Merry Christmas to You (Sidewalk Prophets album)

Merry Christmas to You
Studio album by Sidewalk Prophets
Released September 24, 2013 (2013-09-24)
Genre Contemporary Christian music
Length 43:57
Label Fervent
Producer Casey Brown, Ian Eskelin, Jonathan Smith
Sidewalk Prophets chronology
Live Like That
(2012)		 Merry Christmas to You
(2013)		 Something Different
(2015)

Merry Christmas to You is a holiday studio album by contemporary Christian music band Sidewalk Prophets, which was released by Fervent Records on September 24, 2013, and it was produced by Casey Brown, Ian Eskelin and Jonathan Smith. The album has seen commercial charting successes, as well as, it garnered some positive to mixed critical attention.

Background

The album was released on September 24, 2013 by Fervent Records, and it was produced by Casey Brown, Ian Eskelin and Jonathan Smith. This was the band's first holiday album.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
CCM Magazine[1]
Christian Music Review[2]
Christian Music Zine[3]
Indie Vision Music[4]
Jesus Freak Hideout[5]
New Release Tuesday[6]

Merry Christmas to You garnered some mixed and positive reviews from music critics. At CCM Magazine, Grace S. Aspinwall rated the album three stars out of five, which she noted that the released comes "With a little more big-band flair, Sidewalk Prophets has put together a fun, entertaining ensemble of Christmas music."[1] Kevin Davis of New Release Tuesday rated the album three-and-a-half out of five stars, and stated that some of the Christmas hymns were done in a reverential way.[6] At Jesus Freak Hideout, Alex "Tincan" Caldwell rated the album three stars out of five, which he wrote that the album had some mistakes, yet noting the band put listeners into a good vibe with the music done with an emphasis on the holiday cheer.[5]

Jonathan Andre of Indie Vision Music rated the album three stars out of five, which he criticized the lack of spiritually relevant traditional Christmas songs offered on the album, however he alluded to how the album was fun and "heartfelt".[4] At Christian Music Review, Laura Chambers rated the album four stars out of five, which she alluded to how this was the kind of Christmas album listeners need, and not that "obnoxious[ly]" overplayed same Christmas carol on the radio.[2] In addition, Chambers liked the "non-message" material on the album.[2] Joshua Andre rated the album four-and-a-half out of five stars, and evoked that this was the most holistic holiday album of the year, which he declared was a "hit".[3]

Commercial performance

Merry Christmas to You reached No. 177 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and it was also No. 8 on Billboard's Christian Albums chart.

Track listing

Tracklist
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "What a Glorious Night"  Casey Brown, David Frey, Ben McDonald, Jonathan Smith 5:04
2. "White Christmas" (featuring Francesca Battistelli)Irving Berlin 3:31
3. "Give Me Christmas"  Dave Barnes, Frey, McDonald 3:41
4. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"  Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin 4:25
5. "Hey Moon"  Frey, McDonald, Sam Mizell 3:26
6. "Merry Christmas to You"  Frey, McDonald 3:02
7. "Holly Jolly Christmas"  Johnny Marks 3:26
8. "What Child Is This"  Traditional 3:20
9. "That Spirit of Christmas"  Parnell Davison, Mable John, Joel Webster 4:23
10. "Silent Night"  Traditional 3:35
11. "Hope Was Born This Night"  Frey, McDonald 3:54
12. "Because It's Christmas"  Frey, McDonald 3:10
Total length:
 43:57

Charts

Chart (2013) Peak position
US Billboard 200[7] 177
US Christian Albums (Billboard)[8] 8

References

  1. 1 2 Aspinwall, Grace S. (December 1, 2013). "Sidewalk Prophets: Merry Christmas To You (Fervent Records)" (PDF). CCM Magazine. Salem Publishing. p. 74. ISSN 1524-7848. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Chambers, Laura (October 27, 2013). "Sidewalk Prophets "Merry Christmas To You"". Christian Music Review. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Andre, Joshua (December 3, 2013). "Sidewalk Prophets – Merry Christmas To You (Review)". Christian Music Zine. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  4. 1 2 Andre, Jonathan (October 12, 2013). "Sidewalk Prophets – Merry Christmas To You | Reviews". Indie Vision Music. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  5. 1 2 Caldwell, Alex "Tincan" (December 4, 2013). "Sidewalk Prophets, "Merry Christmas To You" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Davis, Kevin (November 22, 2013). "What Christmas is all about". New Release Tuesday. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Sidewalk Prophets – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Sidewalk Prophets. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Sidewalk Prophets – Chart history" Billboard Christian Albums for Sidewalk Prophets. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
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