| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | (favorable)[2] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [3] |
The Sweetest Gift is the fourth studio album (and first Christmas album) by country singer Trisha Yearwood.
Yearwood sings a mixture of familiar traditional and popular material, along with more recent compositions such as "It Wasn't His Child" and "There's a New Kid in Town". Two of its tracks managed to achieve positions near the lower end of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart: "It Wasn't His Child" peaked at #60, and "Reindeer Boogie" at #63. The album rose to the #17 position in the Country Albums chart. A re-release of the album in 2000 has a different album cover, a promotional photograph taken during the Real Live Woman promotional period.
The album was a given a positive review by Allmusic, receiving 4 out of 5 stars.[1]
Track listing
- "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" (Bob MacGimsey) – 2:42
- "Reindeer Boogie" (Charlie Faircloth, Hank Snow, Cordia Volkmar) – 2:38
- "Take a Walk Through Bethlehem" (Ashley Cleveland, John Barlow Jarvis, Wally Wilson) – 3:49
- "Santa Claus Is Back in Town" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 3:00
- "It Wasn't His Child" (Skip Ewing) – 3:54
- "Away in a Manger" (traditional) – 2:39
- "The Sweetest Gift" (James Coats) – 3:02
- "There's a New Kid in Town" (Don Cook, Curly Putman, Keith Whitley) – 4:27
- "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) – 2:26
- "The Christmas Song" (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells) – 3:58
Personnel
Musicians
- Bobby All – acoustic guitar
- Sam Bacco – percussion
- Eddie Bayers – drums
- Ashley Cleveland – harmony vocals
- David Davidson – violin
- Stuart Duncan – fiddle, mandolin
- Connie Ellisor – violin
- Paul Franklin – dobro, electric guitar, steel guitar
- Garth Fundis – harmony vocals
- Johnny Garcia – electric guitar
- Carl Gorodetzky – violin
- Jim Grosjean – viola
- Jay Hager – bass
- Aubrey Haynie – fiddle
- John Hobbs – string arrangements
- Dann Huff – electric guitar
- Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson – harmonica
- Lee Larrison – viola
- Brent Mason – electric guitar
- Robert Mason – cello
- Rick McClure – drums
- Nashville String Machine – strings
- Steve Nathan – piano, keyboards
- Dave Pomeroy – bass
- Becky Priest – piano
- Heather Risser – fiddle
- Matt Rollings – piano
- Pamela Sixfin – violin
- Alan Umstead – violin
- Mary Kathryn Vanosdale – violin
- Billy Joe Walker Jr. – acoustic guitar
- Biff Watson – acoustic guitar
- Kristin Wilkinson – viola
- Trisha Yearwood – vocals, harmony vocals
- Beth Yearwood Bernard-harmony vocals
Technical
- Garth Fundis – producer
- Gary Laney – engineer, mixing
- Carlos Grier – digital editing
- Jerry Joyner – design
- Senor McGuire – photography
- Scott Paschall – assistant producer, production assistant
- Denny Purcell – mastering
- Randee St. Nicholas – photography
- Dave Sinko – engineering, mixing
- Virginia Team – art direction
- Debra Wingo – hair stylist
- Katherine DeVault – art direction, design
Charts
Album
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 17 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 105 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Holiday Albums | 17 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Country | ||
| 1995 | "It Wasn't His Child" | 60 |
| 1999 | "Reindeer Boogie" | 63 |
References
- ^ a b Allmusic review
- ^ Entertainment Weekly review
- ^ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 894. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
rolling stone trisha yearwood album guide.