The Christmas Album, Volume II
The Christmas Album, Volume II is the twenty-second studio album by Neil Diamond, and his second to feature Christmas music. It was produced by Peter Asher and released by Columbia Records in 1994, only two years after Diamond's previous Christmas album. It features orchestral and choir arrangements by David Campbell, who also worked on the first Christmas album, as well as several of Diamond's other works.[2][3] The album reached number 9 on the Billboard Holiday Album chart and was certified as gold by the RIAA on December 6, 1994.[4][5]
| The Christmas Album, Volume II | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 11, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1994 | |||
| Genre | Christmas | |||
| Length | 50:11 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Peter Asher | |||
| Neil Diamond chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Joy to the World" | Traditional | 2:40 |
| 2. | "Mary's Little Boy Child" | Jester Hairston | 2:59 |
| 3. | "Deck the Halls" / "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" | Traditional | 1:42 |
| 4. | "Winter Wonderland" | Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith | 2:44 |
| 5. | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin | 4:43 |
| 6. | "I'll Be Home For Christmas" | Kim Gannon, Walter Kent, Buck Ram | 3:43 |
| 7. | "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" | Johnny Marks | 4:04 |
| 8. | "Sleigh Ride" | Leroy Anderson | 2:42 |
| 9. | "Candlelight Carol" | John Rutter | 4:09 |
| 10. | "Away in a Manger" | Traditional | 2:33 |
| 11. | "O Come All Ye Faithful" | Traditional | 4:15 |
| 12. | "O Little Town of Bethlehem" | Traditional | 3:35 |
| 13. | "Angels We Have Heard on High" | Traditional | 3:17 |
| 14. | "The First Noel" | Traditional | 3:34 |
| 15. | "Hallelujah Chorus" | G. F. Handel | 3:31 |
Personnel
- Neil Diamond – lead vocals
- Robbie Buchanan – acoustic piano (1, 12), keyboards (11, 13, 15), percussion (13), harmonium (14)
- Bill Payne – Hammond B3 organ (4, 7)
- Tom Hensley – acoustic piano (5, 6), arrangements (5, 6), horn section conductor (5, 6)
- Alan Lindgren – arrangements (5, 6, 9), horn section conductor (5, 6), acoustic piano (9)
- Brian Mann – accordion (10)
- Bob Mann – guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11), acoustic guitar (10)
- Waddy Wachtel – guitar (1, 4, 7), acoustic guitar (10)
- Kenny Blackwell – mandolin (10)
- Michael Thompson – guitar (15)
- Jimmy Johnson – bass guitar (1, 4, 7, 15)
- Bob Magnusson – bass guitar (2, 5, 6, 8, 10)
- Carlos Vega – drums (1, 4-7, 15), percussion (7)
- Peter Asher – percussion (2, 7, 8, 11)
- Vince Charles – steel drums (2)
- Alan Estes – marimba (5), vibraphone (6)
- M.B. Gordy – vibraphone (8), percussion (13, 14), timpani (15)
- Jon Clarke – woodwinds (2), flute (14), recorders (14)
- Tommy Morgan – harmonica (6)
- Carl Smith – lute (14)
- David Campbell – arrangements (1-4, 7, 8, 10-15), brass conductor (1), horn section conductor (4, 7), orchestra conductor (5, 6, 8, 9, 11-15), choir conductor for Ambrosian Singers (9, 11-15)
- Walter Whitman – arrangements (1), brass conductor (1), choir conductor (1)
- The Soul Children of Chicago – choir (1)
- 139th Street Quartet – barbershop choir (3)
- The Ambrosian Singers – choir (9, 11-15)
- John McCarthy – choirmaster for Ambrosian Singers
- The Angel Voices – boys choir (9, 11, 13, 14)
- Robert Prizeman – choir conductor for Angel Voices
- Raven Kane – vocal contractor
- Backing vocals – Valerie Carter (2), Laura Satterfield (2), Kate Markowitz (2, 4, 7), Raven Kane (4, 7), Stephanie Spruill (4, 7), Julia Waters (4, 7), Maxine Waters (4, 7), Oren Waters (4, 7), Wendy Fraser (7), Andrea Robinson (7), Herb Pedersen (10)
- Children’s backing vocals (7) – Victoria Asher, Perrie Briskin, Anjuli Cain, Alyssa Campbell, Erika Christensen, Milena Ferreria, Kelyn Huppard, Jacob King, Evan Payne, Ashley Powell and Sara Seider
Production
- Producer – Peter Asher
- Production Coordinator – Ivy Skoff
- Recorded and Mixed by Frank Wolf
- Additional Engineers – Bernie Becker and Julie Last
- Assistant Engineers – Kristin Cowie, Sean O’Dwyer, John Radzin and Marnie Riley.
- Recorded at Arch Angel Studios (Los Angeles, CA), Conway Studios (Hollywood, CA) and Angel Recording Studios (London, England).
- Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, CA).
- Art Direction – David Kirschner
- Design – Gabrielle Raumberger and Dylan Tran
- Photography – Mauro Carerro
- Background Photography – David Skernick
See also
References
- The Christmas Album, Volume II at AllMusic
- The Christmas Album, Volume II at AllMusic
- The Christmas Album at AllMusic
- Diamond, Neil. "Holiday album chart". Billboard. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
- "Diamond, Neil". RIAA. Retrieved March 5, 2014. Note: Enter search for "Diamond, Neil".
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