Joy (Steven Curtis Chapman album)
| Joy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Steven Curtis Chapman | ||||
| Released | October 16, 2012 | |||
| Genre | CCM, Christmas music | |||
| Length | 44:57 | |||
| Label | Reunion | |||
| Producer | Steven Curtis Chapman, Brent Milligan | |||
| Steven Curtis Chapman chronology | ||||
| ||||
Joy (stylized JOY) is a holiday studio album by Contemporary Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman. His fourth Christmas album, it has seen commercial charting success, and garnered generally positive reviews from music critics.
History
Released on October 16, 2012,[1] Joy is Chapman's first release with Reunion Records.[2] It is one of several Christmas albums that Chapman has done over the past few years.[3] The album was produced by Chapman and Brent Milligan.[2] The African Children's Choir performs on several tracks.[4][5]
The cover art conveys the 1950s styling that characterizes a number of the songs, as it depicts "an old-school microphone, vintage guitar, Chapman in black and white with a starry tinsel-colored background and red banner, all right out of the '50s".[5]
Music and lyrics
Seven of the album's 13 tracks are renderings of traditional Christmas carols such as "Joy to the World" and "We Three Kings"[6] as well as popular modern Christmas songs such as "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"[7] and "Do You Hear What I Hear?". Chapman employs a full range of orchestration and his "trademark acoustic/pop sound" on these songs,[6] and shows his versatility for a variety of musical arrangements on his own original compositions, including a piano ballad, slow jazz tune,[6] and 1950s-style rockabilly.[2]
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Christian Music Zine | 4.25/5[6] |
| CM Addict |   [8] |
| Cross Rhythms | [9] |
| Indie Vision Music | [4] |
| Jesus Freak Hideout |  [10] |
| The Phantom Tollbooth | [5] |
| Worship Leader | [11] |
Joy received generally positive reviews from music critics. Worship Leader rated the album four-and-a-half stars and called it another classic.[11] Brendan O'Regan of Cross Rhythms rated it eight out of ten, and stated that the songs had been given a "fresh and contemporary makeover".[9] At Jesus Freak Hideout, Jen Rose rated it three-and-a-half stars, and wrote that it was "bright and fun and certainly lives up to its name".[10] Jonathan Andre of Indie Vision Music, who rated the album three stars, said it was "one of [Chapman's] best",[4] and at The Phantom Tollbooth, Michael Dalton rated it four stars, and called it "one of the best releases of the season".[5] Joshua Andre of Christian Music Zine rated it 4.25 out of five, and wrote that it has "vulnerable, moving and pertinent songs".[6] At CM Addict, Grace Thorson rated it four stars, and said it was "full of joy" for the holiday season.[8]
Commercial performance
Joy was No. 185 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart for December 15, 2012,[12] and reached No. 7 on the Christian Album chart.[13]
Track listing
| Tracklist | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Joy to the World" | Lowell Mason, Isaac Watts | 3:12 | |||||||
| 2. | "Christmas Time Again" | Caleb Chapman, Steven Curtis Chapman | 3:13 | |||||||
| 3. | "Christmas in Kentucky" | S.C. Chapman | 4:17 | |||||||
| 4. | "Do You Hear What I Hear?" | Noël Regney, Gloria Shayne Baker | 4:10 | |||||||
| 5. | "Christmas Kiss" | S.C. Chapman | 3:24 | |||||||
| 6. | "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" | Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne | 2:27 | |||||||
| 7. | "Christmas Time Is Here" | Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson | 2:28 | |||||||
| 8. | "What Child Is This?" | William Chatterton Dix | 3:40 | |||||||
| 9. | "In the Bleak Midwinter" | Gustav Holst, Christina Rossetti | 3:25 | |||||||
| 10. | "Christmas Card" | S.C. Chapman | 3:55 | |||||||
| 11. | "We Three Kings" | John Henry Hopkins, Jr. | 4:27 | |||||||
| 12. | "I Am Joseph (God Is with Us)" | S.C. Chapman | 3:59 | |||||||
| 13. | "Happy New Year" | S.C. Chapman | 2:20 | |||||||
Total length: |
44:57 | |||||||||
Personnel
- Steven Curtis Chapman: lead vocals, background vocals (1-4,7-13), acoustic guitar (1-4,8-12), electric guitar & guitar solo (2,5), guitars (6,7), mandolin (1,3), percussion (1,7), banjo (3), glockenspiel (4,10), piano (13)
- Brent Milligan: bass guitar (1,3,4,6,7,8,10,11,12), Arco bass (1,4), upright bass (2,5), percussion (1,3,8,10), vibraphone (2,5), keyboards (4), cello (7,8,9,12), baritone guitar (9), electric guitar (10), glockenspiel (10,13)
- Dan Needham: drums & percussion (1-5,8,10,11,12), cymbal swells (13)
- Blair Masters: piano (1,3,4,5,8-12), Hammond B-3 organ, (1-4,10,11,12), French horns (4), keyboards (9)
- Adam Lester: electric guitar (1,2,3,10,11), vibrato electric guitar (5), mandola (8), acoustic guitar (11,12), baritone guitar (11), percussion (1)
- Joe Causey: kalimba (1)
- Danny Gottlieb: drums (6)
- Beth Gottlieb: percussion & jingle bells (6)
- Ben Shive: piano (6)
- John Mark Painter: horns (8)
- Luke Brown: background vocals (3,11)
- Jillian Edwards: background vocals (12)
- Gang vocals (2): Steven Curtis Chapman, Brent Milligan, Adam Lester, Blair Masters & Dan Needham
- The African Children's Choir 38: choir (1,3,4,8)
- String section (1,3,4,11) – David Davidson: violin, David Angell: violin, Kris Wilkinson: viola, & John Catchings: cello
Production
- Producers: Steven Curtis Chapman & Brent Milligan
- A&R: Terry Hemmings & Blaine Barcus
- Recording Engineers: Andy Hunt & Brent Milligan
- Assistant Engineers: Tim Price, Cailon Williams, Robert Gay & Marty Gay
- Drums recorded by Brent Milligan
- Strings recorded by Bobby Shin
- Choir recorded by Bobby Shin & Brent Milligan
- Mixed by F. Reid Shippen, assisted by Eric Jahner (1,3,4,8); Shane Wilson, assisted by Evan Redwine (2,5,6,10,11); Sean Moffitt, assisted by Warren David (7,9,12,13)
- Editing and Tuning: Joe Causey
- Mastered by Dave McNair
Charts
| Chart (2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[14] | 185 |
| US Christian Albums (Billboard)[15] | 7 |
References
- ↑ "Joy". Amazon. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Steve Leggett. "Review by Steve Leggett". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ↑ "Steven Curtis Chapman Finds Joy in Christmas". CBN. Carpenter, Chris. Retrieved 24 December 2013. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Andre, Jonathan (October 13, 2012). "Steven Curtis Chapman – Joy | Reviews". Indie Vision Music. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Dalton, Michael (November 30, 2012). "Chapman, Steven Curtis - Joy". The Phantom Tollbooth. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Andre, Joshua (October 15, 2013). "Steven Curtis Chapman – Joy (Review)". Christian Music Zine. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
- ↑ "Joy – the new album from Steven Curtis Chapman". Christian Today. 8 October 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Thorson, Grace (October 16, 2012). "Review of Joy by Steven Curtis Chapman". CM Addict. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 O'Regan, Brendan (December 5, 2012). "Review: Joy - Steven Curtis Chapman". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Rose, Jen (December 21, 2012). "Steven Curtis Chapman, "Joy" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Staff (December 4, 2012). "Joy". Worship Leader. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
- ↑ "Stephen Curtis Chapman – Billboard 200 Chart History". Billboard. 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
- ↑ "Stephen Curtis Chapman – Chart History Christian Albums". Billboard. 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
- ↑ "Steven Curtis Chapman Album & Song Chart History" Billboard 200 for Steven Curtis Chapman. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
- ↑ "Steven Curtis Chapman Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Christian Albums for Steven Curtis Chapman. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
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