Wintersong
2006 studio album by Sarah McLachlan
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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.
| Wintersong | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 17 October 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 1994, Spring-Summer 2006[1] | |||
| Genre | Christmas | |||
| Length | 45:43 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Pierre Marchand | |||
| Sarah McLachlan chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Blogcritics | (?)[3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[4] |
| Slant Magazine | [5] |
Singles
"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
| 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
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 300,000 copies, and has been certified Triple 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
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" | John Lennon, Yoko Ono | 3:28 |
| 2. | "What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)" | William Chatterton Dix | 3:31 |
| 3. | "River" | Joni Mitchell | 4:02 |
| 4. | "Wintersong" | Sarah McLachlan | 3:31 |
| 5. | "I'll Be Home for Christmas" | Walter Kent, Kim Gannon | 3:15 |
| 6. | "O Little Town of Bethlehem" | Phillips Brooks, Lewis Redner | 3:51 |
| 7. | "The First Noel / Mary Mary" | Traditional | 5:00 |
| 8. | "Silent Night" | Josef Mohr, Franz X. Gruber | 3:48 |
| 9. | "Song for a Winter's Night" | Gordon Lightfoot | 3:48 |
| 10. | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane | 3:44 |
| 11. | "In the Bleak Mid-Winter" | Christina Rossetti, Gustav Holst | 3:46 |
| 12. | "Christmas Time Is Here" (featuring Diana Krall) | Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson | 3:59 |
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
- 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
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications and sales
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[25] | 3× Platinum | 300,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[26] | Platinum | 1,100,000[27] |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||