Left without a major-label contract after her country makeover didn’t stick, there was one clear option for Jessica Simpson: sign with Ellen DeGeneres’ fledgling Eleven Eleven label to cut her second Christmas album.
Compared to 2004’s brassy Rejoyce: The Christmas Album, Happy Christmas exists on a small stage: Simpson doesn’t belt songs out, doesn’t seem intent on wowing an audience with her pizzazz.
Instead, she slips into whatever old-fashioned mode works for the song at hand, kicking off proceedings with the Phil Spector-styled “My Only Wish,” jauntily navigating a medley of “Here Comes Santa Claus/Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” putting on her serious face for “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” adopting her inner choir nerd for “Carol of the Bells,” singing amiably with John Britt on “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and with Willie Nelson on “Merry Christmas Baby.” She may be intent on being all things to all people, but her eagerness to please suits the season and helps make Happy Christmas a better holiday soundtrack than Rejoyce.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | My Only WishAaron Pearce, Jessica Simpson, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart | Jessica Simpson | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 2 | Here Comes Santa Claus/Santa Claus Is Coming To TownJ. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie | Jessica Simpson | Play | 03:03 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 3 | O Come O Come EmmanuelAaron Pearce | Jessica Simpson | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 4 | I'll Be Home For ChristmasKim Gannon, Walter Kent, Buck Ram | Jessica Simpson | Play | 04:39 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 5 | Happy Xmas (War Is Over)John Lennon, Yoko Ono | Jessica Simpson | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 6 | Mary Did You KnowBuddy Greene, Mark Lowry | Jessica Simpson | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 7 | Merry Christmas BabyLou Baxter, John Dudley Moore | Jessica Simpson | Play | 04:57 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 8 | Kiss Me For ChristmasTerius Nash, Jessica Simpson, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart | Jessica Simpson | Play | 04:57 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 9 | Have Yourself A Merry Little ChristmasRalph Blane, Hugh Martin | Jessica Simpson | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 10 | Carol Of The BellsMykola Leontovych, Peter J. Wilhousky | Jessica Simpson | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 11 | Jingle Bell Rock | Jessica Simpson | Play | 02:56 | 6 MB | 20 MB |
| 12 | Silent Night | Jessica Simpson | Play | 03:49 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 47 mins | 107 MB | |||||
| 47 mins | 296 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lou Baxter | Composer |
| 2 | Chris Bellman | Mastering |
| 3 | Ralph Blane | Composer |
| 4 | John Britt | Duet, Featured Artist |
| 5 | Cacee Cobb | A&R |
| 6 | Martin Cooke | Assistant Vocal Engineer |
| 7 | J. Fred Coots | Composer |
| 8 | Steven Dennis | Assistant Engineer |
| 9 | Kim Gannon | Composer |
| 10 | Michelle Gayhart | Copyist |
| 11 | Haven Gillespie | Composer, Lyricist |
| 12 | Josh Grabelle | Art Direction, Design, Layout |
| 13 | Buddy Greene | Composer |
| 14 | Josh Gudwin | Vocal Engineer |
| 15 | Christy Hall | Production Coordination |
| 16 | Kuk Harrell | Producer, Vocal Engineer, Vocal Producer |
| 17 | Travis Harrington | Assistant Engineer |
| 18 | Wayne Haun | Orchestration, String Arrangements |
| 19 | Tom Hemby | Guitar |
| 20 | Jeremy Hunter | String Arrangements, String Engineer |
| 21 | Walter Kent | Composer |
| 22 | John Lennon | Composer |
| 23 | Mykola Leontovych | Composer |
| 24 | Mark Lowry | Composer |
| 25 | Hugh Martin | Composer |
| 26 | John Dudley Moore | Composer |
| 27 | Terius Nash | Composer, Executive Producer, Producer |
| 28 | Willie Nelson | Duet, Featured Artist |
| 29 | Yoko Ono | Composer |
| 30 | Ken Oriole | Mixing Assistant |
| 31 | Aaron Pearce | Arranger, Composer, Producer, Programming, String Arrangements, Vocals (Background) |
| 32 | Buck Ram | Composer |
| 33 | Norman Jean Roy | Cover Photo |
| 34 | Jason Sherwood | Assistant Engineer |
| 35 | Jessica Simpson | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 36 | Christopher "Tricky" Stewart | Composer, Executive Producer, Producer |
| 37 | Brian "B-Luv" Thomas | Engineer |
| 38 | Michael Thompson | Guitar |
| 39 | Peter J. Wilhousky | Composer |
| 40 | Andrew Wuepper | Engineer, Mixing |
| 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). |