Christmas Eve and Other Stories
| Christmas Eve and Other Stories | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Trans-Siberian Orchestra | ||||
| Released | October 15, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1995-1996 | |||
| Studio | Soundtrack Studios and Studio 900 (overdubs), New York City | |||
| Genre | Christmas, symphonic metal, progressive rock | |||
| Length | 62:03 | |||
| Label | Lava/Atlantic | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Trans-Siberian Orchestra chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Christmas Eve and Other Stores | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10[2] |
Christmas Eve and Other Stories is the debut studio album by the American rock band Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It was released on October 15, 1996 through Lava Records and Atlantic Records. It is the first album in their "Christmas trilogy", with The Christmas Attic (1998) and The Lost Christmas Eve (2004) coming afterward. All three albums, as well as their The Ghosts of Christmas Eve DVD, were featured in the box set of The Christmas Trilogy. The album's cover art was created by Edgar Jerins.[3]
The album became one of the best-selling Christmas albums of all-time in the U.S. and has been certified 3× platinum by the RIAA for selling 3 million copies in the US. As of November 2016, the album track "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" has sold 1.3 million downloads, becoming one of the best-selling Christmas songs of all-time in the US as well.[4]
Composition
The concept of the album revolves around a young man who wanders into a bar on Christmas Eve, where he encounters a mysterious old man who tells him a tale about the magical effect of Christmas Day on the human race. The album takes familiar classical pieces and adds to them new songs and arrangements from both classic and progressive rock influences for which the group is known. The album also contains a mix of vocal and instrumental songs. The primary musicians on the album are all members of the progressive metal band Savatage (Paul O'Neill, the producer of the album, is Savatage's longtime producer). Jon Oliva, one of the principal songwriters on the album, is also a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and original vocalist in Savatage (Oliva is also the voice of Mephistopheles on Beethoven's Last Night).
Commercial performance
As of November 2014, Christmas Eve and Other Stories was the ninth best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States during the Nielsen SoundScan era of music sales tracking (1991 – present), with sales of 3,430,000 copies according to SoundScan.[5] On November 28, 2011, Christmas Eve and Other Stories was certified 3× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of three million copies in the United States.[6]
Track listing
All new lyrics by Paul O'Neill
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "An Angel Came Down" | Franz Gruber, O'Neill, Jon Oliva | 3:52 |
| 2. | "O Come All Ye Faithful/O Holy Night" (instrumental) | John Francis Wade, Frederick Oakeley, John Reading, Adolphe Adam, John Sullivan Dwight, O'Neill, Robert Kinkel | 4:19 |
| 3. | "A Star to Follow" | O'Neill | 3:49 |
| 4. | "First Snow" (instrumental) | O'Neill | 3:53 |
| 5. | "The Silent Nutcracker" (instrumental) | O'Neill | 2:22 |
| 6. | "A Mad Russian's Christmas" (instrumental) | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Kinkel, Oliva | 4:42 |
| 7. | "The Prince of Peace" | Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Wesley, O'Neill | 3:33 |
| 8. | "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" (same recording released in 1995 by Savatage; instrumental) | O'Neill, Kinkel, Oliva | 3:25 |
| 9. | "Good King Joy" | Lowell Mason, Kinkel, O'Neill | 6:36 |
| 10. | "Ornament" | O'Neill, Oliva | 3:37 |
| 11. | "The First Noel" (instrumental) | Traditional, O'Neill | 0:55 |
| 12. | "Old City Bar" | O'Neill | 6:18 |
| 13. | "Promises to Keep" | O'Neill, Kinkel, Oliva | 2:41 |
| 14. | "This Christmas Day" | O'Neill, Oliva | 4:20 |
| 15. | "An Angel Returned" | O'Neill, Oliva | 3:52 |
| Bonus tracks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 16. | "O Holy Night" (instrumental) | Adam, Dwight | 2:39 |
| 17. | "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (instrumental) | Traditional | 1:16 |
| Target bonus tracks | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 18. | "Whoville Medley (Perfect Christmas Night/Grinch)" | 2:38 |
| 19. | "The World That He Sees" | 4:43 |
There is a 2 CD version of Christmas Eve and Other Stories with one CD containing a Special Narrated Version of Christmas Eve and Other Stories. The narrated CD contains one continuous track of music, with narration by Russell Horton between songs. This special edit was done by Robert Kinkel and was produced by Taro Meyer.
Personnel
Performers
Vocals
- Solos
- Zak Stevens
- John Margolis
- Marlene Danielle
- Michael Fawcett
- Thomas Farese
- Ken Williams
- Babi Floyd
- Back-Ups
- Zak Stevens
- Nancy Jackson
- Peggy Harley
- Latasha Spencer
- Danielle Lander
- Jeffrey Stackhouse
- Timothy Carosi
- Peter Valentine
Child choir
- Anthony Piccolo - conductor
- Choir
- Joseph Murray
- Adrian Ross
- Nigel Tangredi
- Warren Wilson
- Beth Butler
- Cabiria Jacobson
- Rachel Rosenfield
- Caroline Ross
Instrumental
- Solos
- Mary Wooten - cello
- John Clark - French horn
- Orchestra
- Robert Kinkel - piano and keyboards
- Johnny Lee Middleton - bass guitar
- Jon Oliva - piano, keyboards and bass guitar
- Paul O'Neill - rhythm guitars
- Al Pitrelli - lead, rhythm and bass guitars
- Jeff Plate - drums
- Chris Caffery - additional guitars on "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)"
Production
- Paul O'Neill - producer
- Robert Kinkel - co-producer, additional engineering
- Zak Stevens - associate producer on track 3
- Dave Wittman - recording and mixing engineer
- Dominick Barbera, John Seymour, Steve Sola - additional engineering
- Ben Arrindell, James Carabello, Matt Thrasher - assistant engineers
- Kevin Hodge - mastering at the Master Cutting Room, New York
References
- ↑ Garcia, Alex S. "Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve and Other Stories review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
- ↑ Popoff, Martin (August 1, 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 455. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
- ↑ Roth, Dan (28 May 2012). "A conversation With Edgar Jerins: the man behind seven classic Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra album covers". Music & Art Interviews.com. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
- ↑ Billboard Staff (November 25, 2016). "What Are the Top-Selling Holiday Songs?". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
- ↑ "The Gifts That Keep on Giving: Biggest Radio and Album Hits of the Holidays". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. December 1, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ↑ "RIAA Searchable Database: search for Trans-Siberian Orchestra". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2011-12-01.