Songs for Christmas (Sufjan Stevens album)

Songs for Christmas
Box set by
Sufjan Stevens
ReleasedNovember 21, 2006
Recorded2001–2006
GenreChristmas[1][2]
Length123:10
LabelAsthmatic Kitty
ProducerSufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens chronology
The Avalanche
(2006) 		Songs for Christmas
(2006) 		The BQE
(2009)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Robert Christgau[4]
Drowned in Sound9/10[5]
Pitchfork7.5/10[6]

Songs for Christmas (stylized as Sufjan Stevens Presents Songs for Christmas on the cover) is a box set of five separate EPs of Christmas-related songs and carols recorded by independent musician Sufjan Stevens between 2001 and 2006. The EPs had been given as gifts to friends and family of Stevens over the past six years, except for 2004 when he was too busy recording the Illinois album.[7] Though the first three EPs had already been available on Sufjan Stevens-related fansites for several years, Songs for Christmas is the first official release of these EPs. Most of the tracks are versions of traditional Christmas songs, with a number of original compositions such as "Sister Winter" and "Star of Wonder". Sufjan Stevens has developed a reputation for being a devoted Christian[8] and many of the songs he chose for inclusion on Songs for Christmas are religious in nature, including his original compositions.

The box set includes a poster of Sufjan Stevens, an animated short for "Put the Lights on the Tree" by Tom Eaton, an essay by Rick Moody, two original short stories by Stevens, stickers, comics and a sing-a-long book for all five discs.

During Stevens' international tour in the later half of 2006, he regularly performed the original song "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!" while releasing inflatable Santas into the audience for fun.[9]

Songs for Christmas was generally well received by music critics.[10]

Stevens released a follow-up, Silver and Gold: Songs for Christmas, Vols. 6-10, in November 2012, which contains a further 58 original and traditional songs.

Track listing

Noel: Songs for Christmas, Vol. I (recorded December 2001)
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Silent Night"Joseph MohrFranz Xaver Gruber0:47
2."O Come, O Come Emmanuel"TraditionalTraditional3:59
3."We're Goin to the Country!"Sufjan StevensSufjan Stevens2:19
4."Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming!"TraditionalAnonymous3:25
5."It's Christmas! Let's Be Glad!"Sufjan StevensSufjan Stevens1:58
6."Holy Holy, etc" John Bacchus Dykes0:39
7."Amazing Grace"John NewtonTraditional4:00
Total length:17:07
Hark!: Songs for Christmas, Vol. 2 (recorded November 2002)[a]
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Angels We Have Heard on High" Traditional0:47
2."Put the Lights on the Tree"Sufjan StevensSufjan Stevens1:50
3."Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing"Robert RobinsonRobert Robinson4:45
4."I Saw Three Ships"TraditionalEdward S. Barnes2:36
5."Only at Christmas Time"Sufjan StevensSufjan Stevens2:18
6."Once in Royal David's City"Cecil Frances AlexanderHenry Gauntlett3:45
7."Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!"Charles Wesley, George WhitefieldFelix Mendelssohn0:49
8."What Child is This Anyway?"William Chatterton DixTraditional6:51
9."Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella"Nicolas SabolyMarc-Antoine Charpentier1:32
Total length:25:13
Ding! Dong!: Songs for Christmas, Vol. III (recorded December 2003)
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."O Come, O Come Emmanuel"TraditionalTraditional1:03
2."Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!"Sufjan StevensSufjan Stevens3:50
3."We Three Kings"John Henry HopkinsJohn Henry Hopkins3:05
4."O Holy Night"Placide CappeauAdolphe Adam3:34
5."That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!"Sufjan StevensSufjan Stevens2:52
6."Ding! Dong!" Sufjan Stevens0:56
7."All the King's Horns"Sufjan StevensSufjan Stevens2:59
8."The Friendly Beasts"TraditionalTraditional3:41
Total length:22:10
Joy: Songs for Christmas, Vol. IV (recorded December 2005)
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."The Little Drummer Boy"Katherine Kennicott DavisKatherine Kennicott Davis3:44
2."Away in a Manger"Martin LutherCharles H. Gabriel2:54
3."Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time!"Sufjan StevensSufjan Stevens4:41
4."The First Noel"TraditionalTraditional0:53
5."Did I Make You Cry on Christmas? (Well, You Deserved It!)"Sufjan StevensSufjan Stevens3:22
6."The Incarnation" Sufjan Stevens2:23
7."Joy to the World"Isaac WattsLowell Mason4:21
Total length:22:19
Peace: Songs for Christmas, Vol. V (recorded June 2006)[b]
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Once in Royal David's City"Cecil Frances AlexanderHenry Gauntlett2:01
2."Get Behind Me, Santa!"Sufjan StevensSufjan Stevens3:49
3."Jingle Bells" James Pierpont0:36
4."Christmas in July"Sufjan StevensSufjan Stevens3:17
5."Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming"TraditionalTraditional1:46
6."Jupiter Winter"Sufjan StevensSufjan Stevens3:51
7."Sister Winter"Sufjan StevensSufjan Stevens5:05
8."O Come, O Come Emmanuel"TraditionalTraditional1:06
9."Star of Wonder"Sufjan StevensSufjan Stevens7:08
10."Holy, Holy, Holy"Reginald HeberJohn Bacchus Dykes3:50
11."The Winter Solstice" Sufjan Stevens3:34
Total length:36:03

Charts

Chart performance for Songs for Christmas
Chart (2006) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[12] 122
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[13] 3
US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)[14] 7
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Latvian Albums (LaIPA)[15] 19

Notes

  1. ^ Additional recordings in June 2006.[7]
  2. ^ Stevens didn't produce a Christmas album in 2004 as he was busy working on Illinois. In June 2006 he decided to record an extra album in order to compensate for the missing one.[11][7]

References

  1. ^ Chris Jones. "Sufjan Stevens makes Christmas even better". BBC. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  2. ^ Chris Bosman (November 21, 2012). "Sufjan Stevens – Silver & Gold". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  3. ^ Margaret Reges. Songs for Christmas (review) at AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  4. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Sufjan Stevens".
  5. ^ Will Dean (November 28, 2006). "Album Review: Sufjan Stevens - Songs For Christmas". Archived from the original on February 28, 2007. Retrieved November 28, 2006.
  6. ^ Rob Mitchum (November 21, 2006). "Sufjan Stevens: Songs for Christmas Album Review - Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Stevens, Sufjan (November 21, 2006). Songs for Christmas (booklet). Asthmatic Kitty Records. p. 5. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  8. ^ Jeremy Allen (October 12, 2010), "Adz And It Shall Be Given Unto You: Sufjan Stevens Interviewed", The Quietus, retrieved November 18, 2024
  9. ^ eoinlarkin (November 6, 2006). "That was the worst christmas ever". Archived from the original on December 17, 2021 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ "Songs For Christmas by Sufjan Stevens", Metacritic, retrieved November 18, 2024
  11. ^ Jenkins, Craig (November 30, 2022). "'Tis the Season for Sufjan. The singer-songwriter reflects on what he's learned about the holidays after releasing 100 Christmas songs". Vulture. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  12. ^ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  13. ^ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  14. ^ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  15. ^ ""DIGiTop100" gada izskaņas topā svētku dziesmas uzvar teju visus muzikālos smagsvarus" [Christmas songs beat almost all musical heavyweights in DIGiTop100 at the end of the year] (in Latvian). Skaties.lv. January 3, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
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