Wintersong

For the album, see Wintersong (Paul Winter album). For other uses, see Winter Song (disambiguation).

Wintersong
Studio album by
Sarah McLachlan
Released17 October 2006
Recorded1994, Spring-Summer 2006[1]
GenreChristmas music
Length45:43
LabelNettwerk (Canada)
Arista (US)
ProducerPierre Marchand
Sarah McLachlan chronology
Mirrorball: The Complete Concert
(2006) 		Wintersong
(2006) 		Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff Volume 2
(2008)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Blogcritics(?)[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[4]
Slant Magazine[5]

Wintersong is the sixth album and first Christmas album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, released in October 2006. It was produced by longtime collaborator Pierre Marchand and includes contributions from Jim Creeggan of Barenaked Ladies.[6] The album also includes a collaboration with Jazz musician Diana Krall.[7] In 2007, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In 2015, all songs from Wintersong plus five more tracks were released as The Classic Christmas Album.

Singles

[edit]

"River" was released as a single from that album in September 2006.[8] The song was performed in mid-October on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Ellen DeGeneres Show and reached No. 71 in the Billboard Hot 100.[9] McLachlan's video for "River" premiered on Yahoo! music, on 1 November 2006. Silent Night from this album was used in an ASPCA commercial

Charts

[edit]
Year Single Chart Peak position[9]
2006 River Billboard Hot 100 71
2006 Pop 100 70
Hot Digital Songs 66
2007 Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 8
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 6
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 5

Commercial performance

[edit]

Wintersong debuted at number 42 on the Billboard 200 in the United States (chart issue for the week of 3 November 2006),[10] selling 20,000 copies in its first week.[11] The album peaked at number 7 in its seventh week on the chart,[12] with 116,000 copies sold for the tracking period ending 3 December.[13] According to sales data from Nielsen/SoundScan, it was the best-selling holiday album of 2006 in the U.S. with a cumulative 759,000 copies sold for the year.[14]

On 13 December 2007, Wintersong was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of one million copies in the U.S.[15] In Canada, it has sold over 200,000 copies, and has been certified Double Platinum.[16]

In 2011, the album re-entered the Billboard 200 at number 195 on the chart issue for the week of 17 December.[17]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"John Lennon, Yoko Ono3:28
2."What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)"William Chatterton Dix3:31
3."River"Joni Mitchell4:02
4."Wintersong"Sarah McLachlan3:31
5."I'll Be Home for Christmas"Walter Kent, Kim Gannon3:15
6."O Little Town of Bethlehem"Phillips Brooks, Lewis Redner3:51
7."The First Noel / Mary Mary"Traditional5:00
8."Silent Night"Josef Mohr, Franz X. Gruber3:48
9."Song for a Winter's Night"Gordon Lightfoot3:48
10."Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane3:44
11."In the Bleak Mid-Winter"Christina Rossetti, Gustav Holst3:46
12."Christmas Time Is Here" (featuring Diana Krall)Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson3:59

A "sampler" CD exists, featuring similar artwork on a cardboard sleeve, which omits "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", "I'll Be Home for Christmas", "Song for a Winter's Night", and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".

Personnel

[edit]
  • Sarah McLachlan - Vocals, Piano, Harp, Dobro[18]
  • Pierre Marchand - Keyboards, Programming, Synth Bass, Quartet Manipulations, Vienna Keyboard Strings
  • Jim Creeggan - Double Bass
  • Colin Cripps - Guitar, Dobro
  • Diana Krall - Piano on "Christmas Time Is Here".
  • Ashwin Sood - Drums, Percussion
  • Luke Doucet - Guitar
  • Bill Dillon - Acoustic & Electric Guitar, Mandolin, Bass
  • Bob Doige - Sleigh Bells
  • Daryl Johnson - Bass
  • Vince Mai - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
  • Brian Minato - Bass
  • David Kershaw - Keyboards
  • David Sinclair - Guitar

Charts

[edit]

Certifications and sales

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[25] 3× Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] Platinum 1,100,000[26]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Brian Dakss (5 December 2006). "Sarah McLachlan's Atypical Christmas CD". CBS News. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  2. ^ Allmusic review
  3. ^ "Blogcritics review". Archived from the original on 6 January 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2006.
  4. ^ "Entertainment Weekly review". Archived from the original on 25 April 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  5. ^ Slant Magazine review
  6. ^ Katie Hasty (6 August 2006). "McLachlan Salutes Holiday Season On New CD". Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2006.
  7. ^ Wintersong SarahMcLachlan.com Retrieved 18 May 2007
  8. ^ News SarahMcLachlan.com Retrieved 18 May 2007
  9. ^ a b Sarah McLachlan Billboard.com Retrieved 18 May 2007
  10. ^ "Billboard 200 (Week of November 4, 2006)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  11. ^ Hasty, Katie (25 October 2006). "Diddy Scores First No. 1 Album In Nine Years". Billboard. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Billboard 200 (Week of December 16, 2006)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  13. ^ Morris, Chris (7 December 2006). "Incubus 'Grenades' No. 1 on Billboard 200". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2024 – via The Hollywood Reporter.
  14. ^ Grein, Paul (4 December 2009). "Chart Watch Extra: Bring On Christmas!". Billboard. Archived from the original on 11 December 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  15. ^ "RIAA Searchable Database – Gold & Platinum Certifications". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  16. ^ CRIA Gold & Platinum certifications for January 2007 Archived 26 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  17. ^ "Music Albums", Billboard.com, 8 December 2011.
  18. ^ AllMusic Allmusic.com Retrieved 18 May 2007
  19. ^ "Sarah McLachlan Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  20. ^ "Sarah McLachlan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  21. ^ "Sarah McLachlan Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  22. ^ a b "Nielsen Music 2006 Year End Music Industry Report for Canada". Nielsen SoundScan. Archived from the original on 25 February 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  23. ^ Paul Grein. "Chart Watch Extra: Bring On Christmas!". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 11 December 2009. Retrieved 24 November 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  24. ^ "2007: Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  25. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Sarah McLachlan – Wintersong". Music Canada. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  26. ^ Keith Caulfield. "Sarah McLachlan Talks 'Challenge' of Making New Holiday Album & Secrets of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  27. ^ "American album certifications – Sarah Mc Lachlan – Wintersong". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wintersong&oldid=1241422401"