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A truly Mary Christmas would match the distraught look on the cover.
Blige's first Christmas album, guided by David Foster and Jochem van der Saag, doesn't feature sad or embittered chestnuts like "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" or "Fairytale of New York" (was Method Man busy?).
Instead, it contains a mix of standard holiday songs -- a couple playful, many solemn, all dramatic.
It's a big production; an orchestra backs Blige on most of the songs.
She pours herself into all of the material, even when she's joined by Jessie J (of all people) for a version of "Do You Hear What I Hear?" that is overcooked.
It could use a couple more joyous songs in the vein of Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas," which is a delight despite so many versions since the original 1970 version.
A Mary Christmas won't likely reach the high status of, say, Mariah Carey's Merry Christmas, but it's a full-effort holiday release that many of her fans should be able to enjoy for several years.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little Drummer BoyKatherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone | Mary J. Blige | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 2 | Have Yourself a Merry Little ChristmasRalph Blane, Hugh Martin | Mary J. Blige | Play | 04:39 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | My Favorite ThingsOscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers | Mary J. Blige | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 4 | This ChristmasDonny Hathaway, Nadine McKinnor | Mary J. Blige | Play | 03:21 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 5 | The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)Mel Tormé, Robert Wells | Mary J. Blige | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 6 | When You Wish Upon a StarLeigh Harline, Ned Washington | Mary J. Blige | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 7 | Mary, Did You KnowBuddy Greene, Mark Lowry | Mary J. Blige | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 8 | Petit Papa NoëlHenri Martinet, Raymond Vincy | Mary J. Blige | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| 9 | The First NoelJacky Clark-Chisholm, Karen Clark-Sheard, Dorinad Clark Cole, Elbernita Clark Terrell, Traditional | Mary J. Blige | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 10 | Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer | Mary J. Blige | Play | 02:30 | 5 MB | 15 MB |
| 11 | Do You Hear What I Hear | Mary J. Blige, Jessie J | Play | 04:22 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 12 | Silent Night | Mary J. Blige, Marc Anthony | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 46 mins | 106 MB | |||||
| 46 mins | 264 MB | |||||
Note: You are able to listen to 30-second samples for preview purpose.
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Al | Bass |
| 2 | Marc Anthony | Featured Artist |
| 3 | Olivier Bassil | Music Copyist, Vocal Coach |
| 4 | Wayne Bergerson | Trumpet |
| 5 | Chuck Berghofer | Bass |
| 6 | Ralph Blane | Composer |
| 7 | Mary J. Blige | Primary Artist |
| 8 | Chris Botti | Featured Artist, Trumpet |
| 9 | Caroline Campbell | Soloist, Violin |
| 10 | The Clark Sisters | Featured Artist |
| 11 | Jacky Clark-Chisholm | Composer |
| 12 | Karen Clark-Sheard | Composer |
| 13 | Vinnie Colaiuta | Drums |
| 14 | Dorinad Clark Cole | Composer |
| 15 | Katherine K. Davis | Composer |
| 16 | Bethany Devine | Vocals (Background) |
| 17 | Jeff Driskill | Saxophone, Soloist |
| 18 | Angela Fisher | Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | David Foster | Accordion, Arranger, Fender Rhodes, Horn Arrangements, Keyboards, Orchestral Arrangements, Orchestration, Piano, Producer, String Arrangements |
| 20 | Katherine Frangetis-Tempesta | A&R |
| 21 | Steve Genewick | Engineer, Horn Engineer |
| 22 | Juliane Gralle | Trombone |
| 23 | Buddy Greene | Composer |
| 24 | Isobel Griffiths | Contractor |
| 25 | David Hage | Music Copyist |
| 26 | Oscar Hammerstein II | Composer |
| 27 | Rexsell Hardy Jr. | Drums |
| 28 | Leigh Harline | Composer |
| 29 | Donny Hathaway | Composer |
| 30 | Jerry Hey | Horn Arrangements, Orchestral Arrangements, Orchestration, String Arrangements |
| 31 | Dustin Higgins | Guitar |
| 32 | Indrani | Photography |
| 33 | Kendu Isaacs | Drum Programming, Executive Producer, Management |
| 34 | Jessie J | Featured Artist |
| 35 | Guido Jöris | Drums |
| 36 | Vartan Kurjian | Creative Director |
| 37 | Jay Landers | A&R |
| 38 | Mark Lowry | Composer |
| 39 | Johnny Marks | Composer |
| 40 | Hugh Martin | Composer |
| 41 | Henri Martinet | Composer |
| 42 | Nadine McKinnor | Composer |
| 43 | Vlado Meller | Mastering |
| 44 | Adam Miller | Pro-Tools |
| 45 | Evelyn Morgan | A&R |
| 46 | Everton Nelson | Orchestra Leader |
| 47 | Henry Onorati | Composer |
| 48 | Dean Parks | Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm) |
| 49 | Julian Peploe | Art Direction, Design |
| 50 | Kevin Powell | Hammond B3 |
| 51 | Steve Price | Engineer |
| 52 | Derrick "Swol" Ray | Bass |
| 53 | Noël Regney | Composer |
| 54 | Dave Reitzas | Vocal Engineer |
| 55 | Richard Rodgers | Composer |
| 56 | William Ross | Conductor, Orchestral Arrangements, Orchestration |
| 57 | Jochem van der Saag | Engineer, Mixing, Overdubs, Producer, Programming, Sound Design, Synthesizer |
| 58 | Gloria Adele Shain | Composer |
| 59 | Harry Simeone | Composer |
| 60 | Antonio Sol | Vocal Coach |
| 61 | Ramón Stagnaro | Guitar, Soloist |
| 62 | Barbra Streisand | Featured Artist |
| 63 | Christine Telleck | Production Manager |
| 64 | Elbernita Clark Terrell | Composer |
| 65 | Mel Tormé | Composer |
| 66 | Traditional | Composer |
| 67 | Serge Tsai | Engineer |
| 68 | Andreas Varady | Guitar, Soloist |
| 69 | Raymond Vincy | Composer |
| 70 | Jorge Vivo | Engineer |
| 71 | Chris Walden | Arranger, Piano, Trombone, Trumpet |
| 72 | Asaph Ward | Additional Production, Arranger, Keyboards |
| 73 | Ned Washington | Composer |
| 74 | Robert Wells | Composer |
| 75 | Lucy Whalley | Assistant Contractor |
| 76 | Gina Zimmitti | Contractor |
| 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). |