Maps of Music

The Animals' Christmas (1986)

Where the lyrics of The Animals' Christmas take you, and where it was really made.

What began as a church cantata for a children's choir in Tuxedo, New York became a studio album with Amy Grant.

Key places

Orchestra recorded at CTS Studios (1986)

Recording site Wild Bunch Studios (London) — The London Symphony Orchestra parts were recorded at CTS Studios in Wembley, England. The point is placed at city-center level because the source gives no exact building position. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Amy Grant's vocals at Bullet Recording (1986)

Recording site Nashville — Amy Grant's vocals for the album were recorded at Bullet Recording in Nashville, Tennessee. The point is placed at city-center level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Choir recording at St. Paul's Church (1986)

Recording site St. Paul's Church — The Italian edition credits the King's College School Choir recording to St. Paul's Church in Wimbledon, while the English edition places the boys' choir at St. Paul's Church in Southfields. The point is placed at city-center level because the two sources differ. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Organ recorded at St. John the Divine (1986)

Recording site Cathedral of St. John the Divine — The organ part was recorded at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. The same cathedral also hosted the earlier live performances of the piece in December. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Vocals recorded at Air Studios in Montserrat (1986)

Recording site AIR Studios Montserrat — Garfunkel recorded his vocals at Air Studios in Montserrat, West Indies, in the spring. The point is placed at island level because the source gives no building position. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Overdubs at The Hit Factory (1986)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The overdubs, including percussion added in New York, were recorded at The Hit Factory in New York City. The point is placed at city-center level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Animals' Christmas by Jimmy Webb: sixth solo studio album and first Christmas album by Art Garfunkel
• Collaborative album with Amy Grant, released October 1986 by Columbia Records
• Written by Jimmy Webb; vocals by Garfunkel, Grant, and the Wimbledon King's College Choir
• Tells the story of the Nativity of Jesus from the perspective of the animals present
• Twelve tracks in total

Background

• In the early 1980s Jimmy Webb began writing the songs, based on a children's book about the Nativity by Anne Thaxter Eaton
• Garfunkel became interested because he felt the work was born out of the love of a musical person to make music
• In 1983 Webb showed Garfunkel a piece: a cantata for children's choir and small orchestra for his local church in Tuxedo, New York
• Garfunkel had grown cynical about how the record business professionalizes music in ways that can hurt it
• After following Webb's rehearsals in Tuxedo, Garfunkel loved the work and told him he wanted to get involved
• The next year Webb extended the piece, doubled its length, and wrote sections for Garfunkel as solo singer, narrator, and the angel Gabriel
• Webb added a woman's part, the Virgin Mary
• The work was performed with orchestra, children's choir, a boy singer, and a girl singer at St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York that December, and also at Festival Hall in London
• A live recording of those shows later seemed too loose to Garfunkel, so the pair planned a studio recording the following Christmas

Recording

• Recorded between December 23, 1984, and December 12, 1985
• Orchestra recorded at CTS Studios in Wembley, England
• Boys' choir recorded at St. Paul's Church in Southfields, South-west London, England
• Vocals recorded at Air Studios in Montserrat, West Indies
• Amy Grant's vocals recorded at Bullet Recording in Nashville, Tennessee
• Organ recorded at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City
• Overdubs recorded at The Hit Factory in New York City

Cover

• Cover art created by Abby Levine

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Arthur Ira Garfunkel, born November 5, 1941 in Forest Hills, Queens, New York.
• Met Paul Simon in sixth grade at PS 164, both cast in an elementary school play, Alice in Wonderland.
• Performed as Tom & Jerry in the late 1950s, imitating the Everly Brothers' close two-part harmony; "Hey, Schoolgirl" reached number 49 on the pop charts in 1957.
• Studied at Columbia University, earning a bachelor's in art history in 1965 and a master's in mathematics education in 1967.

Career

• Simon & Garfunkel reformed in 1963; "The Sound of Silence" reached number one on the Billboard pop charts in 1965 after producer Tom Wilson added electric backing.
• Hits included "Mrs. Robinson" (written for The Graduate, 1967), "Scarborough Fair", "The Boxer" and "Bridge over Troubled Water".
• The duo split after Bridge over Troubled Water (1970), then reunited occasionally, including for "My Little Town" (1975) and The Concert in Central Park (1981).
• Solo: Angel Clare (1973), Breakaway (1975), Watermark (1977), and Fate for Breakfast (1979), which gave him his first UK number one with "Bright Eyes".
• Acted in Mike Nichols films Catch-22 (1970) and Carnal Knowledge (1971); nominated for a Golden Globe for the latter.
• Earned eight Grammy Awards in total, and he and Simon were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
• Reunited with Simon for a 2003 world tour, followed by a 2004 free concert at the Colosseum in Rome.
• Released Father and Son with his son Art Garfunkel Jr. in 2024; on April 10, 2023 he cancelled his remaining concert dates.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

Reappraisal

• Writer David A. Milberg called the album one of the best Christmas albums of the '80s.
• The album received positive reviews, with one writer calling it this way.
• Garfunkel himself described it as a very ambitious work, a gothic cathedral of an album.
• Garfunkel said the project was born out of the love of a musical person to make music, a noncommercial effort that interested him because he had grown cynical about the record business.
• Garfunkel wrote about his experience with the project in his 1989 book Still Water: Prose Poems.

Records

• The album failed to chart.
• Released in October 1986 by Columbia Records.
• Sixth solo studio album and first Christmas album for Art Garfunkel.
• Collaborative album with Amy Grant, with vocals by Garfunkel, Grant, and the Wimbledon King's College Choir.
• The album was written by Jimmy Webb and tells the Nativity story through the animals present.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Webb's extended version doubled the length of the original cantata before the studio recording.
• Garfunkel described the album as a project that would have been done by papal commission long ago.
• The original album came with a 12-page booklet with lyrics in English, Spanish, French, and German.
• The cover art was created by Abby Levine.
• The orchestra, choir, vocals, Grant's parts, and overdubs were recorded in four countries across the recording period.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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