Christmas Spirit (Donna Summer album)

Christmas Spirit is the sixteenth studio album by American singer Donna Summer. It was released by Mercury Records on October 4, 1994 in the United States. Produced by Michael Omartian, who had collaborated with Summer on the albums She Works Hard for the Money (1983) and Cats Without Claws (1984), both as a producer and composer, it marked Summer's first Christmas album. Christmas Spirit consists of traditional and well-known Christmas songs and carols, as well as new original songs and a cover of Amy Grant's "Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)".

Christmas Spirit
Studio album by
Donna Summer
ReleasedOctober 4, 1994
RecordedJuly 1993–July 1994
Genre
Length46:15
Label
ProducerMichael Omartian
Donna Summer chronology
The Donna Summer Anthology
(1993)		 Christmas Spirit
(1994)		 Endless Summer: Greatest Hits
(1994)

Upon release, Christmas Spirit earned largely mixed reviews from music critics, many of whom found it solidly crafted but uninspired. Commercially, the album failed to chart during its original release. By 2006, it had sold more than 46,000 copies in the US. In 2005, Christmas Spirit was re-issued by Universal Music on the Mercury label. Re-titled 20th Century Masters: The Best of Donna Summer: The Christmas Collection, it entered the US Top Holiday Albums at number 40.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Cross Rhythms4/10[2]

Allmusic editor Steven McDonald found that "Summer's contribution to the Christmas album market sounds good, courtesy of producer Michael Omartian, but it's about what you'd expect from the combination of Omartian and Summer: nicely produced, bland versions of songs such as "White Christmas," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and "O Holy Night." Summer gives it a good try, however, and the album does have some appeal, if little forcefulness."[1] Tony Cummings from Cross Rhythms called that album "a major let down. The choice of songs is chronically uninspired with both secular and sacred numbers being chronically over recorded [...] In fact, throughout the album the one-time disco diva hardly has a decent rhythm to sing across such is the dominance of the strings. An album only for saccharine Yuletide tastes."[2] Vibe's Amy Linden felt that Christmas Spirit "is drenched in strings and celestial choirs, but is a bit heavy-handed and lacks the old ho ho ho — which somehow befits this disco queen turned born-again Christian."[3]

Charts performance

Upon release, Christmas Spirit failed to chart on any Billboard chart the United States.[4] By 2006, it had sold more than 46,000 units domestically, according to Nielsen Soundscan.[5] In 2007, the Universal Music-produced reissue of the album entered the US Top Holiday Albums at number 40.[4]

Track listing

All tracks produced by Michael Omartian.[6]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."White Christmas"Irving Berlin2:55
2."The Christmas Song"
4:20
3."O Come All Ye Faithful"
4:40
4."Christmas is Here"
3:22
5."Christmas Medley ("What Child Is This?"/"Do You Hear What I Hear?"/"Joy to the World)"
5:20
6."I'll Be Home for Christmas"
3:30
7."Christmas Spirit"
  • Summer
  • Omartian
  • Sudano
4:53
8."Breath of Heaven"
6:04
9."O Holy Night"
4:12
10."Lamb of God"
  • Omartian
  • Summer
7:24

Personnel
  • Michael Omartian – producer
  • Donna Summer – vocals

Charts
Chart (2007) Peak
position
US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)[4] 40

References
  1. McDonald, Steven. "Christmas Spirit > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  2. Cummings, Tony. "Donna Summer - Christmas Spirit". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  3. Linden, Amy. "X-Mas Round Up". Vibe. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  4. "Donna Summer Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  5. "Answers to readers' questions about Roxette, Donna Summer and Jack Ingram". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 18, 2014. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  6. Christmas Spirit (booklet). Mercury Records. 1994.
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