''The Classic Christmas Album'' is a Christmas compilation album by Canadian singer-songwriter

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan Order of Canada, OC Order of British Columbia, OBC (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is ''Surfacing ( ...

, released on 2 October 2015 by

Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 20 ...

. It includes all the songs from 2006's ''

Wintersong ''Wintersong'' is the sixth album and first Christmas album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, released in October 2006. It was produced by longtime collaborator Pierre Marchand and includes contributions from Jim Creeggan of Baren ...

'' plus five other Christmas tunes.

Content

The album includes all twelve tracks from McLachlan's 2006 Christmas album, ''

'' and five other Christmas songs. "

God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" is an English traditional Christmas carol. It is in the Roxburghe Collection (iii. 452), and is listed as no. 394 in the Roud Folk Song Index. It is also known as "Tidings of Comfort and Joy", and by other varia ...

We Three Kings "We Three Kings", original title "Three Kings of Orient", also known as "We Three Kings of Orient Are" or "The Quest of the Magi", is a Christmas carol that was written by John Henry Hopkins Jr. in 1857. At the time of composing the carol, Hopki ...

" was recorded backstage by

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release to be certified gold in Canada. They reach ...

and McLachlan using one mic and done in one take at Planetfest in December 1996 for US radio station WPLT. In 2000, it appeared on the

Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk Management, and Nettwerk One Publishing. Established in 1984, the Vancouver-based company was created by Nettwerk principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record ...

's compilation, ''Christmas Songs'' and in 2004, it was featured on the Barenaked Ladies album, '' Barenaked for the Holidays''. In 2015, "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen / We Three Kings" was included for the very first time on McLachlan's album. ''The Classic Christmas Album'' also includes "

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is a Christmas carol based on the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The song tells of the narrator hearing Christmas bells during the American Civil War, but despairing ...

" from the 2007 compilation, '' Stockings by the Fire''. Three other songs, "Space on the Couch for Two", "Find Your Voice" and "

Prayer of Saint Francis The anonymous text that is usually called the Prayer of Saint Francis (or Peace Prayer, or Simple Prayer for Peace, or Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace) is a widely known Christian prayer for peace. Often associated with the Italian Saint Fr ...

", feature The Sarah McLachlan School Choir and they were already released as free

downloads In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...

in 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively. "Prayer of Saint Francis" without The Sarah McLachlan School Choir was featured on the '' Surfacing'' album bonus disc and later on ''

Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff Volume 2 ''Rarities, B-Sides, and Other Stuff Volume 2'' is the second compilation album of rarities by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, released in April 2008, twelve years after its predecessor. Track listing Charts Certifications and ...

''.

Reception

The album sold 1,000 copies in the United States in its first week. It entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at No. 199 for chart dated December 26, 2015. It has sold 20,000 copies in the United States as of September 2016.

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References