Christmas Is Almost Here

Christmas Is Almost Here
Christmas Is Almost Here
	CD cover of original 2002 release
Studio album by Carly Simon
Released	October 22, 2002
Recorded	in Room 139, The Peninsula Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA January 2002
Genre	Christmas music
Length	36:40
Label	Rhino
Producer	Don Was & Carly Simon
Carly Simon chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link

Christmas Is Almost Here is the 19th studio album and first Christmas album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released on October 22, 2002.^[1]

The album peaked at No. 14 on Billboard's Top Holiday Albums chart.^[2]

Release history and promotion[]

Christmas Is Almost Here was released on October 22, 2002, and Simon embarked on promotional tour that included a handful of television appearances, such as Good Morning America, The Caroline Rhea Show, Live with Regis and Kelly, Howard Stern and The Today Show. Simon's son, Ben Taylor, accompanied her on many of these promotional appearances.

Simon re-released the album the following year with two bonus tracks, "White Christmas" (with Burt Bacharach) and "Forgive" (with Andreas Vollenweider).^[3] Borders released special limited copies in 2010 with the bonus track "The Night Before Christmas", from Simon's soundtrack album to the 1992 film This Is My Life.^[4] The previous year the song had been added to the MP3 version of the album.^[5]

Track listings[]

Original 2002 release[]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Christmas Is Almost Here"	Livingston Taylor	4:00
2.	"Oh Come, All Ye Faithful"	Traditional	3:39
3.	"The Land of Christmas (Mary)"	Carly Simon	3:18
4.	"Silent Night"	Joseph Mohr, Franz Gruber	3:09
5.	"Twelve Gates to the City"	Traditional	3:09
6.	"I'll Be Home for Christmas"	Kim Gannon, Walter Kent, Buck Ram, Carly Simon	2:23
7.	"God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen"	Traditional	3:04
8.	"Heaven"	Lucy Simon, Carly Simon	3:10
9.	"Pretty Paper (duet with Willie Nelson)"	Willie Nelson	3:29
10.	"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"	Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane	3:07
11.	"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"	John Lennon, Yoko Ono	4:12
Total length:			36:40

Expanded 2003 re-release[]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Christmas Is Almost Here"	Livingston Taylor	4:00
2.	"White Christmas"	Irving Berlin	2:45
3.	"Oh Come, All Ye Faithful"	Traditional	3:39
4.	"The Land of Christmas (Mary)"	Carly Simon	3:18
5.	"Silent Night"	Joseph Mohr, Franz Gruber	3:09
6.	"Twelve Gates to the City"	Traditional	3:09
7.	"I'll Be Home for Christmas"	Kim Gannon, Walter Kent, Buck Ram, Carly Simon	2:23
8.	"God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen"	Traditional	3:04
9.	"Heaven"	Lucy Simon, Carly Simon	3:10
10.	"Pretty Paper (duet with Willie Nelson)"	Willie Nelson	3:29
11.	"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"	Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane	3:07
12.	"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"	John Lennon, Yoko Ono	4:12
13.	"Forgive"	Carly Simon, Andreas Vollenweider	1:23
Total length:			40:48

Borders 2010 limited edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"The Night Before Christmas (from the soundtrack album This Is My Life)"	Carly Simon	3:41
Total length:			43:29

Credits[]

Musicians

Carly Simon – vocals, acoustic guitar (3, 4, 5, 8, 11), arrangements (7)
Dean Parks – acoustic guitar (1, 2, 6, 9)
Mark Goldenberg – electric guitar (1, 5, 7), 12-string acoustic guitar (11)
Joel Shearer – dobro (2), guitar (4, 11), acoustic guitar (7)
Judd Fuller – acoustic guitar (9), mandolin (9)
Willie Nelson – guitar (9), lead vocals (9)
Deron Johnson – synthesizers (1)
Billy Preston – organ (5), lead vocals (5)
Benmont Tench – organ (7), acoustic piano (11)
Rob Mathes – acoustic piano (8)
Adam MacDougal – acoustic piano (9)
Mickey Raphael – harmonium (9)
Chris Chaney – bass (1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11)
Jim Keltner – drums (1, 3, 7, 9, 11)
Andreas Vollenweider – harp
Arnold McCuller – harmony vocals (4, 7, 11)
Ben Taylor – harmony vocals (4, 11), lead vocals (7)

Production

Carly Simon – producer
Don Was – producer, engineer (1-4, 6-11), mixing (1, 3, 4, 7-11)
Ed Cherney – mixing (2, 5, 6), recording (5)
Jimmy Parr – mixing (4, 7, 9, 11), recording (7, 9)
J.D. Andrew – assistant engineer
Nick Brophy – digital editing
Bob Ludwig – mastering at Gateway Mastering (Portland, ME).
Robin Hurley – A&R
David McLees – A&R
Blue Cullen – production coordinator
Cindi Peters – production coordinator
Denise Searle – production coordinator
Jimmy Edwards – product manager
Sheryl Farber – project assistant
Gary Peterson – project assistant
Tim Scanlin – project assistant
Julie Vlasak – art direction, design
Peter Simon – cover photography
Max S. Gerber – other photography

Charts[]

Album – Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
2002	Holiday Albums	14

References[]

^ "Carly Simon Official Website – News (2002)". Archived from the original on October 13, 2002. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
^ Billboard.com. "Carly Simon Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ "Carly Simon – Christmas Is Almost Here". Archived from the original on December 6, 2003. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
^ "Christmas Is Almost Here [Borders Exclusive Edition]". Discogs.com. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ "Carly Simon Official Website – News (2009)". Archived from the original on November 20, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2014.

External links[]

[1] "Carly Simon Official Website – News (2002)". Archived from the original on October 13, 2002. Retrieved August 23, 2014.

[2] Billboard.com. "Carly Simon Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2020.

[3] "Carly Simon – Christmas Is Almost Here". Archived from the original on December 6, 2003. Retrieved August 23, 2014.

[4] "Christmas Is Almost Here [Borders Exclusive Edition]". Discogs.com. Retrieved January 3, 2020.

[5] "Carly Simon Official Website – News (2009)". Archived from the original on November 20, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2014.

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Discography
Studio albums	Carly Simon Anticipation No Secrets Hotcakes Playing Possum Another Passenger Boys in the Trees Spy Come Upstairs Torch Hello Big Man Spoiled Girl Coming Around Again My Romance Have You Seen Me Lately Letters Never Sent Film Noir The Bedroom Tapes Christmas Is Almost Here Moonlight Serenade Into White This Kind of Love Never Been Gone
Compilations	The Best of Carly Simon Greatest Hits Live Clouds in My Coffee The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better Anthology Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits Carly Simon Collector's Edition Original Album Series Playlist: The Very Best of Carly Simon Songs trom the Trees (A Musical Memoir Collection)
Other	Working Girl (Original Soundtrack Album) This Is My Life (Music from the Motion Picture) Romulus Hunt: A Family Opera Piglet's Big Movie (soundtrack) The Best of Pooh and Heffalumps, Too
Concerts	Live from Martha's Vineyard Carly in Concert – My Romance Live at Grand Central A Moonlight Serenade on the Queen Mary 2
Singles	"That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" "Anticipation" "Legend in Your Own Time" "You're So Vain" "The Right Thing to Do" "Mockingbird" "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" "Attitude Dancing" "Waterfall" "It Keeps You Runnin'" "Nobody Does It Better" "You Belong to Me" "Devoted to You" "Vengeance" "Jesse" "Hurt" "Why" "Kissing with Confidence" "You Know What to Do" "Tired of Being Blonde" "My New Boyfriend" "Coming Around Again" "Give Me All Night" "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" "All I Want Is You" "Let the River Run" "Better Not Tell Her" "Love of My Life" "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)" "Let It Snow"
Other songs	"We Have No Secrets" "Night Owl" "You Can Close Your Eyes"
The Simon Sisters	Meet The Simon Sisters Cuddlebug The Simon Sisters Sing the Lobster Quadrille and Other Songs for Children Winkin', Blinkin' and Nod: The Kapp Recordings
Family	Richard Simon (father) Andrea Heinemann Simon (mother) George Simon (uncle) Joanna Simon (sister) Lucy Simon (sister) James Taylor (ex-husband) Ben Taylor (son) Sally Taylor (daughter)