A Faithful Christmas

A Faithful Christmas
Studio album by
Faith Evans
ReleasedOctober 25, 2005 (2005-10-25)
Genre
Length40:04
LabelCapitol
Producer
  • PJ Morton
  • Kowan "Q" Paul
  • Todd Russaw
  • Gil Smith II
  • Tim Stewart
Faith Evans chronology
The First Lady
(2005) 		A Faithful Christmas
(2005) 		Something About Faith
(2010)

A Faithful Christmas is a Christmas album and the fifth studio album by American recording artist Faith Evans, released on October 25, 2005, by Capitol Records. Work on the album began in mid-2005 after the release of her fourth studio album The First Lady. A collection of holiday songs, it contains standards such as "White Christmas" and "Santa Baby" alongside two new compositions, "Happy Holiday" and "Christmas Wish", both of which were written by Evans and her daughter Chyna Griffin.

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[1]
People[3]

The album received generally mixed reviews from critics. In his review for Allmusic, Andy Kellman from wrote that the album sounded "very uneven and hastily thrown together." He criticized A Faithful Christmas for switching between "thoroughly modern" and classic Christmas songs, calling Evans's original material on the album "spirited but bland." He however praised her "straightforward version" of "The Day That Love Began."[2] Chris Willman from Entertainment Weekly found that "some of her beat-heavy originals are Faith-based fun [but] misses include an old James Brown Xmas tune with way more 'Good Gods!' than any non-Godfather should attempt."[1] People magazine writer Chuck Arnold felt that "the girliness of "Santa Baby" and playfulness of Frank Sinatra's "Mistletoe and Holly" don't suit [Evans]. More fittingly, the CD closes with "O Come All Ye Faithful."[3]

Track listing

[edit]
The First Lady track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Happy Holiday"
  • Todd Russaw
  • Kowan "Q" Paul
  • Gil Smith II
5:19
2."The Day That Love Began"
3:26
3."Soulful Christmas"
  • Russaw
  • Paul
  • Smith
3:06
4."Santa Baby"
  • Joan Javits
  • Philip Springer
  • Tony Springer
  • Russaw
  • Paul
  • Smith
  • Tim Stewart
3:19
5."Merry Christmas Baby"
  • Russaw
  • Paul
  • Stewart
4:33
6."Mistletoe and Holly"
  • Russaw
  • Paul
2:16
7."Christmas Wish"
  • Evans
  • Griffin
  • Lou Baxter
  • Johnny Dudley Moore
  • Toni Coleman
  • Russaw
  • Paul
3:31
8."Christmas Song"
  • Russaw
  • Paul
  • Smith
  • Stewart
3:35
9."This Christmas"
  • Russaw
  • Paul
3:51
10."White Christmas"Irving Berlin
  • Russaw
  • Paul
  • Smith
3:26
11."O Come, All ye Faithful"John Francis Wade
  • Russaw
  • Paul
  • Smith
3:37
Total length:40:04

Sample credits

  • "Soulful Christmas" contains a sample of the recording "Soulful Christmas" as performed by James Brown.
  • "Christmas Wish" samples from "Merry Christmas Baby" as performed by James Brown.

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for A Faithful Christmas
Chart (2005) Peak
position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[4] 70
US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)[5] 7

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Willman, Chris (2005-12-16). "Xmas Cheers (and Jeers) (Page 2)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  2. ^ a b Allmusic review
  3. ^ a b Arnold, Chuck (2005-12-12). "Picks and Pans: Music". People. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  4. ^ "Faith Evans Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  5. ^ "Faith Evans Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
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