Wintersong is the sixth album and first Christmas album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, released in October 2006. It was produced by longtime collaborator Pierre Marchand and includes contributions from Jim Creeggan of Barenaked Ladies.[6] The album also includes a collaboration with Jazz musician Diana Krall.[7] In 2007, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In 2015, all songs from Wintersong plus five more tracks were released as The Classic Christmas Album.
| Wintersong | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 17 October 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 1994, Spring-Summer 2006[1] | |||
| Genre | Christmas music | |||
| Length | 45:43 | |||
| Label | Nettwerk (Canada) Arista (US) | |||
| Producer | Pierre Marchand | |||
| Sarah McLachlan chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Blogcritics | (?)[3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[4] |
| Slant Magazine | [5] |
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" | John Lennon, Yoko Ono | 3:28 |
| 2. | "What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)" | William Chatterton Dix | 3:31 |
| 3. | "River" | Joni Mitchell | 4:02 |
| 4. | "Wintersong" | Sarah McLachlan | 3:31 |
| 5. | "I'll Be Home for Christmas" | Walter Kent, Kim Gannon | 3:15 |
| 6. | "O Little Town of Bethlehem" | Phillips Brooks, Lewis Redner | 3:51 |
| 7. | "The First Noel / Mary Mary" | Traditional | 5:00 |
| 8. | "Silent Night" | Josef Mohr, Franz X. Gruber | 3:48 |
| 9. | "Song for a Winter's Night" | Gordon Lightfoot | 3:48 |
| 10. | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane | 3:44 |
| 11. | "In the Bleak Mid-Winter" | Christina Rossetti, Gustav Holst | 3:46 |
| 12. | "Christmas Time Is Here" (featuring Diana Krall) | Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson | 3:59 |
A "sampler" CD exists, featuring similar artwork on a cardboard sleeve, which omits "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", "I'll Be Home for Christmas", "Song for a Winter's Night", and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".
Singles edit
"River" was released as a single from that album in September 2006.[8] The song was performed in mid-October on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Ellen DeGeneres Show and reached No. 71 in the Billboard Hot 100.[9] McLachlan's video for "River" premiered on Yahoo! music, on 1 November 2006. Silent Night from this album was used in an ASPCA commercial
Charts edit
| Year | Single | Chart | Peak position[9] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | River | Billboard Hot 100 | 71 |
| 2006 | Pop 100 | 70 | |
| Hot Digital Songs | 66 | ||
| 2007 | Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 8 | |
| Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas | Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 6 | |
| Happy Xmas (War Is Over) | Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 5 |
Sales edit
Wintersong debuted on the Billboard 200 album sales chart at number 42, selling about 20,000 copies in its first week.[10] The album later peaked at number 7 on the chart.[11]
Wintersong was also the best-selling holiday album of 2006 in the United States according to sales figures from Nielsen/SoundScan, with total sales of 759,000 copies that year.[12]
On 13 December 2007, Wintersong was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of one million copies in the U.S.[13] In Canada, it has sold over 200,000 copies, and has been certified Double Platinum.[14]
On the week of 17 December 2011, the album re-entered the Billboard 200 at number 195.[15]
Personnel edit
- Sarah McLachlan - Vocals, Piano, Harp, Dobro[16]
- Pierre Marchand - Keyboards, Programming, Synth Bass, Quartet Manipulations, Vienna Keyboard Strings
- Jim Creeggan - Double Bass
- Colin Cripps - Guitar, Dobro
- Diana Krall - Piano on "Christmas Time Is Here".
- Ashwin Sood - Drums, Percussion
- Luke Doucet - Guitar
- Bill Dillon - Acoustic & Electric Guitar, Mandolin, Bass
- Bob Doige - Sleigh Bells
- Daryl Johnson - Bass
- Vince Mai - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
- Brian Minato - Bass
- David Kershaw - Keyboards
- David Sinclair - Guitar
Charts edit
Weekly charts edit
|
Year-end charts edit
|
Certifications and sales edit
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[23] | 3× Platinum | 300,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[25] | Platinum | 1,100,000[24] |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Brian Dakss (5 December 2006). "Sarah McLachlan's Atypical Christmas CD". CBS News. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ "Blogcritics review". Archived from the original on 6 January 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2006.
- ^ "Entertainment Weekly review". Archived from the original on 25 April 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ^ Slant Magazine review
- ^ Katie Hasty (6 August 2006). "McLachlan Salutes Holiday Season On New CD". Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2006.
- ^ Wintersong SarahMcLachlan.com Retrieved 18 May 2007
- ^ News SarahMcLachlan.com Retrieved 18 May 2007
- ^ a b Sarah McLachlan Billboard.com Retrieved 18 May 2007
- ^ Katie Hasty, "Diddy Scores First No. 1 Album In Nine Years", Billboard.com, 25 October 2006.
- ^ Artist chart history for Sarah McLachlan (albums), Billboard.com.
- ^ "Chart Watch Extra: Bring On Christmas!". Billboard. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
- ^ "RIAA Searchable Database – Gold & Platinum Certifications". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
- ^ CRIA Gold & Platinum certifications for January 2007 Archived 26 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
- ^ "Music Albums", Billboard.com, 8 December 2011.
- ^ AllMusic Allmusic.com Retrieved 18 May 2007
- ^ "Sarah McLachlan Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ "Sarah McLachlan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ "Sarah McLachlan Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ a b "Nielsen Music 2006 Year End Music Industry Report for Canada". Nielsen SoundScan. Archived from the original on 25 February 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Paul Grein. "Chart Watch Extra: Bring On Christmas!". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 11 December 2009. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "2007: Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Sarah McLachlan – Wintersong". Music Canada. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- ^ Keith Caulfield. "Sarah McLachlan Talks 'Challenge' of Making New Holiday Album & Secrets of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ "American album certifications – Sarah Mc Lachlan – Wintersong". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 26 October 2016.