Christmas Is Almost Here
Christmas Is Almost Here is the 19th studio album, and first Christmas album, by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Rhino Entertainment, on October 22, 2002.[1]
| Christmas Is Almost Here | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 22, 2002 | |||
| Recorded | in Room 139, The Peninsula Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA January 2002 | |||
| Genre | Christmas music | |||
| Length | 36:40 | |||
| Label | Rhino | |||
| Producer | Don Was & Carly Simon | |||
| Carly Simon chronology | ||||
| ||||
The album peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart.[2] Simon embarked on promotional tour that included a handful of television appearances, such as Good Morning America,[3][4] The Caroline Rhea Show,[5] Live with Regis and Kelly,[6] Howard Stern, and The Today Show. Simon's son, Ben Taylor, accompanied her on many of these promotional appearances. Willie Nelson duets with Simon on "Pretty Paper".[7]
Reception and release history
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    link |
Writing for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger rated the album 21⁄2-stars-out-of-5, and wrote "Christmas albums by major veteran pop stars long past their commercial prime are usually not highlights of their catalogs, and for the most part this isn't an exception", but "this is definitely an above-average holiday offering. Don Was' presence as co-producer ensures some creativity and diversity to the sound, as do the contributions of top session players like Jim Keltner, Billy Preston, and Benmont Tench. Simon's vocals are strong, and most surprisingly, one of the two originals, "The Land of Christmas (Mary)," is not only pretty straight-ahead and gutsy, but sounds a lot better than most of the contemporary material she did on her secular records in the 1980s and 1990s. It's not an exciting release by any means, but it's not as immediately forgettable as many holiday efforts by similar performers are."
Simon re-released the album the following year with two bonus tracks, "White Christmas" (with Burt Bacharach) and "Forgive" (with Andreas Vollenweider).[8] Borders released special limited copies in 2010 with the bonus track "The Night Before Christmas", from Simon's soundtrack album to the 1992 film This Is My Life.[9] The previous year the song had been added to the MP3 version of the album.[10]
Track listings
Original 2002 release
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Christmas Is Almost Here" | Livingston Taylor | 4:00 |
| 2. | "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful" | Traditional | 3:39 |
| 3. | "The Land of Christmas (Mary)" | Carly Simon | 3:18 |
| 4. | "Silent Night" | Joseph Mohr, Franz Gruber | 3:09 |
| 5. | "Twelve Gates to the City" | Traditional | 3:09 |
| 6. | "I'll Be Home for Christmas" | Kim Gannon, Walter Kent, Buck Ram, Carly Simon | 2:23 |
| 7. | "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" | Traditional | 3:04 |
| 8. | "Heaven" | Lucy Simon, Carly Simon | 3:10 |
| 9. | "Pretty Paper (duet with Willie Nelson)" | Willie Nelson | 3:29 |
| 10. | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane | 3:07 |
| 11. | "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" | John Lennon, Yoko Ono | 4:12 |
| Total length: | 36:40 | ||
Expanded 2003 re-release
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Christmas Is Almost Here" | Livingston Taylor | 4:00 |
| 2. | "White Christmas" | Irving Berlin | 2:45 |
| 3. | "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful" | Traditional | 3:39 |
| 4. | "The Land of Christmas (Mary)" | Carly Simon | 3:18 |
| 5. | "Silent Night" | Joseph Mohr, Franz Gruber | 3:09 |
| 6. | "Twelve Gates to the City" | Traditional | 3:09 |
| 7. | "I'll Be Home for Christmas" | Kim Gannon, Walter Kent, Buck Ram, Carly Simon | 2:23 |
| 8. | "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" | Traditional | 3:04 |
| 9. | "Heaven" | Lucy Simon, Carly Simon | 3:10 |
| 10. | "Pretty Paper (duet with Willie Nelson)" | Willie Nelson | 3:29 |
| 11. | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane | 3:07 |
| 12. | "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" | John Lennon, Yoko Ono | 4:12 |
| 13. | "Forgive" | Carly Simon, Andreas Vollenweider | 1:23 |
| Total length: | 40:48 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "The Night Before Christmas (from the soundtrack album This Is My Life)" | Carly Simon | 3:41 |
| Total length: | 43:29 | ||
Personnel
Musicians
- Carly Simon – vocals, acoustic guitar (3, 4, 5, 8, 11), arrangements (7)
- Deron Johnson – synthesizers (1)
- Billy Preston – organ (5), lead vocals (5)
- Benmont Tench – organ (7), acoustic piano (11)
- Rob Mathes – acoustic piano (8)
- Adam MacDougal – acoustic piano (9)
- Mickey Raphael – harmonium (9)
- Dean Parks – acoustic guitar (1, 2, 6, 9)
- Mark Goldenberg – electric guitar (1, 5, 7), 12-string acoustic guitar (11)
- Joel Shearer – dobro (2), guitar (4, 11), acoustic guitar (7)
- Judd Fuller – acoustic guitar (9), mandolin (9)
- Willie Nelson – guitar (9), lead vocals (9)
- Chris Chaney – bass (1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11)
- Jim Keltner – drums (1, 3, 7, 9, 11)
- Andreas Vollenweider – harp
- Arnold McCuller – harmony vocals (4, 7, 11)
- Ben Taylor – harmony vocals (4, 11), lead vocals (7)
Production
- Carly Simon – producer
- Don Was – producer, engineer (1-4, 6-11), mixing (1, 3, 4, 7-11)
- Ed Cherney – mixing (2, 5, 6), recording (5)
- Jimmy Parr – mixing (4, 7, 9, 11), recording (7, 9)
- J.D. Andrew – assistant engineer
- Nick Brophy – digital editing
- Bob Ludwig – mastering at Gateway Mastering (Portland, ME).
- Robin Hurley – A&R
- David McLees – A&R
- Blue Cullen – production coordinator
- Cindi Peters – production coordinator
- Denise Searle – production coordinator
- Jimmy Edwards – product manager
- Sheryl Farber – project assistant
- Gary Peterson – project assistant
- Tim Scanlin – project assistant
- Julie Vlasak – art direction, design
- Peter Simon – cover photography
- Max S. Gerber – other photography
References
- "Carly Simon Official Website – News (2002)". Archived from the original on October 13, 2002. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
- Billboard.com. "Carly Simon Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
- "Carly Simon - Silent Night". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- "Twelve Gates To The City - Carly Simon". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- "I'll Be Home For Christmas - Carly Simon". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- "Carly Simon with Regis and Kelly". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- "Pretty Paper - Carly Simon & Willie Nelson". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- "Carly Simon – Christmas Is Almost Here". Archived from the original on December 6, 2003. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
- "Christmas Is Almost Here [Borders Exclusive Edition]". Discogs.com. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
- "Carly Simon Official Website – News (2009)". Archived from the original on November 20, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2014.