What I Really Want for Christmas
| What I Really Want for Christmas | ||||
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| Brian Wilson's studio album | ||||
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Publication |
2005 |
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| Label (s) | Arista Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD |
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Title (number) |
15th |
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running time |
46 min 4 s |
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Brian Wilson |
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What I Really Want For Christmas is a solo Christmas album by US singer and composer Brian Wilson . It was produced by Brian Wilson and released by Arista Records in 2005.
History of origin
In 2004 Brian Wilson released the album Smile. In addition to international, worldwide media coverage, outstanding reviews and recognition from fans, he also received a Grammy Award for this album . In total, over a million copies of Smile were sold.
Wilson announced, driven by this success, a new album for 2005. He presented four projects to his fans:
- An album with his smile partner Van Dyke Parks under the working title Still Smiling
- An album with his friend Paul McCartney
- A rock 'n' roll album
- A Christmas album.
Wilson and his advisors decided on the Christmas album. This sparked storms of protest among the fan base. They have been waiting for the repeatedly announced rock 'n' roll album for years and were of the opinion that the Wilson Christmas album could never surpass the Beach Boys ' “Christmas Album” from 1964.
Nevertheless, Wilson, together with the band that had already recorded Smile , set to work in May 2005 to record the album. In addition to eight traditional Christmas carols, there were two new recordings of older Wilson compositions ("The Man With All The Toys" and "Little Saint Nick") that were featured on the Beach Boys Christmas album from 1964. Two new Wilson pieces completed the album. The title track - "What I Really Want For Christmas" - is a collaboration with Elton John writer Bernie Taupin . The second new song - "Christmasey" - was written for Brian Wilson by well-known composer and lyricist Jimmy Webb .
In addition to these twelve songs, there are three bonus tracks on this album . These bonus tracks are Christmas carols that Brian recorded for his fans between 2001 and 2003 and published on his website .
The album was recorded live in a studio and not - as is common today - "in pieces".
The album reached # 200 in the US Billboard charts and # 25 in the XMas charts in the first week of evaluation. The track "Deck The Halls" reached # 9 in the Adult Contemporary Charts.
Track list
- The Man With All The Toys (Brian Wilson, Mike Love ) - 2:59
- What I Really Want For Christmas (Brian Wilson, Bernie Taupin) - 3:50
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Traditional) - 3:27
- O Holy Night (Traditional) - 4:28
- We Wish You A Merry Christmas (Traditional) - 2:36
- Hark The Herald Angels Sing (Traditional) - 3:34
- It Came Upon A Midnight Clear (Traditional) - 3:08
- The First Noel (Traditional) - 4:47
- Christmasey (Brian Wilson, Jimmy Webb) - 4:08
- Little Saint Nick (Brian Wilson, Mike Love) - 2:11
- Deck The Halls (Traditional) - 2:36
- Auld Lang Syne (Traditional) - 1:29
- On Christmas Day (Brian Wilson) - 3:23
- Joy To The World (Traditional) - 2:06
- Silent Night (Traditional) - 0:49