Christmas Eve and Other Stories

Christmas Eve and Other Stories is the debut studio album by the American rock band Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It was released on October 15, 1996, through Lava Records and Atlantic Records. It is the first album in the band's "Christmas trilogy", with The Christmas Attic (1998) and The Lost Christmas Eve (2004) coming afterward. All three albums, as well as their The Ghosts of Christmas Eve DVD, were featured in the box set of The Christmas Trilogy. The album's cover art was created by Edgar Jerins.[3]

Christmas Eve and Other Stories
Studio album by
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
ReleasedOctober 15, 1996
Recorded1995-1996
StudioSoundtrack Studios and Studio 900 (overdubs), New York City
GenreChristmas, symphonic metal, progressive metal
Length62:03
LabelLava/Atlantic
Producer
Trans-Siberian Orchestra chronology
Christmas Eve and Other Stories
(1996)		 The Christmas Attic
(1998)
Singles from Christmas Eve and Other Stores
  1. "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24"
    Released: October 1996
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[2]

The album became one of the best-selling Christmas albums of all-time in the U.S. and has been certified 3× platinum by the RIAA for selling 3 million copies in the US. As of November 2016, the album track "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" has sold 1.3 million downloads, becoming one of the best-selling Christmas songs of all-time in the US as well.[4]

Commercial performance

As of November 2014, Christmas Eve and Other Stories was the ninth best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States during the Nielsen SoundScan era of music sales tracking (1991 – present), with sales of 3,430,000 copies according to SoundScan.[5] On November 28, 2011, Christmas Eve and Other Stories was certified 3× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of three million copies in the United States.[6]

Track listing

All new lyrics by Paul O'Neill

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."An Angel Came Down"Franz Gruber, O'Neill, Jon Oliva3:52
2."O Come All Ye Faithful/O Holy Night" (instrumental)John Francis Wade, Frederick Oakeley, John Reading, Adolphe Adam, John Sullivan Dwight, O'Neill, Robert Kinkel4:19
3."A Star to Follow"O'Neill3:49
4."First Snow" (instrumental)O'Neill3:53
5."The Silent Nutcracker" (instrumental)O'Neill2:22
6."A Mad Russian's Christmas" (instrumental)Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Kinkel4:42
7."The Prince of Peace"Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Wesley, O'Neill3:33
8."Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" (same recording released in 1995 by Savatage; instrumental)O'Neill, Kinkel3:25
9."Good King Joy"Lowell Mason, Kinkel, O'Neill6:36
10."Ornament"O'Neill, Oliva3:37
11."The First Noel" (instrumental)Traditional, O'Neill0:55
12."Old City Bar"O'Neill6:18
13."Promises to Keep"O'Neill, Kinkel2:41
14."This Christmas Day"O'Neill, Oliva4:20
15."An Angel Returned"O'Neill, Oliva3:52
Bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."O Holy Night" (instrumental)Adam, Dwight2:39
17."God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (instrumental)Traditional1:16
Target bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
18."Whoville Medley (Perfect Christmas Night/Grinch)"2:38
19."The World That He Sees"4:43

References
  1. Garcia, Alex S. "Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve and Other Stories review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
  2. Popoff, Martin (August 1, 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 455. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  3. Roth, Dan (May 28, 2012). "A conversation With Edgar Jerins: the man behind seven classic Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra album covers". Music & Art Interviews.com. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
  4. "What Are the Top-Selling Holiday Songs?". Billboard. November 25, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  5. "The Gifts That Keep on Giving: Biggest Radio and Album Hits of the Holidays". Billboard. December 1, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  6. "RIAA Searchable Database: search for Trans-Siberian Orchestra". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
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