In the Swing of Christmas
Studio album by
Barry Manilow
ReleasedNovember 1, 2007 / October 13, 2009 (re-release)
Recorded2007
GenreChristmas
Length34:10 / 39:31 (re-release)
LabelHallmark / Arista
ProducerBarry Manilow and Scott Erickson
Barry Manilow chronology
The Greatest Songs of the Seventies
(2007)		 In the Swing of Christmas
(2007)		 Beautiful Ballads & Love Songs
(2008)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

In the Swing of Christmas is the third Christmas-themed album by Barry Manilow. Released on November 1, 2007, it was available exclusively at Hallmark Gold Crown stores.[2] The album was certified Gold in the United States by the RIAA in 2008,[3] and was nominated for a Grammy in the 'Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album' category at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards.[4]

Produced and arranged by Manilow and co-produced by Scott Erickson, the album features more of a swing jazz style than his previous Christmas releases.[5] The jazz ensemble MaD Fusion[lower-alpha 1] (Matt Herskowitz—piano, Mat Fieldes—bass, and David Rozenblatt—drums) accompanied Manilow on four tracks, and The Randy Kerber Trio (Randy Kerber—piano, Mike Valerio—bass, and Joe LaBarbera—drums) was featured on five tracks, along with various other musicians. The first track, "Silver Bells", was performed a capella, with Manilow overdubbing all of the vocals himself. The album included instructions for downloading a bonus track, "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear".[6]

On October 13, 2009,[7] the album was re-released on Arista Records with two bonus tracks: "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Christmas Is Just Around the Corner", an original song from the 2008 animated television special Cranberry Christmas.[6][8] The downloadable bonus track from the Hallmark release was not included. The re-release appeared on the Billboard 200 chart for four non-consecutive weeks in late 2009, peaking at #127 during the week ending December 19.[9]

Track listing

2007 release

  1. "Silver Bells" – 2:37
  2. "Carol of the Bells / Jingle Bells" – 2:45
  3. "Joy to the World / It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" – 3:07
  4. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" – 4:06
  5. "Violets for Your Furs" – 3:22
  6. "O Tannenbaum" / "Winter Wonderland" – 2:57
  7. "Christmas Time Is Here" – 4:35
  8. "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire)" – 3:18
  9. "Toyland" (Victor Herbert, Glen MacDonough) – 3:23
  10. "Count Your Blessings" – 3:48

downloadable bonus track

  1. "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear"

2009 re-release

  1. "Silver Bells" – 2:37
  2. "Carol of the Bells / Jingle Bells" – 2:45
  3. "Joy to the World / It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" – 3:07
  4. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" – 4:06
  5. "Violets for Your Furs" – 3:22
  6. "O Tannenbaum" / "Winter Wonderland" – 2:57
  7. "Christmas Time Is Here" – 4:35
  8. "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire)" – 3:18
  9. "Toyland" (Victor Herbert, Glen MacDonough) – 3:23
  10. "Count Your Blessings" – 3:48
  11. "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" – 2:26
  12. "Christmas Is Just Around the Corner" (Barry Manilow, Bruce Sussman) – 2:54

Notes

  1. ↑ credited as The Matt Herskowitz Trio on the 2009 re-release

References

  1. ↑ AllMusic review
  2. ↑ "Barry Manilow". Barry Manilow. STILETTO Entertainment. 2007-10-30. Archived from the original on 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2023-11-30. Tuesday, October 30, 2007 Two more days left until the new Christmas album, IN THE SWING OF CHRISTMAS, is available in Hallmark Gold Crown stores on November 1!
  3. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  4. ↑ "51st Annual GRAMMY Awards". Grammy Awards. The Recording Academy. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  5. ↑ Widran, Jonathan. "Barry Manilow - In the Swing of Christmas Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 2023-11-27. True to its title, his engaging third Christmas CD is more swinging and jazzy than his other two, which had an interesting musical variety but were definitely more pop.
  6. 1 2 In the Swing of Christmas (Media notes). Arista Records.
  7. ↑ "Barry Manilow Official Merchandise Store". Starz.bz. Hastings, Clayton & Tucker, Inc. Archived from the original on 2010-01-22. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  8. ↑ "Ocean Spray special features Manilow music". UPI. 2008-11-10. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  9. ↑ "Billboard 200". Billboard. Penske Media Corporation. 2010-01-02. Retrieved 2023-11-30.


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