Under that Christmas Spell

Last updated
Under that Christmas Spell
UnderThatChristmasSpell.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 2012
Genre singer-songwriter
Label 24 Hour Distribution
Tim Halperin chronology
Rise and Fall
(2011)
Under that Christmas Spell
(2012)
Heart Tells Your Head
(2014)

Under that Christmas Spell is the third EP by American singer-songwriter Tim Halperin, released in November 2012. Beyond the original title track, songs include older covers such as "Maybe This Christmas."

Tim Halperin American musician

Tim Halperin is an American singer-songwriter. A piano player and vocalist, in 2007 he began performing and recording, and in 2010 his track "We Fight Back" became the theme song for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. He was a Top 24 American Idol contestant for season 10, and afterwards released his 2011 debut album, Rise and Fall, which peaked at no. 14 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart. The EP Under that Christmas Spell followed in 2012, and like all his albums since Rise and Fall was released on 24 Hour Distribution. Halperin's second album Heart Tells Your Head was released in February 2014 and peaked at No. 21 on the Heatseekers chart.

<i>Maybe This Christmas</i> 2002 compilation album by various artists

Maybe This Christmas is a holiday compilation album released in November 2002 through Nettwerk Records featuring contemporary musicians performing both classic and original Christmas songs. The album, named by Ron Sexsmith, is the first in a series of three holiday compilations released through the record label between 2002 and 2004. A portion of the proceeds from the sales of each album went to Toys for Tots, a charity supported by the United States Marine Corps. Most of the tracks exclusive to Maybe This Christmas were recorded just a few months prior to its release. The album's cover art was designed by artist Paul Frank, creator of Julius the pictured "wide-mouth monkey". Critical reception of the compilation was mixed, with reviewers often complimenting or criticizing select tracks. In the United States, the album reached a peak position of number thirty-eight on Billboard's Top Holiday Albums chart.

Contents

Production

Halperin has stated he was inspired to make the EP while made nostalgic by a red Starbucks cup in the middle of a Texas summer. According to Halperin, "Growing up, I worked on a Christmas tree farm for four years. Around Christmas, people in general are more happy and forgiving." [1]

Starbucks American multinational coffee company

Starbucks Corporation is an American coffee company and coffeehouse chain. Starbucks was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971. As of early 2019, the company operates over 30,000 locations worldwide.

Release

In November 2012 Tim Halperin released the EP Under that Christmas Spell, [2] which includes five arrangements of classic songs [3] and the eponymous single written by Halperin. [1] The album’s final cover, "I'll Be Home for Christmas," features Hayley Orrantia on vocals. [1]

Ill Be Home for Christmas original song written and composed by Walter Kent (music), Kim Gannon (words), and Buck Ram

"I'll Be Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song written by the lyricist Kim Gannon and composer Walter Kent and recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby, who scored a top ten hit with the song. Originally written to honor soldiers overseas who longed to be home at Christmas time, "I'll Be Home for Christmas" has since gone on to become a Christmas standard.

Reception

According to a review, "Under That Christmas Spell is a six-song album that intermixes original tunes and classic covers. Halperin reinvented the hymn-like 'Mary Did You Know' by adding cello and redirecting the listener to the lyricism of the song. In his rendition of 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,' Halperin's sincerity bleeds through as his voice dances over minimalist guitar lines and dainty xylophone." [1]

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. In 2007, ASCAP ranked it the third most performed Christmas song during the preceding five years that had been written by ASCAP members. In 2004 it finished at No. 76 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs rankings of the top tunes in American cinema.

Xylophone musical instrument of the family of mallets

The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African and Asian instruments, diatonic in many western children's instruments, or chromatic for orchestral use.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s){{{extra_column}}}Length
1."Under That Christmas Spell"Tim Halperin 3:37
2."I'll Be Home For Christmas" (with Hayley Orrantia)Tim Halperin 3:42
3."Maybe This Christmas"Jordan Critz / Tim Halperin / Ernie Halter Featuring Hayley Orrantia3:49
4."Mary, Did You Know?"Tim Halperin 3:45
5."Miracle"Jordan Critz / Tim Halperin 3:53
6."Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"Tim Halperin 3:25

Related Research Articles

Keane (band) English alternative rock band

Keane are an English rock band from Battle, East Sussex, formed in 1995. The band currently comprises Tom Chaplin, Tim Rice-Oxley, Richard Hughes, and Jesse Quin. Their original line-up included founder and guitarist Dominic Scott, who left in 2001.

All I Want for Christmas Is You 1994 single by Mariah Carey

"All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a Christmas song performed by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey. She wrote and produced the song alongside Walter Afanasieff. Columbia Records released it on November 1, 1994, as the lead single from her fourth studio album and first holiday album, Merry Christmas (1994). The track is an uptempo love song that includes bell chimes, heavy back-up vocals, and synthesizers. It is also the best-selling modern day Christmas song.

Dustin Kensrue American musician

Dustin Michael Kensrue is a musician, songwriter and former worship leader. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist in the rock band Thrice, as well as a solo artist.

Great Lake Swimmers band

Great Lake Swimmers is a Canadian band built around the melodic folk rock songs of singer and songwriter Tony Dekker. Originally from Wainfleet, Ontario, the band is currently based in Toronto.

Christmas Wrapping Christmas song by the American post-punk band the Waitresses

"Christmas Wrapping" is a Christmas song by the American new wave band the Waitresses. It was first released on the 1981 compilation album A Christmas Record on ZE Records, and also appears on the Waitresses' 1982 EP I Could Rule the World If I Could Only Get the Parts and numerous Christmas holiday compilation albums. It was written and produced by Chris Butler, with vocals by Patty Donahue. The song received positive reviews and AllMusic described it as "one of the best holiday pop tunes ever recorded."

Puscifer band

Puscifer is an American rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles by Maynard James Keenan, known as the lead singer of the bands Tool and A Perfect Circle. As Keenan is the only permanent member, he considers the project to be his "creative subconscious." In light of this, Puscifer is considered a pseudonym for his solo work.

Britt Nicole American Christian singer-songwriter

Brittany Nicole Waddell, better known by her stage name Britt Nicole, is an American vocalist, songwriter and recording artist. She has mainly charted as a Christian pop artist, but in 2012 found her debut mainstream single, "Gold", and, in 2013, "Ready or Not", in the Mainstream Top 40. The album was nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album at the 55th Grammy Awards. She is signed to Sparrow and Capitol Records.

Eleventyseven

Eleventyseven is an American pop punk band from Greenville, South Carolina which was formed in 2002. They chose the name "Eleventyseven" because "it's the one that looked cool the next morning". The band was originally signed to Flicker Records and released two albums with the label that charted on Christian music charts. After an independent streak, the band signed on to Sony Japan before returning to an independent status a year later. They continued to tour, self produce and release music independently until disbanding in September 2014.

<i>The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection</i> 2007 EP by Taylor Swift

The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, originally titled Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, is a Christmas EP by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The EP was first released on October 14, 2007 by Big Machine Records exclusively to Target stores in the United States and online. The release was originally a limited release for the 2007 holiday season, but was re-released to iTunes and Amazon.com on December 2, 2008 and again in October 2009 to Target stores. The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection features cover versions of Christmas songs and two original tracks written by Swift, "Christmases When You Were Mine" and "Christmas Must Be Something More", all of which have a country pop sound.

Brooke White American musician

Brooke Elizabeth White is an American indie pop/folk-pop singer-songwriter and actress from Mesa, Arizona who was the fifth place finalist on the seventh season of American Idol. In 2005, White released her first studio album, called Songs from the Attic. White's first post-Idol album, High Hopes & Heartbreak, was released on July 21, 2009. The first single "Hold Up My Heart" was released on February 25, 2009, and the song debuted at number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single "Radio Radio" was released on June 23, 2009. She is also half of the duo Jack and White.

"Song to the Siren" is a song written by Tim Buckley and his writing partner Larry Beckett and was first released on Buckley's 1970 album Starsailor. It was also later released on Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology, the album featuring a performance of the song taken from the final episode of The Monkees TV show which aired on March 25, 1968.

Breathe Carolina American EDM duo

Breathe Carolina is an American electronic music duo from Denver, Colorado, currently composed of David Schmitt and Tommy Cooperman. The band formed in 2007 and have released four albums, and nine EPs.

Owl City American electronica musical project by Adam Young

Owl City is an American electronica project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota; it is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young. Young created the project while experimenting with music in his parents' basement. Owl City developed a following on the social networking site MySpace, like many musicians who achieved success in the late 2000s, before signing with Universal Republic Records, now Republic Records, in 2008.

Lissie American musician

Elisabeth Corrin Maurus, known as Lissie, is an American singer-songwriter. She released her debut EP, "Why You Runnin'", in November 2009. Her debut album, Catching a Tiger, was released in June 2010. Her second studio album, Back to Forever, was released in October 2013. Her first record as an independent artist, and third studio album, My Wild West, was released February 12, 2016 and went on to receive critical acclaim. Her fourth studio album Castles, was released worldwide on March 23, 2018.

Dan Macaulay is a Contemporary Christian music recording artist and contemporary worship leader from Brantford, Ontario, Canada. He now resides in Williamsville, New York. Some of his most well-known songs are: "Amazing", "Hope Is Here ", "From You For You", "Win With Love", "Live Like You're Free", "Listening (Light Of The World", and "Permanent".

<i>Anthems</i> (Anthrax EP) 2013 EP by Anthrax

Anthems is the sixth EP by American thrash metal band Anthrax. It was released on March 19, 2013 through Megaforce Records in North America, and three days later in Europe by Nuclear Blast. This was the group's last release to feature lead guitarist Rob Caggiano, who left the band subsequently. The record features cover songs from some of the band's favorite acts of the 1970s, along with two versions of "Crawl", a song from their previous studio album.

<i>Rise and Fall</i> (Tim Halperin album) 2011 studio album by Tim Halperin

Rise and Fall is the debut full-length album by Tim Halperin, released on September 27, 2011. It reached #1 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter Chart, and debuted at #14 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart.

Trespassing (song) 2012 single by Adam Lambert

"Trespassing" is a song by American singer Adam Lambert from his second studio album, Trespassing. The song was released as the album's third and final single on October 8, 2012. It was written and produced by Pharrell Williams. It received generally favorable reviews from critics and fans. The song peaked at number 92 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart, and peaked at number 33 on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ricciardi, Tiney (November 9, 2012). "Album review: Tim Halperin's holiday album will cast you Under That Christmas Spell". Pegasus News . Retrieved 2013-10-04.
  2. "Tim Halperin: Info". SonicBids. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
  3. "Under That Christmas Spell". Allmusic . Retrieved 2013-10-04.