Christmas with The Smithereens

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Christmas with The Smithereens
Christmas with The Smithereens.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 9, 2007
RecordedHouse of Vibes, Highland Park, NJ
Nun Bett-R Studio, Wood-Ridge, NJ
Genre Rock
Length37:03
Label Koch
Producer Pat DiNizio, Jim Babjak, Dennis Diken, Kurt Reil
The Smithereens chronology
Meet The Smithereens!
(2007)
Christmas with The Smithereens
(2007)
B-Sides The Beatles
(2008)

Christmas with The Smithereens is the eighth studio album by The Smithereens, released 9 October 2007 by Koch Records. The album features the band covering nine Christmas-themed songs along with three originals. [1]

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Contactmusic.com Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [3]

AllMusic's Mark Deming rated the album 3½ stars out of 5 and said that "as rock & roll Christmas albums go, this is good fun and admirably eclectic." He added that the album "is more thoughtful and intriguing than the average tossed-together holiday offering, and the best moments are a clear reminder of what makes this band worthwhile." [2]

Mike Rea of Contactmusic.com also rated the album 3½ stars out of 5, saying that it sounded like "an entirely Smithereens album", with the songs sounding like originals, "a hark back to the days when bands would make and release Christmas albums and songs without any trace of irony". He felt that the three Smithereens' originals "fit in perfectly". [3]

Zach Freeman of the Blogger News Network gave the album a B+, stating: "Christmas with The Smithereens is more than a Christmas-time cover album. This quartet does an impressive job of channeling the spirt [sic] of 1960s rock, and solidly interpreting each memorable tune." Freeman added that the band's originals "add a nice twist to an otherwise familiar record, and are written with such '60s-savviness that without prior knowledge it would almost be difficult to decide which songs were covers and which were originals." [4]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Original artist(s)Length
1."Waking Up on Christmas Morning" Jim Babjak The Smithereens 3:53
2."Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)" Claude Demetrius, Aaron Schroeder Elvis Presley 3:12
3."Merry Christmas, Baby" Brian Wilson The Beach Boys 2:35
4."Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" Johnny Marks Brenda Lee 2:08
5."Christmas Time All Over the World" Pat DiNizio, Babjak, Dennis Diken, Mike Mesaros The Smithereens2:34
6."Christmas" Pete Townshend The Who 3:28
7."'Twas the Night Before Christmas" Clement Clarke Moore Christmas poem2:18
8."Run Rudolph Run"Marvin Brodie, Marks Chuck Berry 3:18
9."Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)" Joey Ramone Ramones 2:54
10."Christmas (I Remember)"DiNizio, Babjak, DikenThe Smithereens3:37
11."Auld Lang Syne" Robert Burns, traditional Folk song3:02
12."Christmas Time Is Here Again" John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Richard Starkey The Beatles 4:04

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [5]

The Smithereens
Additional personnel

References

  1. "Christmas with The Smithereens". Officialsmithereens.com. Retrieved on 7 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 Deming, Mark. "Christmas with The Smithereens - review on AllMusic". Allmusic.com. Retrieved January 7, 2018.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. 1 2 Rea, Mike (December 3, 2007). "The Smithereens - Christmas With The Smithereens Album Review". Contactmusic.com . Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  4. Freeman, Zach (October 9, 2007). "CD Review: Christmas with The Smithereens". BloggerNews.net. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  5. "The Smithereens: Christmas with The Smithereens". Discogs.com. Retrieved on 7 January 2018.