The Spirit of Christmas (Michael W. Smith album)
The Spirit of Christmas | ||||
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Studio album by Michael W. Smith | ||||
Released | September 30, 2014 | |||
Genre | Holiday, CCM, country | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Producer | Robert Deaton, David Hamilton, Michael W. Smith | |||
Michael W. Smith chronology | ||||
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The Spirit of Christmas, officially titled as Michael W. Smith & Friends: The Spirit of Christmas is a duet Christmas album by Christian recording artist Michael W. Smith, released on September 30, 2014, through Capitol Records. This is Smith's fourth Christmas album. His previous Christmas album, It's a Wonderful Christmas, was released in 2007.
Background
This album features duets with several country music artists, including Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, Martina McBride, and Vince Gill.[1] Other artists on it include U2 frontman Bono, Amy Grant, and Michael McDonald.[2] Bono is featured in spoken word on the track "The Darkest Midnight."[3]
Promotion
Cracker Barrel sponsored Smith's 2014 "Spirit of Christmas Tour",[4] which started on November 30, 2014, and finished on December 21, 2014. The tour features a full symphony and consists of 14 shows, 3 of which were co-headlined with Amy Grant.
Critical reception
Jeffrey Lee Puckett for The Courier Journal said the album "gets the season of holiday Christmas albums off to a big start."[5]
Commercial performance
The album sold 4,000 copies in its first week of release, debuted at No. 80 on the Billboard 200[6] and peaked at No. 16 as of December 2014.[7] It also reached No. 13 on Top Album Sales Chart which counts traditional album sales and does not include streaming.[8] On the Top Christian Albums Chart, the album debuted at No. 5 and peaked at No. 1.[6] This marks Smith's third new album for 2014 to enter the Billboard 200. He previously released Sovereign, which debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, selling 16,000 copies;[9] and Hymns, which debuted at No. 25 with 12,000 copies.[10] As of January 2015, The Spirit of Christmas has sold 145,000 copies.[11]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
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1. | "The Miracle of Christmas" | Michael W. Smith | 1:43 | |
2. | "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" | Edward Pola, George Wyle | 2:38 | |
3. | "Happy Holiday / Holiday Season" | Irving Berlin, Kay Thompson | 3:06 | |
4. | "Christmas Time Is Here" (featuring Vince Gill) | Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson | 3:00 | |
5. | "White Christmas" (featuring Lady Antebellum) | Berlin | 3:49 | |
6. | "Somewhere in My Memory" (featuring Audrey Smith and the Nashville Children's Choir) | John Williams, Leslie Bricusse | 3:21 | |
7. | "The Spirit of Christmas" (medley: Deck the Halls/Good King Wenceslas/O Little Town of Bethlehem/Feels Like Christmas/O Come All Ye Faithful) | Traditional; arr. by Smith | 5:21 | |
8. | "Silent Night" (featuring Little Big Town) | Traditional | 4:18 | |
9. | "What Child Is This?" (featuring Martina McBride) | Traditional | 4:20 | |
10. | "Almost There" (featuring Amy Grant) | Smith, Amy Grant, Wes King | 3:38 | |
11. | "All Is Well" (featuring Carrie Underwood) | Smith, Wayne Kirkpatrick | 3:55 | |
12. | "Christmas Day" (featuring Jennifer Nettles and the Nashville Children's Choir) | Smith, King, Cindy Morgan | 3:13 | |
13. | "The Darkest Midnight" (with spoken word by Bono) | Traditional; arr. by Smith | 1:39 | |
14. | "Peace" (featuring Michael McDonald) | Beth Nielsen Chapman, McDonald | 3:11 |
Personnel
- Michael W. Smith: vocals (2-6,8-12,14), piano (6-12,14), synth (13), arrangements (6,7,8,9)
- David Hamilton: piano (2,3,5), synth (1,9,12,13), Rhodes (4), celeste (1,6,7), percussion (9), arrangements (4,5), orchestra arrangements & conductor
- Chris Rodriguez: guitars (2,3,5,8,9,10,12)
- Mark Baldwin: guitars (2,3,5,8,9,12)
- Tom Hemby: guitars (4)
- Vince Gill: vocals & guitar solo (4)
- Craig Nelson: upright bass (2-5), bass guitar (9,12)
- Scott Williamson: drums (2-5,9,12)
- Josephine Knight: cello solo (8)
- Tyler Smith: percussion programming (9)
- Skip Cleavinger: low whistle (13)
- The London Session Orchestra (1,2,3,5,6,7,9-12,14)
- Thomas Bowes: concertmaster
- Isobel Griffiths & Susie Gillis: contractors
- Backing vocals (3): Laura Cooksey, Stephanie Hall-Wedan, Mark Ivey & David Hamilton
- Lady Antebellum: vocals (5)
- Audrey Smith: vocals (6)
- Little Big Town: vocals (8)
- Martina McBride: vocals (9)
- Becca Hamilton: backing vocals (9)
- Amy Grant: vocals (10)
- Carrie Underwood: vocals (11)
- Jennifer Nettles: vocals (12)
- Bono: spoken word (13)
- Michael McDonald: vocals (14)
- The Nashville Children's Choir, directed by Kyle Hankins (6,12)
- Choir (10): Melodie Kirkpatrick (contractor), April Duren, Shelley Jennings, Shelly Justice, Michelle Swift, Tammy Jensen, Jamiee Paul, Jason Barton, Mike Eldred, David Wise, Rod Fletcher & Gary Robinson
- Production
- Produced by Robert Deaton, David Hamilton & Michael W. Smith
- Executive Producers: Robert Deaton, Gregory Ham & Michael W. Smith
- Production Manager: Ken Johnson
- Rhythm tracks recorded by Rob Burrell, assisted by Kam Luchterhand
- Edited by Rob Burrell & David Hamilton
- Mixed & Mastered by Rob Burrell
- Orchestra recorded by Chris Barrett, assisted by Fiona Cruickshank
- All vocals recorded by Rob Burrell, assisted by Richard Swor; MWS & Vince Gill vocals (4) recorded by Rob Burrell; MWS vocals (5,8,9,11,14) recorded by David Hamilton, assisted by Brad Pooler; Audrey Smith vocal (6) recorded by Brad Pooler; Martina McBride vocal (9) recorded by Allen Ditto; Amy Grant vocal (10) recorded by Matt Rausch; Michael McDonald vocal (14) recorded by Mark Casselman
- Backing vocals (3,9), celeste (6,7) & low whistle (13) recorded by David Hamilton
- Piano recorded by Rob Burrell (6,7,8,14) & Chris Barrett (10,11)
- Children's choir (6,12) recorded by Rob Burrell, assiated by Richard Swor
- Vince Gill guitars (4) recorded by Matt Rausch
- Guitars (10) recorded by Brad Pooler & Rob Burrell
- Choir (10) recorded by David Schober
- Photography: Cameron Powell
- Grooming: Christin Cook
- Wardrobe Stylist: Tasia Treimer
- Art & Design: Sarah Sung
Charts
- Album
Chart (2014) | Peak position |
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US Billboard 200[12] | 16 |
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[13] | 13 |
US Christian Albums (Billboard)[14] | 1 |
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[15] | 13 |
US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)[16] | 1 |
- Songs
Year | Song | US peak chart positions | ||||
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Christian [17] |
Christian Airplay[18] |
Christian Digital[19] |
Christian AC[20] |
Christian Soft AC[21] | ||
2014 | "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" | 38 | 24 | – | 13 | – |
"Happy Holiday / Holiday Season" | 39 | 22 | – | – | – | |
"White Christmas" (featuring Lady Antebellum) | 39 | – | – | – | – | |
"Silent Night" (featuring Little Big Town) | 48 | – | – | – | – | |
"Almost There" (featuring Amy Grant) | 27 | 35 | – | – | 19 | |
"All Is Well" (featuring Carrie Underwood) | 6 | 22 | 3 | 30 | – | |
"Christmas Day" (featuring Jennifer Nettles) | 49 | – | – | – | – |
References
- ↑ Horton, Carrie (August 24, 2014). "Michael W. Smith Announces Christmas Album with Lots of Country Stars". Taste of Country. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
- ↑ Stephens, Samantha (August 19, 2014). "Carrie Underwood, Lady A Get Festive With Michael W. Smith". CMT. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
- ↑ Paulson, Dave (August 30, 2014). "Michael W. Smith, Bono team up on Christmas album". The Tennessean. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
- ↑ "Michael W. Smith Partners with Cracker Barrel Old Country Store for 'Spirit of Christmas Tour' [TOUR DATES]". Christian Music, Christian Music News, BREATHEcast. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- ↑ Puckett, Jeffrey Lee (September 30, 2014). "Prince pops back with two new albums". The Courier Journal. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Caulfield, Keith (October 12, 2014). "Billboard 200 Chart Moves: Herb Alpert Returns After 27-Year Absence". Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- ↑ "Michael W. Smith - Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
- ↑ "Michael W. Smith - Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
- ↑ Caulfield, Keith (May 21, 2014). "The Black Keys Earn First No. 1 Album, Michael Jackson Debuts At No. 2". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ↑ Caulfield, Keith (April 4, 2014). "Chart Moves: 'God's Not Dead' Sales Surge, London Grammar Gains, Karmin's Full-Length Arrives". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ↑ Christman, Ed (January 9, 2015). "Music in 2014: Taylor Takes the Year, Republic Records on Top, Streaming to the Rescue". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
- ↑ "Michael W. Smith Album & Song Chart History" Billboard 200 for Michael W. Smith.
- ↑ "Michael W. Smith - Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
- ↑ "Michael W. Smith Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Christian Albums for Michael W. Smith.
- ↑ "Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Digital Albums for Michael W. Smith. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ↑ "Michael W. Smith Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Top Holiday Albums for Michael W. Smith. Prometheus Global Media.
- ↑ "Michael W. Smith Album & Song Chart History - Christian Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Michael W. Smith - Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Michael W. Smith - Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Michael W. Smith - Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Michael W. Smith - Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
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