''SantaMental'' is the fourth and the holiday studio album from
Steve Lukather
Steven Lee Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a stea ...
, released in 2003.
History
When Lukather's record company, Bop City Records, approached him about recording a Christmas album, he quipped, "Why me? Do I look like Father Christmas to you mofos?" The company wanted him to do the record knowing he would approach the project with a unique angle and produce something different from the typical Christmas album. Lukather recruited keyboardist Jeff Babko and guitarist
Larry Carlton
Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts such as Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. He has participated in thousands of recording sessions, recorde ...
, who Lukather had worked with previously, to help arrange the songs. The result was a challenge to Lukather, who had to be creative to turn the traditionally simple songs into something interesting for listeners.
The musicians Lukather chose for ''SantaMental'', most of whom are hard rock veterans, lent a heavy feel to the album. Van Halen recorded guitar tracks for "Joy to the World" after not having been in the studio for some time but immediately made an impression on Lukather with his level of playing. Vai provided guitar work for "Carol of the Bells" along with Lukather's son Trevor, then 14 years old. Slash, who recorded his part in one take, played on the Lukather/Stan Lynch composition "Broken Heart for Christmas." Lukather spoke highly of Slash after the project, calling him the "
Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
of our generation." Famous session guitarist
Michael Landau
Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitch ...
played on the song "Look Out For Angels,"
and there is a previously unreleased version of "Jingle Bells" sung by
Sammy Davis Jr.
Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director.
At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...
Track listing
All songs traditional arranged by Steve Lukather and Jeff Babko, except where noted.
#"
Joy to the World
"Joy to the World" is an English Christmas carol. The carol was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnwriter Isaac Watts, and its lyrics are an interpretation of Psalm 98 celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Today, the carol is usua ...
" - 3:07
#"
Greensleeves
"Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English Fol ...
" - 6:58
#"
Jingle Bells
"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed th ...
" - 2:19
#"
Carol of the Bells
"Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol, with music by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914 and lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky. The song is based on the Ukrainian folk chant " Shchedryk". The music is in the public domain; Wil ...
" - 4:42
#"
Broken Heart for Christmas" (Lukather,
Stan Lynch
Stanley Joseph "Stan" Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994.
Early years
Lynch was born in ...
)- 4:09
#"
Angels We Have Heard on High
"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol to the hymn tune "Gloria" from a traditional French song of unknown origin called "", with paraphrased English lyrics by James Chadwick. The song's subject is the birth of Jesus Christ as nar ...
" - 4:55
#"
Winter Wonderland
"Winter Wonderland" is a song written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith. Due to its seasonal theme, it is often regarded as a Christmas song in the Northern Hemisphere. Since its original recording by Richard Himber, ...
" - 4:05
#"
Look Out for Angels" (Lukather, Babko) - 5:19
#"
Silent Night
"Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an ...
" - 4:33
#"Goodbye" - 0:47 (Virtual track, not on the record.)
#"
The Christmas Song
"The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting by an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé.
The Nat King Cole Trio f ...
" (Traditional; Arranged by Lukather and
Larry Carlton
Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts such as Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. He has participated in thousands of recording sessions, recorde ...
) - 2:16
Personnel
*
Steve Lukather
Steven Lee Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a stea ...
– guitar (1, 2, 4-10), lead guitar (3), lead vocals (3–5, 7, 8), backing vocals (3)
* Jeff Babko – keyboards (1, 5, 6, 8, 9), synthesizers (2, 4), trombone (3, 7), backing vocals (3), horn arrangements and conductor (3, 7), guitar (4), lead vocals (4),
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
(7)
*
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded along ...
– guitar (1)
* Trevor Lukather – guitar (4)
*
Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...
– guitar (4)
*
Slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash ...
– guitar (5)
*
Michael Landau
Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitch ...
– guitar (8)
*
John Pierce – bass (1-9)
*
Gregg Bissonette
Gregg Bissonette (born June 9, 1959) is an American jazz and rock drummer and vocalist. He is the brother of bassist Matt Bissonette, with whom he frequently collaborates. He has played on albums by dozens of recording artists, including David ...
– drums (1-9), trumpet (3)
*
Simon Phillips – tambourine (1)
*
Lenny Castro
Lenny or Lennie may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Lenny (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Lennie (surname), a list of people
* Lenny (singer) (born 1993), Czech songwriter
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''L ...
– percussion (2, 5-8),
bell tree
A bell tree, also known as tree bellsBeck, John. ''Encyclopedia of Percussion.'' Taylor and Francis, 1995. or Chinese bell tree (often confused with the mark tree), is a percussion instrument, consisting of vertically nested inverted metal bowl ...
(3), backing vocals (3)
*
Edgar Winter
Edgar Holland Winter (born December 28, 1946) is an American musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist, playing keyboards, guitar, saxophone, and percussion, as well as singing. His success peaked in the 1970s with his band the Edgar Winter Group ...
– saxophone (2, 7), lead vocals (7)
*
George Shelby – saxophone (3, 7)
*
Walt Fowler
Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include:
People Given name
* Walt Arfons (1916-2013), American drag racer and competition land speed record racer
* Walt Bel ...
– trumpet (3, 7)
*
Sammy Davis Jr.
Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director.
At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...
– lead vocals (3)
*
Scott Hamilton – backing vocals (3)
In a 2021 interview with
CJRT-FM
CJRT-FM (91.1 MHz) is a Canadian public radio station and charitable arts organization in Toronto, Ontario, known as JAZZ.FM91. The studios are on Pardee Avenue in the Liberty Village neighbourhood of Toronto. The station describes itself as Can ...
's
Brad Barker, Babko identified figure skater Scott Hamilton as a backing vocalist rather than
Scott Hamilton the musician, stating that "he was a fan of Lukather's."
Production
* Steve Lukather – producer
* Elliot Scheiner – producer, recording, mixing
* Steve Saxton – executive producer
* Gina Zangla – art direction, design
* Robert Knight – cover photography
References
External links
Album information
{{Authority control
Steve Lukather albums
2003 Christmas albums
Christmas albums by American artists
Rock Christmas albums