Christmas Eve and Other Stories
| Christmas Eve and Other Stories | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Trans-Siberian Orchestra | ||||
| Released | October 15, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1995-1996 | |||
| Length | 62:03 | |||
| Label | Lava Records | |||
| Producer | Paul O'Neill and Robert Kinkel | |||
| Trans-Siberian Orchestra chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Christmas Eve and Other Stories is the debut album by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
It was released on October 15, 1996, and is the first album in their "Christmas trilogy", with The Christmas Attic (1998) and The Lost Christmas Eve (2004) coming after it. All three albums, as well as their The Ghosts of Christmas Eve DVD, were featured in the The Christmas Trilogy box set.
The story is about 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.) Cover art created by Edgar Jerins.[2]
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.[3]
On November 28, 2011, Christmas Eve and Other Stories was certified Triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of three million copies in the United States.[4]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "An Angel Came Down" | Franz Gruber, Paul 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 (Instrumental)" | 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
- Paul O'Neill - Producer
- Robert Kinkel - Co-Producer
- Dave Wittman - Recording and Mix Engineer
Performers
Vocals
Solos:
- Zak Stevens
- John Margolis
- Marlene Danielle
- Michael Fawcette
- Thomas Faresse
- Ken Williams
- Babi Floyd
Back-Ups:
- Zak Stevens
- Nancy Jackson
- Peggy Harley
- Latasha Spencer
- Danielle Lander
- Jeffrey Stackhouse
- Timothy Carosi
- Peter Valentine
Child choir
Conductor:
- Anthony Piccolo
Choir:
- Joseph Murray
- Adrian Ross
- Nigel Tangredi
- Warren Wilson
- Beth Butler
- Cabiria Jacobson
- Rachel Rosenfield
- Caroline Ross
Instrumental
Solos
- Cello - Mary Wooten
- French Horn - John Clark
Orchestra
- Robert Kinkel - Piano and Keyboards
- Johnny Lee Middleton - Bass
- Jon Oliva - Piano, Keyboards and Bass Guitars
- 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)"
References
- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ Interview with Edgar Jerins
- ↑ "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". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2011-12-01.