an audience of Christian rock fans attracted by her personal approach to faith. It looked forward to her straddling of secular and CCM music, and as her star rose, it sold well perennially, eventually achieving multi-platinum status, helping associate Grant with the Christmas season as she went on to record more seasonal albums and tape holiday specials. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi| A Christmas Album (1967 Album by Barbra Streisand) | |
| A Christmas Album (2002 Album by California Guitar Trio) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
A Christmas Album (Amy Grant album)
| A Christmas Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Amy Grant | ||||
| Released | September 27, 1983 | |||
| Recorded | July 3-August 26, 1983, Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado |
|||
| Genre | Gospel/Christian | |||
| Length | 37:35 | |||
| Label | Myrrh | |||
| Producer | Brown Bannister | |||
| Amy Grant chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [1] |
A Christmas Album is the seventh album by Christian music singer Amy Grant, released in 1983. The release was Grant's first of many Christmas albums.
A Christmas Album was issued on the heels of Grant's immensely successful 1982 LP Age to Age. Primarily for the audiences she attracted with Age to Age, A Christmas Album featured well-known religious and secular standards alongside original songs. Although not as successful as Age to Age, A Christmas Album still peaked in the Top Ten of the Christian chart and spawned a Top 20 Christian radio single in "Emmanuel." A Christmas Album would eventually be certified gold in 1985, and platinum in 1989. A Christmas Album was listed at No. 40 in the 2001 book, CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music.
|
Contents
|
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tennessee Christmas" | Amy Grant, Gary Chapman | 4:33 |
| 2. | "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" | William H. Cummings, Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Wesley | 2:53 |
| 3. | "Preiset Dem Konig! (Praise the King!)" | Shane Keister | 1:39 |
| 4. | "Emmanuel" | Michael W. Smith | 2:54 |
| 5. | "Little Town" | Phillips Brooks, Chris Eaton, Lewis H. Redner | 2:47 |
| 6. | "Christmas Hymn" | Grant, Smith | 2:32 |
| 7. | "Love Has Come" | Grant, Keister, Smith | 4:02 |
| 8. | "Sleigh Ride" | Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish | 3:35 |
| 9. | "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire)" | Mel Tormé, Robert Wells | 3:45 |
| 10. | "Heirlooms" | Grant, Bannister, Bob Farrell | 3:42 |
| 11. | "A Mighty Fortress/Angels We Have Heard On High" | Traditional | 5:00 |
Personnel
- Amy Grant: Vocals, Background Vocals, Liner Notes
- Gary Chapman: Guitars, Pedal Steel, Background Vocals.
- Jon Goin: Guitars.
- Paul Leim: Guitar, Drums, Sleigh Bells, Wood Block, Simmons Drums, Linn.
- Dean Parks: Guitars.
- Mike Brignardello: Bass.
- Lenny Castro: Percussion.
- Victor Feldman: Percussion, Shaker.
- Farrell Morris: Percussion, Glockenspiel, Shells, Bell Tree.
- Michael W. Smith: Piano, Vocoder.
- Shane Keister: Synthesizer, Piano, Fender Rhodes, Memory Moog, Mini Moog, Oberheim OB8.
- Thomas McAninch: Horn.
- Bill Champlin: Background Vocals.
- Tamara Champlin: Background Vocals.
- David Page: Background Vocals.
- Richard Page: Background Vocals.
- Steve George: Background Vocals.
- Debbie Hall: Background Vocals.
- Sandy Hall: Background Vocals.
- Edie Lehmann: Background Vocals.
- Carmen Twillie: Background Vocals.
- with the Hollywood Presbyterian Choir.
Production
- Producer: Brown Bannister
- Executive Producer: Michael Blanton, Dan Harrell, Gary Chapman.
- Engineer: Jack Joseph Puig, Jim Baird, Mike Ross, Ken Corlew, Gene Eichelberger, Brent King.
- Mixed by: Jack Joseph Puig.
- Mastered by: Doug Sax.
- Horn Arrangements, String Arrangements, Choir Arrangement, Woodwind Arrangement: Alan Moore.
- Design: Dennis Hill
- Cover Art Concept: Michael Blanton, Dan Harrell.
- Photography: Mike Borum.
- Artwork, Photography, Scenery: Bill Farrell.
- Choir Director: Fred Bock.
Charts
Album – Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Top Contemporary Christian | 9 |
| 1985 | Top Holiday Albums | 5 |
| 1991 | Top Pop Catalog | 5 |
Singles – CCM Magazine (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Emmanuel" | Christian Radio–Adult Contemporary | 20 |
Awards
| Year | Winner | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | A Christmas Album | Recorded Music Packaging of the Year |
Pressings
A Christmas Album was the first Amy Grant album to be released in the Compact Disc format. The original CD issue had a manufacturing flaw that caused a small, but noticeable jump during the transition between tracks 3 and 4. The remastered version does not have this defect. The album was also released as a promotional only vinyl picture disc version in a die cut sleeve.
Overview
 |
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. |
References
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
Read more
Mentioned in
O Holy Night
(1959 Album by Marion Williams)
Keith Foley
(Jazz Artist, '80s)
Marie-Michele Desrosiers
(Vocal Music Artist, '90s)
Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas
(1960 Album by Ella Fitzgerald)
Christmas Sing-Along with Mitch
(1958 Album by Mitch Miller and the Gang)
» More