The Christmas Album is the twentieth studio album by Neil Diamond and his first to feature Christmas music. It features orchestral and choir arrangements by David Campbell. The album reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart, No. 50 on the UK album sales chart, and No. 30 on Australian music chart.
In his review music critic Johnny Loftus states, "While Neil Diamond's The Christmas Album is designed almost exclusively for his adult contemporary constituency, the vocalist still manages to light up most of the obviousness of these standards with his trademark gritty soul and flair for inflection."
On August 7, 2001, The Christmas Album was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA for shipment of two million copies in the United States since its 1992 release. By November 2014, it was the twenty-fifth best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States of the SoundScan era of music sales tracking (March 1991–present), having sold 1,910,000 copies according to SoundScan.
Contents
Personnel
Musicians and vocalists
Neil Diamond – vocals
Robbie Buchanan – acoustic piano (2, 14), keyboards (3–6, 8, 13)
Ladd Thomas – organ (6, 11)
Alan Lindgren – acoustic piano (7, 12), acoustic piano intro (8)
Bob Mann – guitars (1, 5), acoustic guitars (3, 12), electric guitars (7)
Dean Parks – electric guitars (3), guitars (6, 8, 13), mandolin (6)
Andrew Gold – acoustic guitars (4, 10)
Waddy Wachtel – electric guitars (4, 10), guitars (13)
Louis Gutierrez – guitar solo (7)
Dan Dugmore – pedal steel guitar (12)
Jimmy Johnson – bass guitar (3, 6, 8)
Bob Glaub – bass guitar (4, 10, 13)
Bob Magnusson – upright bass (5)
Leland Sklar – bass guitar (7, 12)
Peter Asher – drum and percussion programming (3), tambourines (7, 10)
Russ Kunkel – drums (4–8, 13)
Nathaniel Kunkel – drums (10)
Michael Fisher – percussion (3, 8)
Marvin B. Gordy – percussion (3)
Warren Ham – harmonica (4)
Plas Johnson – tenor saxophone solo (5)
Gavyn Wright – concertmaster (1, 2, 7, 10, 13, 14)
Isobel Griffiths – contractor (1, 2, 7, 10, 13, 14)
London Symphony Orchestra – orchestra (1, 2, 7, 10, 13, 14)
The Angel Voices Choir – choir (1, 7)
The Ambrosian Singers – choir (2, 7, 14)
John McCarthy – choir director (2, 7, 14)
The Lower School Chorus of Viewpoint School – choir (7)
Robert Prizeman – boys’ choir conductor (7)
Marcie Parker – children’s choir conductor (7)
Donny Gerard, Raven Kane, Josef Powell, Julia Tillman Waters, Maxine Waters Willard and Oren Waters – doo-wop backing vocals (8)
139th Street Quartet (Doug Anderson, Dan Jordan, Jim Kline and Peter Neushul) – barbershop quartet (9)
Jim Haas, Jon Joyce, Gene Morford and Jerry Whitman – doo-wop backing vocals (10)
L.A. Mass Choir – choir (11)
Donald Taylor – choir director (11)
Raven Kane – choir contractor (8–11)
Arrangements
David Campbell – orchestra arrangements and conductor (1, 2, 7, 10), choir arrangements and conductor (3, 4, 6, 7, 10–13), string section arrangements and conductor (5, 12, 13), BGV arrangements (8, 10), brass quartet arrangements and conductor (8), BGV conductor (8), orchestra conductor (14)
Peter Asher – rhythm track arrangements (7, 10)
Alan Lindgren – BGV arrangements (8), orchestra arrangements (14), choir arrangements (14)
139th Street Quartet – vocal arrangements (9)
Frank Lindgren – choir arrangements (14)
Production
Peter Asher – producer
Frank Wolf – recording, mixing
Nathaniel Kunkel – recording assistant, mix assistant
Brett Swain – recording assistant, mix assistant
Chad Blinman – additional recording assistant, additional mix assistant
Alec Marcou – additional recording assistant, additional mix assistant
Gil Morales – additional recording assistant, additional mix assistant
Marnie Riley – additional recording assistant, additional mix assistant
Eric Rudd – additional recording assistant, additional mix assistant
George Marino – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York)
Ivy Skoff – production coordinator
Sam Cole – project coordinator
David Kirschner – art direction
Jan Weinberg – design
Eugine Adibari – cover photography
Neil Diamond – liner notes
Sal Bonafidi – management
Sandy Gallin – management
Jim Morey – management