| The Christmas Sessions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 27, 2005 (2005-09-27) | |||
| Recorded | December 2004–Summer 2005 | |||
| Studio | Maximedia (Dallas, Texas); Oxford Sound (Nashville, Tennessee);Abbey Road Studios (London, England, UK). | |||
| Genre | Christmas,rock,pop rock,adult contemporary | |||
| Length | 44:48 | |||
| Label | INO/Epic | |||
| Producer | ||||
| MercyMe chronology | ||||
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The Christmas Sessions is the firstChristmas album by AmericanChristian rock bandMercyMe. The album, produced byBrown Bannister, was released on September 27, 2005. The band, who greatly enjoy Christmas, had previously recorded Christmas songs and enjoyed the process so much that they wanted to produce a full-length album. After releasing a studio album in early 2004, they decided to take time off; they realized they could record a Christmas album over that period and began work in December 2004. The band, aiming to produce arock-oriented album, recruited Bannister, a noted rock producer, to produce it. In addition to one original song, "Joseph's Lullaby", the album consists of covers of both modern and traditional Christmas songs that the band members had listened to when growing up.
Upon its release,The Christmas Sessions received positive reviews from critics. Praise was offered for the album's production qualities, as well as the change in direction for MercyMe and the band's take on the traditional songs. Minor criticism was directed at lead vocalistBart Millard's vocals, as well as at individual songs. The album reached a peak of number three on theBillboardChristian Albums chart, number ten on theHoliday Albums chart, and number sixty-four on theBillboard 200; it has beencertified gold by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Multiple songs from the album appeared on record charts, including "Joseph's Lullaby", which peaked at number one on theChristian Songs chart; "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Little Drummer Boy" also appeared in the top ten on the chart, peaking at numbers nine and ten, respectively, and "Silent Night" reached a peak of number six on theAdult Contemporary chart.
According toBart Millard, the lead vocalist for MercyMe, the band enjoys the Christmas season greatly and had recorded songs for compilation albums likeWOW Christmas: Green and had liked the process of taking older Christmas songs and altering them; Millard said that the band "had so much fun doing it that we found ourselves wishing we had a Christmas record of our own".[1] After the band released their third studio albumUndone in early 2004, they decided to take some time off, and realized they could record a Christmas album over that period. Although MercyMe had started as arock band, they become associated with theadult contemporary genre after their single "I Can Only Imagine" became successful. In creatingThe Christmas Sessions, the band incorporated more elements fromrock music and other genres; Millard described it as "the most 'rock' album we've done" and noted they did not concern themselves with the album's direction, saying "we didn’t have to worry about which direction we went. We just made the record we wanted to make".[1]
MercyMe began recording the album over Christmas 2004, and put the "finishing touches" on it over the following summer. The band brought in rock producerBrown Bannister, who had previously recorded albums for artists likeAmy Grant andSteven Curtis Chapman, to produce bothThe Christmas Sessions and theirnext studio album, which would also utilize a rock sound.[1] In selecting songs forThe Christmas Sessions the band wanted to cover Christmas songs they had grown up with, but they did write and record one original song, "Joseph's Lullaby". Millard had initially written it as "Mary's Lullaby" but changed the lyrics and key upon suggestion from Bannister's wife, who noted that, being male, it was odd for him to be singing from the perspective ofMary as opposed toJoseph.[2]
The Christmas Sessions has been described as a rock[1][3][4] andpop rock album;[5] influences fromcountry andjazz were also noted.[5] "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" has been described as being astadium rock song incorporating musical elements similar to rock bandsU2 andColdplay;[5] "I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day", apower ballad, was also described as being similar to U2 in sound.[6] "Gloria" is a reinterpretation of "Angels We Have Heard on High", modifying themelody of the song's chorus.[6] "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" utilizes a "multilayered arrangement... that sounds as if it were tailored for aSuper Bowl halftime show".[7] The song, along with "Little Drummer Boy", begins with a rock-oriented opening before transitioning into a power ballad form.[3]
"Winter Wonderland/White Christmas" is amedley of the two songs, described as being similar to a mix of aDixieland band withthe Beatles.[5] "Christmas Time Is Here" usesbrass instruments in its arrangement, similar to that ofChicago-area bands.[7] "Silent Night", which features Amy Grant singing background vocals,[1] has been described as having a country[6] orcountry pop arrangement.[8] "Away" is an instrumental piece with a simple arrangement.[9] "Joseph's Lullaby", the album's only original song, has been described as "emo-influenced", portraying both the night of Jesus' birth as well as the night after it.[8] The ballad's arrangement featurespiano[8] andstring instruments.[9]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [6] |
| Christianity Today | [5] |
| Cross Rhythms |   [3] |
| Jesus Freak Hideout | [9] |
| The New York Times | (positive)[8] |
The Christmas Sessions received positive reviews from music critics. Rick Anderson ofAllmusic gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising the album's overall rock tone. Anderson offered a small amount of criticism concerning Millard's vocal delivery, saying he "can be a bit mannered", as well as criticizing the country sound of "Silent Night" as "ill-advised", but he praised the band's version of "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day".[6] Russ Breimeier ofChristianity Today, who gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, praised the album's diverse sound. Although he described the band's influences on some songs as being "a little too obvious", Breimeier stated that "MercyMe is clearly improving as a band".[5] Daniel Cunningham ofCross Rhythms awarded the album 8 out of 10 squares, stating that the album exceeded his expectations. He described the album as being "fresh-sounding" and felt the album's mix of older and newer Christmas songs would give it a wide appeal.[3] Jesus Freak Hideout's Spencer Priest gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, praising the album as "outstanding" and feeling that the use of instruments like thetrombone,trumpet, andmandolin in some songs made them stand out in comparison to other renditions.[9]Kelefa Sanneh ofThe New York Times praised the album as a whole, calling it "one of the year's most enjoyable holiday CDs". He also felt the band's musical changes to the traditional songs showed their care for them.[8]
The Christmas Sessions was released on September 27, 2005.[10] It debuted at number 47 on theBillboardChristian Albums chart[11] and number 175 on theBillboard 200.[12] The album reached a peak of number three on the Christian Albums chart[13] and number 64 on theBillboard 200,[14] and also debuted and peaked at number ten on theHoliday Albums chart.[15]The Christmas Sessions ranked as the twenty-third best-selling Christian album of 2006.[16] It has beencertified gold by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying the equivalent of 500,000 albums sold.[17]
The album spawned a number of charting songs. Three songs ("Joseph's Lullaby", "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", and "Little Drummer Boy") charted inside the top ten of theBillboardChristian Songs chart, peaking at number one, nine, and ten, respectively."It Came Upon a Midnight Clear", "Gloria", "O Holy Night", "Silent Night", and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" also appeared on the chart.[18] "Silent Night" peaked at number six on theAdult Contemporary chart, with "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", "Joseph's Lullaby", and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" also charting on that format.[19]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" | Edmund Sears | 4:39 |
| 2. | "Gloria" | Traditional | 4:13 |
| 3. | "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" | Traditional | 3:31 |
| 4. | "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" | Johnny Marks | 2:31 |
| 5. | "Winter Wonderland/White Christmas" | Felix Bernard,Irving Berlin | 3:46 |
| 6. | "Christmas Time Is Here" | Vince Guaraldi,Lee Mendelson | 3:42 |
| 7. | "Silent Night" | Franz Gruber,Joseph Mohr | 4:16 |
| 8. | "Away" (instrumental) | James R. Murray | 2:08 |
| 9. | "Little Drummer Boy" | Harry Simeone,Katherine Kennicott Davis, Henry Onorati | 3:18 |
| 10. | "I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day" | Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Johnny Marks | 5:07 |
| 11. | "O Holy Night" | Adolphe Adam,John Sullivan Dwight | 3:53 |
| 12. | "Joseph's Lullaby" | Brown Bannister,Bart Millard | 3:44 |
| Total length: | 44:48 | ||
Credits taken from Allmusic[20]
Additional musicians
| Production and Technical
|
| Charts (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard 200[14] | 64 |
| USBillboardChristian Albums[13] | 3 |
| USBillboardHoliday Albums[21] | 10 |
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Christ [18] | US AC [19] | ||
| 2004 | "O Holy Night" | 24 | — |
| 2005 | "Joseph's Lullaby" | 1 | 33 |
| "Silent Night" | 30 | 6 | |
| "Little Drummer Boy" | 10 | — | |
| "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" | 22 | — | |
| 2006 | "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" | 9 | 34 |
| "Gloria" | 26 | — | |
| "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" | 37 | 25 | |
