Simply Christmas, the second album album by American entertainer Leslie Odom Jr.. It was released by S-Curve Records on November 11, 2016 in the United States. His first Christmas album, it features jazz interpretations of Christmas standards that were produced by Steve Greenberg. It became Odom's second consecutive album to reach the top spot on Billboard's US Top Jazz Albums. A year later, in October 2017, a deluxe edition of Simply Christmas was released with four additional songs.[1]
Odom had frequently been asked by fans to make a Christmas album, leading to the creation of Simply Christmas.[5] Odom strove for a more unique sound: "I didn’t want it to be sad. I didn’t want it to be sullen. But I don’t think the album was really ever cheerful," he said in an interview.[6]
Before recording, Odom and producer Steve Greenberg developed a list of 75–100 Christmas songs to choose from.[6] Odom referred to the Carpenters' song "Merry Christmas Darling" as a "surprise" addition from Greenberg that Odom didn't expect to work, "but it ended up working."[6]
After recording Simply Christmas, Odom was dissatisfied with the initial result. He told The Wall Street Journal:
When we got the masters back in September, I hated them. It was so bad. I was already hard on myself in the vocal booth – whenever you're setting out to record something like "The Christmas Song," it's a lot different than singing at a Christmas party. You want to make sure that it sounds sincere and honest. When I was listening to it I hated it so much. We begged for a little bit more time from the record company... We took the thing apart.[6]
On November 11, 2016, after Odom rerecorded a number of tracks, S-Curve released Simply Christmas as Odom's second album.
In an interview with the New York Observer, Odom added that he wanted to create an album that didn't feel disconnected from the political climate, an album with a "finger on the pulse of the time we're living in."[7] He also noted, "We give ourselves permission to abandon ship if a project isn't working out. We'd rather walk out then put something out that's subpar. We didn't know if the Christmas album would be something we're proud of, but it is."[7]
Promotion
Odom toured in 2016 and 2017 to promote the album, performing concerts backed by a jazz quintet that included a drummer, percussionist, bassist, guitarist, and a pianist who is also Odom's musical director.[8] , a deluxe edition of the album was released in October 2017 with four additional songs: "The Christmas Waltz", "Christmas", "Edelweiss", and "Please Come Home for Christmas".[1]
AllMusic editor Marcy Donelson called the album an "exquisite set" and found that Simply Christmas "should especially please admirers of [Odom's] jazz-styled eponymous album, as he presents similarly elegant versions of seasonal favorites ranging from Schubert's "Ave Maria" to 2008's "Winter Song" by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. Arranged mainly for piano throughout, with bass, drums, acoustic guitar, and rare keyboards and trombone, it's got small dinner parties and nostalgic winter evenings in front of the fireplace in mind."[9]Entertainment Weekly's Eric Renner Brown gave the albuma a B− rating. He felt that Odom "strikes a different tone on this elegant but subdued album" and recommened playing "this during dessert and coffee."[10] Clint Rhodes, writing for The Herald-Standard, described Simply Christmas as "warm and reflective." He felt that Odom "delivers a pristine performance with a voice that is silky smooth and comforting" and concluded: "It is charming. It is nostalgic. It is simply wonderful."[11]
Commercial performance
Simply Christmas marked Odom's second charting album in five months. It opened at 31 on the US Billboard 200, selling 15,000 album-equivalent units, 14,000 of which were from traditional album sales.[4] The set also arrived at number one on Billboard's US Top Jazz Albums chart, becoming his second consecutive album to reach the top spot, as well as at number four on the US Top Holiday Albums.[4]
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