Light of the Stable is the first Christmas album by Emmylou Harris. It was originally released in 1979 by Warner Bros. Records but has since gone through several intervening releases. The 1992 Warner release was a remastered version of the original with a different album cover. The latest edition was released in 2004 by Rhino Records. It contains three newly recorded tracks in addition to remastered versions of the ten original tracks. Its cover came from the record sleeve of the original 45-rpm single version of "Light of the Stable" that was released in 1975. The title song featured harmony vocals from Neil Young, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt.

Light of the Stable
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 1979
GenreCountry, Christmas
Length30.20 (LP): 41:32 (2004 CD)
LabelWarner Bros. Nashville / Rhino
ProducerBrian Ahern
Emmylou Harris chronology
Blue Kentucky Girl
(1979)
Light of the Stable
(1979)
Roses in the Snow
(1980)
1992 alternative Cover
1992 album cover
2004 alternative cover
2004 album cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
The Austin Chronicle[2]

Critical reception

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Mark Deming of AllMusic gives the album 4 out of a possible 5 stars and writes, "Emmylou Harris is an artist with the rare sort of voice that communicates an honest and firmly grounded humanity while possessing a crystalline purity that verges on the angelic. In short, she was a singer born to make a great Christmas album, and in 1979 she did just that with Light of the Stable".[1]

Gavin Edwards lists this album at No, 19 in Rolling Stone's 40 Essential Christmas Albums list. He writes, "Harris has always sung like an angel, and on this 1979 album she played the part, a living herald of joyful Nativity tidings. Some of the other golden-throated seraphim providing backing vocals: Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and, er, Neil Young."[3]

Jim Caligiuri of The Austin Chronicle gives this album 4 stars and says, "Emmylou Harris possesses the voice of an angel, so it only makes sense that her versions of Christmas classics are unequaled, as are special guests Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and Dolly Parton."[2]

Track listing

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Original release

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Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Christmas Time's A-Coming"Tex Logan2:51
2."O Little Town of Bethlehem"Phillips Brooks, Lewis H. Redner3:40
3."Away in a Manger" (with Nancy Ahern)Martin Luther; arr. Jonathan E. Spillman2:37
4."Angel Eyes (Angel Eyes)"Rodney Crowell3:18
5."The First Noel"Traditional2:40
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Beautiful Star of Bethlehem"Arthur L. Phipps3:05
2."The Little Drummer Boy"Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone4:02
3."Golden Cradle" (with Nancy Ahern)Traditional; arr. Nancy Ahern2:05
4."Silent Night"Josef Mohr, Franz Gruber; arr. Brian Ahern3:33
5."Light of the Stable"Steven Rhymer, Elizabeth Rhymer2:29

2004 expanded version

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Christmas Time's A-Coming"Tex Logan2:51
2."O Little Town of Bethlehem"Phillips Brooks. Lewis H. Redner3:40
3."Away in a Manger" (with Nancy Ahern)Martin Luther; arr. Jonathan E. Spillman2:37
4."Angel Eyes (Angel Eyes)"Rodney Crowell3:18
5."The First Noel"Traditional2:40
6."Beautiful Star of Bethlehem"Arthur L. Phipps3:05
7."Little Drummer Boy"Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone4:02
8."There's a Light" (new track)Beth Nielsen Chapman2:54
9."Cherry Tree Carol" (new track)Traditional/arr. Kate McGarrigle/Anna McGarrigle3:33
10."Golden Cradle" (with Nancy Ahern)Traditional/arr. Nancy Ahern2:05
11."Silent Night"Josef Mohr, Franz Gruber; arr. Brian Ahern3:33
12."Man Is an Island" (new track)Kate McGarrigle, Anna McGarrigle, Jane McGarrigle4:45
13."Light of the Stable"Steven Rhymer, Elizabeth Rhymer2:29

Personnel

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Charts

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Album – Billboard
Year Chart Position
1980 Billboard 200 102[4]
1981 Top Country Albums 22[5]

Release history

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Release history and formats for Light of the Stable
Region Date Format Label Ref.
North America November 1979
  • LP
  • cassette
Warner Bros. Records [6]

References

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  1. ^ a b Deming, Mark. Light of the Stable at AllMusic
  2. ^ a b Caligiuri, Jim (24 December 2004). "Light of the Stable". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  3. ^ Edwards, Gavin. "40 Essential Christmas Albums". Rolling Stone Magazine. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Billboard 200". billboard.com. Billboard. 26 December 1980. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  5. ^ "Top Country Albums". Billboard. 16 January 1981. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  6. ^ Harris, Emmylou (November 1979). "Light of the Stable (Liner Notes)". Warner Bros. Records. BSK-3484 (LP); M5-3484 (Cassette).