Chicago 25: The Christmas Album is the nineteenth studio album by the American band Chicago, their twenty-fifth overall, released in 1998 on the band's Chicago Records label. It is an album of Christmas songs. The album was re-issued by Rhino Records in 2003 as What's It Gonna Be, Santa? with six additional, newly recorded tracks.
| Chicago XXV: The Christmas Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 25, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | 1998 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 50:50 | |||
| Label | Chicago Records | |||
| Producer | Roy Bittan | |||
| Chicago chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| What's It Gonna Be, Santa? | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by Chicago | |
| Released | October 14, 2003 |
| Recorded | 1998 and 2003 |
| Genre | Rock, Adult contemporary |
| Length | 74:33 |
| Label | Rhino |
| Producer | Roy Bittan (1998 tracks) and Phil Ramone (2003 tracks) |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [2] |
Produced by Roy Bittan, the original album – featuring Chicago's interpretations of well-known Christmas classics plus one original tune (co-penned by Lee Loughnane) – was very well received upon its release in August 1998, peaking at #47 in the US and going gold during a stay of 7 weeks on the charts. After Chicago entered into a long-term partnership with Rhino Records in 2002, that label re-issued Chicago XXV: The Christmas Album that same year. It was further decided to record six additional Christmas songs – with Hot Streets and Chicago 13 producer Phil Ramone – and re-issue the whole package in 2003 under a new design, title and sequencing, entitled What's It Gonna Be, Santa?, deleting its predecessor in the process. Guitarist Keith Howland sang his first lead vocal on the track, "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas".[citation needed] This later release reached #102 in the US during a stay of 5 weeks on the charts.
Track listings edit
Chicago 25: The Christmas Album edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Little Drummer Boy" | Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone | Champlin/Scheff | 4:05 |
| 2. | "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" | Traditional | Scheff | 3:23 |
| 3. | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane | Champlin and Scheff | 4:02 |
| 4. | "The Christmas Song" | Mel Tormé, Robert Wells | Robert Lamm | 3:39 |
| 5. | "O Come All Ye Faithful" | Traditional | Scheff | 4:46 |
| 6. | "Child's Prayer" | Lee Loughnane, John Durrill | Children's choir, with Scheff | 3:24 |
| 7. | "Feliz Navidad" | José Feliciano | Lamm | 4:17 |
| 8. | "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" | Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie | Champlin/Scheff | 3:56 |
| 9. | "Christmas Time Is Here" | Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson | Lamm | 3:49 |
| 10. | "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" | Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne | Loughnane | 3:29 |
| 11. | "What Child Is This?" | Traditional, William Chatterton Dix | Scheff/Champlin | 4:41 |
| 12. | "White Christmas" | Irving Berlin | Lamm | 2:28 |
| 13. | "Silent Night" | Franz Xaver Gruber, Joseph Mohr | Scheff | 3:18 |
| 14. | "One Little Candle" | George Mysels, J. Maloy Roach | Children's choir | 1:26 |
What's It Gonna Be, Santa? edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Winter Wonderland" | Felix Bernard, Dick Smith | Lamm | 4:19 |
| 2. | "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" | Cahn, Styne | Loughnane | 3:29 |
| 3. | "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" | Benjamin Hanby | Keith Howland | 3:35 |
| 4. | "The Little Drummer Boy" | Davis, Onorati, Simeone | Champlin and Scheff | 3:29 |
| 5. | "This Christmas" | Donny Hathaway, Nadine McKinnor | Scheff | 4:03 |
| 6. | "Feliz Navidad" | Feliciano | Lamm | 4:17 |
| 7. | "Bethlehem" | Bill Champlin, Tamara Champlin | Loughnane, Scheff, with Champlin | 4:07 |
| 8. | "The Christmas Song" | Tormé, Wells | Lamm | 3:39 |
| 9. | "O Come All Ye Faithful" | Traditional | Scheff | 4:46 |
| 10. | "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" | Johnny Marks | Champlin | 3:44 |
| 11. | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | Martin, Blane | Champlin | 4:02 |
| 12. | "Sleigh Ride" | Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish | Loughnane with Scheff | 3:55 |
| 13. | "Silent Night" | Gruber, Mohr | Scheff | 3:18 |
| 14. | "What Child Is This?" | Traditional, Chatterton Dix | Champlin | 4:41 |
| 15. | "Christmas Time Is Here" | Guaraldi, Mendelson | Lamm | 3:49 |
| 16. | "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" | Traditional | Scheff | 3:23 |
| 17. | "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" | Coots, Gillespie | Champlin | 3:56 |
| 18. | "Child's Prayer" | Loughnane, Durrill | Children's choir, with Scheff | 3:24 |
| 19. | "One Little Candle" | Mysels, Roach | Children's choir | 1:26 |
| 20. | "White Christmas" | Berlin | Lamm | 2:28 |
(New additions in italic)
Personnel edit
Chicago edit
- Bill Champlin – organ (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 14–17, 20), backing vocals (1–3, 6–14, 16, 18, 20), arrangements (1, 4, 7, 14, 17), BGV arrangements (1, 2, 6–14, 16, 20), lead vocals (4, 7, 10, 11, 14), synth keyboards (4), synth vibes (6), acoustic guitar (7), brass arrangements (7, 14), acoustic piano (10), electric piano (14, 17), computer programming (14, 17), all vocals (17), guitars (17), synth bass (17), vocal arrangements (17)
- Keith Howland – guitars (1–3, 5–8, 10–12, 14–16, 20), lead vocals (3), backing vocals (3), arrangements (3, 11), BGV arrangements (3), keyboards (11)
- Tris Imboden – drums (1–8, 10–12, 14–18, 20), arrangements (3)
- Robert Lamm – lead vocals (1, 6, 8, 15, 20), acoustic piano (1–3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12), arrangements (1, 6, 8, 15, 20), brass arrangements (1, 8, 15), vibraphone (5), electric piano (6, 15, 16), backing vocals (3), clavinet (10)
- Lee Loughnane – trumpet (1–5, 7, 8, 10–13, 16–18, 20), flugelhorn (1, 6, 13–15, 18), lead vocals (2, 7, 12), arrangements (2, 7, 12, 16, 18), backing vocals (3, 18), muted trumpet (14), brass arrangements (17, 18), piccolo trumpet (18), BGV arrangements (18)
- James Pankow – trombone (1–8, 10–18, 20), brass arrangements (2–6, 8, 10–18, 20), synth keyboards (4), flute arrangements (9), arrangements (10, 13, 16, 19), vocal arrangements (19)
- Walter Parazaider – tenor saxophone (1–6, 8, 10–18, 20), alto flute (1, 9), alto saxophone (6, 7, 13, 14, 16), flute (6, 7, 13, 14, 16), C flute (9)
- Jason Scheff – bass (1–3, 5, 7–9, 12, 16), backing vocals (1–3, 6–14, 16, 18, 20), lead vocals (4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 16), electric upright bass (4, 6, 15, 18, 20), keyboards (9), computer programming (9), arrangements (9), BGV arrangements (9, 10, 13), fretless bass (11, 14), electric bass (17)
Additional musicians edit
- Roy Bittan – organ (4, 10, 18), accordion (4, 6, 18), keyboards (13), synth bells (18), acoustic piano (19)
- George Black – computer programming (9, 13, 18, 19)
- John Durill – synth keyboard (18), additional arrangements (19)
- Tim Pierce – guitars (4, 11), acoustic guitars (9, 19)
- Luis Conte – percussion (4, 6, 8, 9, 16, 20)
- Larry Klimas – baritone saxophone (3, 10)
- Nick Lane – additional arrangements (1)
- Carmen Twillie – backing vocals (6, 11, 20)
Adult choir on "The Little Drummer Boy"
- Carmen Twillie – choir director
- Alex Brown, Tamara Champlin, Alvin Chea, Gia Ciambotti, H.K. Dorsey, Gary Falcone, Edie Lehmann Boddicker, Bobbie Page, Oren Waters, Maxine Waters and Mona Lisa Young – choir
Children's choir on "Child's Prayer" and "One Little Candle"
- Ryan Kelly – children's choir conductor
- Amity Addrisi, Michael Amezcua, Alex Bittan, Ryan Bittan, Clark Gable, Kayley Gable, Kate Lamm, Sean Lamm, Dylan Loughnane, River Loughnane, Sarah Pankow, Brittany Scott and Jade Thacker – lead vocals
Production edit
Chicago XXV
- Produced by Roy Bittan
- Engineered and Mixed by Ed Thacker
- Assisted by Posie Muliadi and Eric Ferguson
- Recorded at A&M Studios (Hollywood, CA); Rumbo Recorders (Canoga Park, CA); Gold Mine Studio (Woodland Hills, CA).
- Mixed at A&M Studios
- Production Coordinator – Valerie Pack
- Art Direction and Design – John Kosh
"What's It Gonna Be, Santa?"
- Produced by Phil Ramone
- Engineered and Mixed by Ed Thacker at Glenwood Place Recording Studios (Burbank, CA).
- Additional Production – Chicago and David McLees
- Sound Supervision – Lee Loughnane and Jeff Magid
- Remastered by David Donnelly at DNA Mastering (Studio City, CA).
- Product Manager – Mike Engstrom
- Discographical Annotation – Gary Peterson
- Editorial Supervision – Cory Fry
- Project Assistants – Jimmy Edwards and Tim Scanlin
- Art Direction – Hugh Brown and Linda Cobb
- Front Cover Photo – Corbis Images
- Additional Photography – Getty Images
Certifications edit
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[3] | Gold | 500,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[4] Reissue |
Gold | 500,000‡ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References edit
- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ "American album certifications – Chicago – Chicago XXV (The Christmas Album)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
- ^ "American album certifications – Chicago – Chicago Christmas: What's It Gonna Be Santa?". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 29, 2023.