Silver & Gold (Sufjan Stevens album)

Silver & Gold
Box set by Sufjan Stevens
Released	November 13, 2012
Recorded	2006–2011
Genre	Indie folk, baroque pop, electronic, Christmas music
Length	161:36
Label	Asthmatic Kitty
Producer	Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens chronology
The Age of Adz (2010) Silver & Gold (2012) Carrie & Lowell (2015)

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	76/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Consequence of Sound	[2]
Paste	7.5/10[3]
Pitchfork Media	7.8/10[4]
Pop Matters	7/10[5]
Sputnikmusic	4.2/5[6]

Silver & Gold: Songs for Christmas, Vols. 6–10 is a five-EP box set of Christmas-related songs and carols recorded by Sufjan Stevens between 2006 and 2011.^[7] It is a follow-up to Songs for Christmas, which was released six years prior. On October 2, 2012, it was announced that Stevens would release Silver & Gold on November 13, 2012 in digital format, CD and LP boxset.^[8] On October 24, 2012, a claymation music video, animated by Lee Hardcastle, was released for "Mr. Frosty Man".^[9]

Reception

The album has received mostly positive reviews from critics, with Pitchfork giving it a 7.8 out of 10. As Keelan H. of Sputnikmusic writes,"[T]he album exists on [a] plane where introspection meets with group sing-a-longs, depression meets with joyous outbursts, traditional meets with left-field kookiness."^[6] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 76, based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[1]

Track listing

Gloria: Songs for Christmas, Vol. VI

Recorded December 2006

1. "Silent Night" - 2:26 (words by Joseph Mohr; melody by Franz Xaver Gruber; English translation by John Freeman Young)
2. "Lumberjack Christmas / No One Can Save You from Christmases Past" - 3:22 (music by Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, and Sufjan Stevens; words by Sufjan Stevens)
3. "Coventry Carol" - 2:54 (featuring Marla Hansen) (16th-century English Carol)
4. "The Midnight Clear" - 2:49 (music by Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, and Sufjan Stevens; words by Sufjan Stevens)
5. "Carol of St. Benjamin the Bearded One" - 3:32 (music by Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, and Sufjan Stevens; words by Sufjan Stevens)
6. "Go Nightly Cares" - 1:44 (music by John Dowland)
7. "Barcarola (You Must Be a Christmas Tree)" - 7:03 (music by Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, and Sufjan Stevens; words by Sufjan Stevens)
8. "Auld Lang Syne" - 1:35 (words by Robert Burns; music: traditional Scots folk melody)

I Am Santa's Helper: Songs for Christmas, Vol. VII

Recorded December 2007

1. "Christ the Lord Is Born" - 0:49 (music by Leoš Janáček)
2. "Christmas Woman" - 5:33 (words & music by Sufjan Stevens)
3. "Break Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light" - 1:09 (music by Johann Schop; harmony by J.S. Bach)
4. "Happy Family Christmas" - 1:23 (words & music by Sufjan Stevens)
5. "Jingle Bells" - 1:19 (words & music by James Lord Pierpont)
6. "Mysteries of the Christmas Mist" - 2:10 (music by Sufjan Stevens)
7. "Lift Up Your Heads Ye Mighty Gates" - 1:20 (words by Georg Weissel; translated by Catherine Winkworth; music by Thomas Williams)
8. "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" - 1:16 (16th-century English Carol)
9. "Ah Holy Jesus" - 2:42 (words by Johann Heermann: music by Johann Crüger)
10. "Behold! The Birth of Man, the Face of Glory" - 1:09 (music by Sufjan Stevens)
11. "Ding-a-ling-a-ring-a-ling" - 1:50 (words & music by Sufjan Stevens)
12. "How Shall I Fitly Meet Thee?" - 2:09 (music by J.S. Bach; adapted by J. Troutback)
13. "Mr. Frosty Man" - 1:50 (words & music by Sufjan Stevens)
14. "Make Haste to See the Baby" - 1:23 (music by Sufjan Stevens)
15. "Ah Holy Jesus" - 1:29 (with reed organ)
16. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" - 1:51 (words by Charles Wesley; music by Felix Mendelsshon)
17. "Morning" - 2:28 (Sacred Harp) (music by Amos Pilsbury)
18. "Idumea" - 3:50 (Sacred Harp) (words by Charles Wesley; music by Ananias Davisson)
19. "Eternal Happiness or Woe" - 1:23 (music by Sufjan Stevens)
20. "Ah Holy Jesus" - 1:00 (a capella)
21. "I Am Santa's Helper" - 1:52 (words & music by Sufjan Stevens)
22. "'Maoz Tzur' (Rock of Ages)" - 0:42 (traditional Jewish hymn)
23. "Even the Earth Will Perish and the Universe Give Way" - 2:01 (music by Sufjan Stevens)

Christmas Infinity Voyage: Songs for Christmas, Vol. VIII

Recorded December 2008, as "Astral Inter Planet Space Captain Christmas Infinity Voyage: Songs for Christmas Vol. 8"; album version re-recorded circa 2011-2012

1. "Angels We Have Heard on High" - 4:04 (music & words by Sufjan Stevens [based on the original hymn])
2. "Do You Hear What I Hear?" - 9:14 (words by Noël Regney; music by Gloria Shayne)
3. "Christmas in the Room" - 4:23 (words & music by Sufjan Stevens)
4. "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" - 0:48 (words by Edmund Sears; music by Richard Storrs Willis)
5. "Good King Wenceslas" - 4:18 (words by John Mason Neale; music: 13th Century carol)
6. "Alphabet St." - 1:36 (words & music by Prince)
7. "Particle Physics" - 1:04 (music by Sufjan Stevens)
8. "Joy to the World" - 5:25 (words by Isaac Watts; music by Lowell Mason)
9. "The Child with the Star on His Head" - 15:30 (words & music by Sufjan Stevens)

Let It Snow: Songs for Christmas, Vol. IX

Recorded December 2009

1. "I'll Be Home for Christmas" - 3:22 (words & music by Walter Kent, Kim Gannon, Buck Ram)
2. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" - 2:41 (words & music by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie)
3. "The Sleigh in the Moon" - 1:44 (featuring Cat Martino) (words & music by Cat Martino)
4. "Sleigh Ride" - 2:28 (words & music by Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish)
5. "Ave Maria" - 2:09 (featuring Cat Martino) (words by God Himself; music by Franz Schubert)
6. "X-mas Spirit Catcher" - 3:31 (words & music by Sufjan Stevens)
7. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" - 2:17 (words & music by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn)
8. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" - 2:27 (words & music by Johnny Marks)
9. "Christmas Face" - 0:40 (featuring Sebastian Krueger) (words & music by Sebastian Krueger)

Christmas Unicorn: Songs for Christmas, Vol. X

Recorded December 2010

1. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - 3:42 (words & music by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane)
2. "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" - 0:40 (words by Edmund Sears; music by Richard Storrs Willis)
3. "Up on the Housetop" - 4:21 (featuring Vesper Stamper) (words & music by Benjamin Hanby; arr. by Sufjan Stevens)
4. "Angels We Have Heard on High" - 0:52 (traditional French carol)
5. "We Need a Little Christmas" - 2:03 (words & music by Jerry Herman)
6. "Happy Karma Christmas" - 3:36 (words & music by Sufjan Stevens)
7. "We Three Kings" - 0:52 (music by John Henry Hopkins, Jr.)
8. "Justice Delivers Its Death" - 3:16 (var. & arrangement by Sufjan Stevens; based on the song "Silver & Gold" by J. Marks)
9. "Christmas Unicorn" - 12:28 (words & music by Sufjan Stevens; "Love Will Tear Us Apart" used by permission, written by Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, and Bernard Sumner)

References

1. "Silver & Gold Boxset Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More".
2. Bosman, Chris (2012-11-21). "Album Review: Sufjan Stevens – Silver & Gold". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
3. Reed, Ryan (2012-11-20). "Sufjan Stevens: Silver & Gold". Pastemagazine. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
4. Dombal, Ryan (2012-11-14). "Sufjan Stevens: Silver & Gold | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
5. Houle, Zachary (2012-11-21). "Sufjan Stevens: Silver & Gold: Songs for Christmas – Volumes Six-10". PopMatters. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
6. Keelan H. (Jan 24, 2013). "Album Review - Sufjan Stevens: Silver & Gold". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
7. Battan, Carrie (2012-10-02). "Sufjan Stevens Announces New Christmas Box Set". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
8. "Sufjan Stevens to Release New Christmas Boxset". Asthmatic Kitty Records. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
9. Battan, Carrie (2012-10-24). "Watch the Gory Claymation Video for Sufjan Stevens' "Mr. Frosty Man"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2012-10-27.

External links

• Silver & Gold at Bandcamp