Christmas Spirit (Donna Summer album)

1994 studio album by Donna Summer

Christmas Spirit

Studio album by

Donna Summer

Released| October 4, 1994
Recorded| July 1993 - July 1994
Studio|

* Tejas Recorders (Franklin, Tennessee)
* Sound Shop (Nashville, Tennessee)
* Javelina (Nashville, Tennessee)

Genre| Christmas, R&B[1]
Length| 46:15
Label| Mercury, PolyGram
Producer| Michael Omartian
Donna Summer chronology
| The Donna Summer Anthology
(1993)  | Christmas Spirit
(1994)  | Endless Summer: Donna Summer's Greatest Hits
(1994)

|
|

Christmas Spirit is the sixteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, and her only Christmas album. It was released by Mercury Records on October 4, 1994, in the United States. Christmas Spirit was produced by Michael Omartian, who had collaborated with Summer on the albums She Works Hard for the Money (1983) and Cats Without Claws (1984), both as a producer and composer. Christmas Spirit consists of traditional and well-known Christmas songs and carols, as well as three new original songs and a cover of Amy Grant's "Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)".

Christmas Spirit earned mixed reviews from music critics, many of whom found it solidly crafted but uninspired. Commercially, the album failed to chart during its original release. By 2006, it had sold more than 46,000 copies in the US. In 2005, Christmas Spirit was re-issued by Universal Music on the Mercury label. Re-titled 20th Century Masters: The Best of Donna Summer: The Christmas Collection in 2007, it entered the US Top Holiday Albums at number 40.

## Critical reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [1]
Cross Rhythms| 4/10[2]

Allmusic editor Steven McDonald found that "Summer's contribution to the Christmas album market sounds good, courtesy of producer Michael Omartian, but it's about what you'd expect from the combination of Omartian and Summer: nicely produced, bland versions of songs such as "White Christmas," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and "O Holy Night." Summer gives it a good try, however, and the album does have some appeal, if little forcefulness."[1] Tony Cummings from Cross Rhythms called that album "a major let down. The choice of songs is chronically uninspired with both secular and sacred numbers being chronically over recorded [...] In fact, throughout the album the one-time disco diva hardly has a decent rhythm to sing across such is the dominance of the strings. An album only for saccharine Yuletide tastes."[2] Vibe's Amy Linden felt that Christmas Spirit "is drenched in strings and celestial choirs, but is a bit heavy-handed and lacks the old ho ho ho — which somehow befits this disco queen turned born-again Christian."[3]

## Charts performance

[edit]

Upon release, Christmas Spirit failed to chart on any Billboard chart the United States.[4] By 2006, it had sold more than 46,000 units domestically, according to Nielsen Soundscan.[5] In 2007, the Universal Music-produced reissue of the album entered the US Top Holiday Albums at number 40.[4]

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks produced by Michael Omartian.[6]

No.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "White Christmas"| Irving Berlin| 2:55
2.| "The Christmas Song"|

* Mel Tormé
* Bob Wells

| 4:20
3.| "O Come All Ye Faithful"|

* Frederick Oakeley
* John Francis Wade

| 4:40
4.| "Christmas is Here"|

* Donna Summer
* Michael Omartian
* Bruce Sudano

| 3:22
5.| "Christmas Medley ("What Child Is This?"/"Do You Hear What I Hear?"/"Joy to the World)"|

* William Chatterton Dix
* George Frideric Handel
* Gloria Shayne
* Noël Regney

| 5:20
6.| "I'll Be Home for Christmas"|

* Buck Ram
* Kim Gannon
* Walter Kent

| 3:30
7.| "Christmas Spirit"|

* Summer
* Omartian
* Sudano

| 4:53
8.| "Breath of Heaven"|

* Amy Grant
* Chris Eaton

| 6:04
9.| "O Holy Night"|

* Adolphe Adam
* John Sullivan Dwight

| 4:12
10.| "Lamb of God"|

* Omartian
* Summer

| 7:24

## Personnel

[edit]

* Donna Summer – vocals
* Michael Omartian – acoustic piano (1, 2, 4, 5, 7–10), synthesizers (2, 4, 7, 10), keyboards (6), organ (9)
* Dann Huff – guitars (2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10)
* Jerry McPherson – guitars (2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10)
* Danny O'Lannerghty – bass (2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10)
* Chester Thompson – drums (2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10)
* Ronn Huff – orchestra arrangements and conductor (1, 3, 8)
* The Nashville String Machine – orchestra (1, 3, 8)
* Heritage Children's Choir – children's choir (3, 4, 10)
* Mary P. Stephenson – children's choir conductor (3, 4, 10)
* Rachel Gaines – additional vocals (4)
* Amanda Omartian – additional vocals (4)
* Akil Thompson – additional vocals (4)
* Lisa Bevill – vocals (7)
* Kim Fleming – vocals (7)
* Michael Mellett – vocals (7)

Choir vocalists

* Travis Cottrell (3)
* Sheldon "Butch" Curry (3, 5, 10)
* Rick Gibson (3)
* David Holloway (3, 5, 10)
* Mark Ivey (3, 5, 10)
* Russell Mauldin (3, 5, 10)
* Michael Mellett (3, 5, 9, 10)
* Michael Omartian (3)
* Guy Penrod (3, 5, 9, 10)
* Gary Robinson (3, 5, 10)
* Chuck Sullivan (3)
* Dave Williamson (3, 5, 10)
* Mary George (5, 10)
* Lisa Glasgow (5, 10)
* Stephanie Hall (5, 10)
* Sarah Huffman (5, 10)
* Tammy Jansen (5, 10)
* Ellen Musick (5, 10)
* Leah Taylor (5, 10)
* Melodie Tunney (5, 10)
* Kim Fleming (9)
* Donna McElroy (9)
* Angelo Petrucci (9)
* Veronica Petrucci (9)
* Suzanne Schwartz (9)
* Ken "Scat" Springs (9)
* Roz Thompson (9)

### Production and Technical

[edit]

* Terry Christian – engineer, mixing
* Jim Dineen – additional engineer
* Robert Charles – assistant engineer
* Larry Jefferies – assistant engineer
* Scott Link – assistant engineer
* King Williams – assistant engineer
* Mark Capps – assistant mix engineer
* John Dickson – assistant mix engineer
* Gerardo Bernard – executive coordinator
* Suzy Martinez – production coordinator
* Giulio Turturro – design
* Harry Langdon – cover photography

## Charts

[edit]

Chart (2007)  | Peak
position

|

US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)[4] | 40

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c McDonald, Steven. "Christmas Spirit > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
2. ^ a b Cummings, Tony. "Donna Summer - Christmas Spirit". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
3. ^ Linden, Amy. "X-Mas Round Up". Vibe. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
4. ^ a b c "Donna Summer Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
5. ^ "Answers to readers' questions about Roxette, Donna Summer and Jack Ingram". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 18, 2014. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
6. ^ Christmas Spirit (booklet). Mercury Records. 1994.

* v
* t
* e

Donna Summer

* Discography
* Awards

Studio albums|

* Lady of the Night (1974)
* Love to Love You Baby (1975)
* A Love Trilogy (1976)
* Four Seasons of Love (1976)
* I Remember Yesterday (1977)
* Once Upon a Time (1977)
* Bad Girls (1979)
* The Wanderer (1980)
* I'm a Rainbow (rec. 1981, rel. 1996)
* Donna Summer (1982)
* She Works Hard for the Money (1983)
* Cats Without Claws (1984)
* All Systems Go (1987)
* Another Place and Time (1989)
* Mistaken Identity (1991)
* Christmas Spirit (1994)
* Crayons (2008)

Live albums|

* Live and More (1978)
* Live & More Encore (1999)

Compilations|

* On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II (1979)
* Walk Away: Collector's Edition (The Best of 1977–1980) (1980)
* The Summer Collection: Greatest Hits (1985)
* The Dance Collection: A Compilation of Twelve Inch Singles (1987)
* The Donna Summer Anthology (1993)
* Endless Summer: Donna Summer's Greatest Hits (1994)
* The Ultimate Collection (2003)
* The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer (2003)
* Gold (2005)
* Singles... Driven by the Music (2015)
* The Ultimate Collection (2016)

Remix albums|

Love to Love You Donna (2013)

Singles|

* "The Hostage" (1974)
* "Lady of the Night" (1974)
* "Virgin Mary" (1975)
* "Love to Love You Baby" (1975)
* "Could It Be Magic (1976)
* "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It (1976)
* "Spring Affair (1976)
* "Winter Melody (1977)
* "Can't We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over)" (1977)
* "I Feel Love" (1977)
* "Shut Out" (1977)
* "Down Deep Inside" (1977)
* "I Remember Yesterday" (1977)
* "Love's Unkind" (1977)
* "I Love You" (1977)
* "Rumour Has It" (1978)
* "Last Dance" (1978)
* "Back in Love Again" (1978)
* "MacArthur Park" (1978)
* "Heaven Knows" (1978)
* "Hot Stuff" (1979)
* "Bad Girls" (1979)
* "Dim All the Lights" (1979)
* "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" (1979)
* "On the Radio" (1979)
* "Sunset People" (1980)
* "Walk Away" (1980)
* "The Wanderer" (1980)
* "Cold Love" (1980)
* "Who Do You Think You're Foolin'" (1981)
* "Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)" (1982)
* "State of Independence" (1982)
* "I Feel Love (Patrick Cowley Remix)" (1982)
* "The Woman in Me" (1983)
* "Protection" (1983)
* "She Works Hard for the Money" (1983)
* "Unconditional Love" (1983)
* "Love Has a Mind of Its Own" (1984)
* "There Goes My Baby" (1984)
* "Supernatural Love" (1984)
* "Eyes" (1984)
* "Dinner with Gershwin" (1987)
* "Only the Fool Survives" (1987)
* "This Time I Know It's for Real" (1989)
* "I Don't Wanna Get Hurt" (1989)
* "Love's About to Change My Heart" (1989)
* "Breakaway" (1989)
* "When Love Takes Over You" (1989)
* "State of Independence (New Bass Remix)" (1990)
* "When Love Cries" (1991)
* "Work That Magic" (1991)
* "Carry On" (1992)
* "La Vie en rose" (1994)
* "Melody of Love (Wanna Be Loved)" (1994)
* "Any Way at All" (1994)
* "I Feel Love (Remix)" (1995)
* "Whenever There Is Love" (1996)
* "I Will Go with You (Con te partirò)" (1999)
* "Love Is the Healer" (1999)
* "The Power of One" (2000)
* "You're So Beautiful" (2003)
* "Dream-A-Lot's Theme (I Will Live for Love)" (2004)
* "I Got Your Love" (2005)
* "I'm a Fire" (2008)
* "Stamp Your Feet" (2008)
* "It's Only Love" (2008)
* "Fame (The Game)" (2008)
* "To Paris with Love" (2010)

Related topics|

* Brooklyn Dreams
* Pete Bellotte
* Joe "Bean" Esposito
* Giorgio Moroder
* Bruce Sudano
* Neil Bogart
* Paul Jabara
* Sunshine
* "Down Deep Inside"
* Love to Love You, Donna Summer (2023)

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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