The Gift of Christmas (Juice Newton album)

The Gift of Christmas is a 2007 Christmas album by country pop singer Juice Newton. It was originally released by OJM Records on November 14, 2007.[1] The album was Newton's last collaboration with Otha Young, her professional partner of over 30 years. Young died of cancer in 2009.[2]

This article is about the album by Juice Newton. For the album by En Vogue, see The Gift of Christmas (En Vogue album).
The Gift of Christmas
Studio album by
Juice Newton
ReleasedNovember 14, 2007 (2007-11-14)
RecordedJuly 2007 (2007-07)
GenreChristmas, country pop
Length37:39 (original release)
50:49 (deluxe edition)
LabelOJM Records
Juice Newton chronology
Country Classics
(2002)		 The Gift of Christmas
(2007)		 Duets: Friends & Memories
(2010)

Overview

The Gift of Christmas was produced by Newton herself and recorded at a studio in La Cañada Flintridge, near Los Angeles, California.[3] Among the 12 songs Newton recorded on the album were the old spiritual "Go Tell It on the Mountain", the English Christmas carol "The First Noel", and "Auld Lang Syne" from the poem by Robert Burns. She also performed the popular 1957 Bobby Helms tune "Jingle Bell Rock", the 1947 Leroy Anderson classic "Sleigh Ride", and Harry Belafonte's "Mary's Boy Child". One of the songs, "For Believers", was written by Otha Young and originally recorded by Newton for her 1983 album Dirty Looks.[4] For this album Newton performed a special new rendition.[5]

In discussing the album Newton remarked:

We didn't want the Christmas album to be melancholy, but we didn't want it to be all traditional either. It's Americana. I was a pop artist when I first started. I didn't cross over to country until my second album. That's why I think this album has a diverse feel to it. It's very eclectic. I love this Christmas record. It's cool for me. This is something I never could have done on a record label. Christmas albums aren't platinum or even gold sellers. Well, maybe after a while they are. But they don't debut at No. 1. So we went in and had a lot of fun with this record. And I think it shows.
I'm a singer; I learned that your voice mellows with time. You don't usually stay a tenor if you're a man. My voice has darkened; it has more depth. And I figure when it quits, I'll quit. I don't like that fake-y thing. As long as it holds up, I'll keep performing.[3]

Newton did not have a major distributor at the time of the album's release so she sold it through her web site, her Myspace site and through CD Baby.[3] The Gift of Christmas was subsequently released through iTunes in a "deluxe edition" with four additional songs.[6] Two of these are non-Christmas songs with Newton singing duets with Willie Nelson. These two duets were originally released on Newton's 2010 album Duets: Friends & Memories.[7]

Track listing

Original release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Go Tell It On the Mountain"John Wesley Work, Jr.3:21
2."Jingle Bell Rock"Joseph Carleton Beal, James Ross Boothe3:16
3."The First Noel"Traditional3:31
4."Christmas Needs Love to Be Christmas"Juice Newton2:57
5."Sleigh Ride"Leroy Anderson3:03
6."Santa Can Dance"Andre O. Mayeux, Otha Young3:40
7."For Believers"Otha Young3:28
8."Mary's Boy Child"Jester Hairston3:38
9."Shining Star"Andre O. Mayeux, Otha Young4:16
10."Better Get Ready"Otha Young, Juice Newton2:25
11."Christmas Wish"Otha Young, Juice Newton4:02
12."Auld Lang Syne"Robert Burns3:23

Deluxe edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."We All Go Home for Christmas"Andre O. Mayeux3:21
2."Holidays Are Near"Andre O. Mayeux3:00
3."Go Tell It On Mountain"John Wesley Work, Jr.3:21
4."Jingle Bell Rock"Joseph Carleton Beal, James Ross Boothe3:16
5."The First Noel"Traditional3:31
6."Christmas Needs Love to Be Christmas"Juice Newton2:57
7."Sleigh Ride"Leroy Anderson3:03
8."Santa Can Dance"Andre O. Mayeux, Otha Young3:40
9."For Believers"Otha Young3:28
10."Mary's Boy Child"Jester Hairston3:38
11."Shining Star"Andre O. Mayeux, Otha Young4:16
12."Better Get Ready"Otha Young, Juice Newton2:25
13."Christmas Wish"Otha Young, Juice Newton4:02
14."Auld Lang Syne"Robert Burns3:23
15."Funny How Time Slips Away" (duet with Willie Nelson)Willie Nelson3:34
16."Touch Me" (duet with Willie Nelson)Willie Nelson3:15
gollark: Especially locks and stuff, where telling if it's bad is hard.
gollark: I don't think you could reasonably expect them to have specialists review every (popular) product in every category to find good ones.
gollark: I bet they just pick those at random.
gollark: Oh no. How will I live without one day shipping of Amazon's amazing range of Prime™ products‽
gollark: To be fair, you can't really *tell* if you got cancer because of a reactor issue or something else very easily.

References
  1. The Gift of Christmas at AllMusic
  2. Freeman, Paul (October 2012). "Juice Newton: The Queen Of Hearts' Winning New Hand". Pop Culture Classics. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  3. Bell, Rick (December 19, 2007). "Newton's 'Gift' to fans is Christmas album". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  4. Dirty Looks at AllMusic
  5. "Juice Newton". Copa Palm Springs. March 26, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  6. "The Gift of Christmas". Apple, Inc. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  7. Duets: Friends & Memories at AllMusic
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