Originally issued in 2002 as a Saddle Creek store exclusive, the aptly titled Christmas Album begins with a piano, flute, ambient noise, and musical saw-driven version of "Away in a Manger," which will help weed out your basic yule jam fans who were just drawn in by the generic name, from the Bright Eyes/Conor Oberst disciples who know that the warmth of the holiday season is trumped only by its potential for melancholy.
What follows is a sort of half-comforting, half-sad jamboree with Oberst and a small army of friends at his house playing through Christmas standards like "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," and "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem," the latter of which, when delivered with Oberst's trademark tremble, sounds more like a lament from a filthy, near-suicidal pauper locked outside of the city's walls than it does a hymn of ecclesiastical joy.
That said, the fragile, homespun, and largely insular vibe that permeates much of the album, provides a nice bit of contrast to other, less sonically humble seasonal offerings, and oddly enough, is probably more aligned with the true spirit of the season.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Away in a MangerTraditional | Bright Eyes | Play | 02:48 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 2 | Blue ChristmasBilly Hayes, Jay Johnson | Bright Eyes | Play | 02:19 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 3 | Oh Little Town of BethlehemTraditional | Bright Eyes | Play | 02:56 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 4 | God Rest Ye Merry GentlemenTraditional | Bright Eyes | Play | 01:52 | 4 MB | 12 MB |
| 5 | The First NoelTraditional | Bright Eyes | Play | 02:30 | 5 MB | 13 MB |
| 6 | Little Drummer BoyKatherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone | Bright Eyes | Play | 02:34 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 7 | White ChristmasIrving Berlin | Bright Eyes | Play | 01:35 | 3 MB | 7 MB |
| 8 | Silent NightTraditional | Bright Eyes | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 9 | Silver BellsRay Evans, Jay Livingston | Bright Eyes | Play | 03:55 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 10 | Have Yourself a Merry Little ChristmasRalph Blane, Hugh Martin | Bright Eyes | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 11 | The Night Before ChristmasTraditional | Bright Eyes | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 19 MB |
| 32 mins | 73 MB | |||||
| 32 mins | 178 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jake Bellows | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 2 | Irving Berlin | Composer |
| 3 | Ralph Blane | Composer |
| 4 | Bright Eyes | Primary Artist |
| 5 | Gretta Cohn | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 6 | Armand Costanzo | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 7 | Denver Dalley | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 8 | Katherine K. Davis | Composer |
| 9 | Stefanie Drootin | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 10 | Ray Evans | Composer |
| 11 | Orenda Fink | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 12 | Billy Hayes | Composer |
| 13 | Neely Jenkins | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 14 | Jay Johnson | Composer |
| 15 | Jiha Lee | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 16 | Andy LeMaster | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 17 | Jay Livingston | Composer |
| 18 | Hugh Martin | Composer |
| 19 | Mike Mogis | Arranger, Mixing, Primary Artist |
| 20 | Conor Oberst | Arranger, Engineer, Primary Artist |
| 21 | Matt Oberst | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 22 | Henry Onorati | Composer |
| 23 | Stephen Pedersen | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 24 | Harry Rhoads | Back Cover Photo |
| 25 | Blake Sennett | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 26 | Harry Simeone | Composer |
| 27 | Macey Taylor | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 28 | Maria Taylor | Arranger, Engineer, Primary Artist |
| 29 | Traditional | Composer |
| 30 | Doug Van Sloun | Mastering |
| 31 | Nick White | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |