| Holiday for Swing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 30, 2014 | |||
| Recorded | December 25–31, 2013[1] | |||
| Studio | Abbey Road Studios | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 42:41 | |||
| Label | Republic | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Seth MacFarlane chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Holiday for Swing | ||||
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Holiday for Swing is the second studio album and firstChristmas album by American actor and singerSeth MacFarlane, released byRepublic Records on September 30, 2014.[1][2] The album is a collection of Christmas songs and contains collaborations with artists includingNorah Jones andSara Bareilles.[1] It also featuresFrank Sinatra's bassistChuck Berghofer as well as a 65-piece orchestra.[1][3] The album is the follow-up to MacFarlane'sGrammy-nominated 2011 debut albumMusic Is Better Than Words. LikeMusic Is Better Than Words,Holiday for Swing was produced and conducted by film and television composerJoel McNeely.[4]
On May 15, 2014, it was announced that MacFarlane had completed his first Christmas album and that it would be released in time for the 2014 holiday season.[4] MacFarlane said that the record label suggested doing a Christmas album as a follow-up to his first album.[5] He said regarding Christmas music, "Honestly, I'm not a huge Christmas-music guy, nor the most religious—surprise, surprise. So the trick was to not be disingenuous but also [to be] fresh. I love orchestral jazz, and it goes hand in hand with great holiday music, so it seemed like a good fit for me."[6]
The album was recorded between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve 2013 in Los Angeles and in studio 2 atAbbey Road Studios in London.[1][3][4] In an interview withBillboard, MacFarlane explained why the album was recorded during the holidays nearly one year before its release:
"Generally with a holiday album, you find yourself making the recordings during the summer or any time but Christmas, with this one we actually lucked out. Part of it was because we didn't want to bump up against the production schedule forTed 2, which is not an ideal time to be recording anything with 12 to 15-hour days shooting a movie. It worked out nicely, and it was just a pure joy to do."[1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| Los Angeles Times | [8] |
Holiday for Swing received mostly positive reviews frommusic critics upon its release.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine ofAllMusic rated the album three stars out of five and states: "Apart from the ever so slight notion that he's singing with a wink borrowed from Burl Ives – a tell that gives away his status as a Gen-Xer weaned on Rankin & Bass holiday productions – MacFarlane plays it straight, even when he's camping it up with Sara Bareilles on "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (Norah Jones is the other guest, singing on "Little Jack Frost Get Lost"), and this sincerity plays out in his favor."[7]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let It Snow" | Vaughn Monroe | 3:04 | |
| 2. | "Christmas Dreaming" |
| Frank Sinatra | 2:49 |
| 3. | "I'll Be Home for Christmas" | Bing Crosby | 3:55 | |
| 4. | "Little Jack Frost Get Lost" (featuringNorah Jones) | Frankie Carle and His Orchestra | 2:36 | |
| 5. | "Snow" | 3:01 | ||
| 6. | "Marshmallow World" | Crosby | 2:16 | |
| 7. | "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" | Frank Loesser | Margaret Whiting | 5:00 |
| 8. | "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (featuringSara Bareilles) | Loesser | 3:01 | |
| 9. | "Mele Kalikimaka" | Robert Alexander Anderson | Crosby and theAndrews Sisters | 2:35 |
| 10. | "Warm in December" | Sidney Keith Russell | Julie London | 3:19 |
| 11. | "Moonlight in Vermont" | Whiting | 4:02 | |
| 12. | "Everybody's Waiting for the Man with the Bag" |
| Kay Starr | 2:46 |
| 13. | "The Christmas Song" | TheKing Cole Trio | 4:17 | |
| Total length: | 42:41 | |||
Credits adapted fromAllMusic:[9]
| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard 200[10] | 51 |
| USTop Jazz Albums (Billboard)[11] | 3 |
| USHeatseekers Albums (Billboard)[12] | 1 |
| USTop Holiday Albums (Billboard)[13] | 8 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States[14] | September 30, 2014 |
| Republic |
