A Christmas Cornucopia | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 12 November 2010 [1] | |||
Recorded | October 2009 – Summer 2010 in London, England | |||
Studio | Sheen Lane, London Milestone Studio, Cape Town | |||
Genre | Christmas, soul | |||
Label | Island, Decca | |||
Producer | Annie Lennox Mike Stevens | |||
Annie Lennox chronology | ||||
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Singles from A Christmas Cornucopia | ||||
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A Christmas Cornucopia is the fifth solo studio album, and the first Christmas album, by Scottish singer-songwriter Annie Lennox, released in November 2010. It was Lennox's first album after signing to the Universal Music Group (Island Records in the UK, Decca in the US and Canada) following her departure from Sony BMG, which had been her label for almost 30 years.
The album is a collection of Lennox's favourite Christmas songs, though includes one original track written by Lennox, "Universal Child", which was released digitally as a single on 12 October 2010. A music video for Lennox's version of the classic Christmas carol "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" premiered on 4 November 2010, which was released as the second digital single from the album.
A tenth anniversary special edition of the album was released on 20 November 2020 including a new recording, "Dido's Lament". [3]
A choral version of “Dido’s Lament” performed together with London City Voices (a non-audition community choir based in London) was donated to Greenpeace. The official video begins with the following quote by Annie Lennox:
“When it comes to climate catastrophe, we are on the edge of abyss. I really believe we don't have much time left to make an effective change. We are looking at a civilization on the downwards side. This is the truth of this matter. It's staring us in the face and we are not paying any significant attention—continuing on as if it doesn't exist. I see Dido's Lament as a lament for our dying planet.” [4]
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 73 [5] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [6] |
The Austin Chronicle | [7] |
BBC Music | (very positive) [8] |
The Guardian | [9] |
Los Angeles Times | [10] |
The New York Times | (Positive) [11] |
Slant Magazine | [12] |
Metacritic gives A Christmas Cornucopia a weighted average score of 73 based on 9 reviews, meaning "generally favorable reviews". [5] Ian Wade of BBC Music gave the album a very positive review, saying "this collection could find itself becoming as much a part of the holiday season as arguments with loved ones." [13] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine awarded the album 3.5/5 and said "Lennox seems more inspired on A Christmas Cornucopia than she has in years." [14] John Hunt of Qatar Today magazine gave the album 9/10 and said "in particular, the vocal work and musical arrangement of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' are impactful to the point of being intimidating." [15]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Angels from the Realms of Glory" | James Montgomery | 4:00 |
2. | "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" | Traditional | 3:32 |
3. | "See Amid the Winter's Snow" | Edward Caswall, John Goss | 3:31 |
4. | "Il est né le divin Enfant" | Traditional | 3:37 |
5. | "The First Noel" | Traditional | 4:40 |
6. | "Lullay Lullay (The Coventry Carol)" | Traditional | 3:13 |
7. | "The Holly and the Ivy" | Traditional | 3:37 |
8. | "In the Bleak Midwinter" | Christina Rossetti | 3:31 |
9. | "As Joseph was a Walking (The Cherry Tree Carol)" | Geoffrey Shaw | 3:59 |
10. | "O Little Town of Bethlehem" | Phillips Brooks | 3:33 |
11. | "Silent Night" | Joseph Mohr, Franz Gruber, John Freeman Young | 3:49 |
12. | "Universal Child" | Annie Lennox | 4:14 |
As of January 2011, Christmas Cornucopia has sold 179,000 copies in United States. [16]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI) [36] | Gold | 100,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue |
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Germany [37] [38] | 12 November 2010 | Decca Records | CD, digital download | B0043A0PXU |
12 November 2010 | LP record | B0043A0PY4 | ||
United Kingdom | 15 November 2010 | Island Records | CD, digital download | |
Ireland | ||||
United States | 16 November 2010 | Decca Records | ||
23 November 2010 | LP record |
Ann Lennox is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart went on to achieve international success in the 1980s as Eurythmics. Appearing in the 1983 music video for "Sweet Dreams " with orange cropped hair and wearing a man's lounge suit, the BBC wrote, "all eyes were on Annie Lennox, the singer whose powerful androgynous look defied the male gaze". Subsequent hits with Eurythmics include "There Must Be an Angel ", "Love Is a Stranger" and "Here Comes the Rain Again".
No Angel is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Dido. Originally released on 1 June 1999 in the United States, the album found a mass audience when it was released worldwide in February 2001. By 2003, the album had sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, and was the second best-selling album of the 2000s in the United Kingdom, behind James Blunt's Back to Bedlam.
Medusa is the second solo studio album by Scottish singer Annie Lennox, released on 6 March 1995 by RCA Records. It consists entirely of cover songs. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number one and peaked in the United States at number 11, spending 60 weeks on the Billboard 200. It has since achieved double platinum status in both the United Kingdom and the United States. As of 2018, Medusa had sold over six million copies worldwide.
These Are Special Times is the seventeenth studio album and sixth English-language album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and also her first English-language Christmas album. It was first released in Europe on 30 October 1998, by Columbia Records. In the United States, it was released on 3 November 1998 through Epic Records. The album features cover versions of popular Christmas songs and original material, including "I'm Your Angel" and "The Prayer". Dion worked with David Foster and Ric Wake, who produced most of the album. These Are Special Times was released after two of Dion's most successful third and fourth English albums, Falling into You (1996) and Let's Talk About Love (1997).
Diva is the debut solo studio album by Scottish singer Annie Lennox, released on 6 April 1992 by RCA Records. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number one and has since sold over 1.2 million copies in the UK alone, being certified quadruple platinum. Diva was the 7th best selling album of 1992 in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it reached number 23 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified double platinum.
Corinne Bailey Rae is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae, released on 24 February 2006 by EMI. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Four singles were released from the album: "Like a Star", "Put Your Records On", "Trouble Sleeping" and "I'd Like To". Corinne Bailey Rae has sold over four million copies worldwide.
Bare is the third solo studio album by Scottish singer Annie Lennox, released in Europe on 5 June 2003 by 19 Recordings and RCA Records and in North America on 10 June 2003 by J Records. It peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and number four on the US Billboard 200. The album has been certified Gold in both the UK and the US and was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 46th Grammy Awards.
Songs of Mass Destruction is the fourth solo studio album by Scottish singer Annie Lennox, released on 1 October 2007 by RCA Records and 19 Recordings. It was her first album of new material since 2003's Bare and to date her most recent of original material.
The discography of Dido, a British pop singer, consists of six studio albums, one demo album, two extended plays, 31 singles, and one video album. She debuted in 1993, performing and touring with trip hop group Faithless. In 1997, she began composing solo material and signed a recording contract with Arista Records in the United States.
Safe Trip Home is the third studio album by Dido. It was released in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2008. The album features collaborations and production with Jon Brion, her brother Rollo Armstrong, Brian Eno, Mick Fleetwood, Citizen Cope and Questlove. The album was the 44th best-selling album worldwide of 2008, according to IFPI. In the UK the album was certified gold, which was a massive drop from her previous album which went nine-times platinum. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.
This article is the discography of the Scottish pop and rock singer-songwriter Annie Lennox. After a decade of major international success as part of Eurythmics, Lennox began her solo career in earnest in 1992 with the release of her first album Diva, which produced several hit singles including "Why" and "Walking on Broken Glass". The same year, she performed "Love Song for a Vampire" for Bram Stoker's Dracula. To date, she has released six solo studio albums, three of them being covers albums and a compilation album, The Annie Lennox Collection (2009).
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