Mariah Carey - Merry Christmas (1LP, 33 RPM, Box set, 1Step, UltraDisc)
Mariah Carey - vocals [click here to see more products featuring Mariah Carey]
Backing Vocals – Kelly Price (A1-B2, C2-D4), Melonie Daniels (A1-B2, C2-D4), Shanrae Price (A1-B2, C2-D4)
Drum Programming – Robert Clivillés & David Cole (B1), Walter Afanasieff (A2-3)
Arranged by Loris Holland (A1, B4-5), Mariah Carey (A1, A3, B1, B4-6), Walter Afanasieff (A3, B1, B4-6)
Written by Franz Gruber, Joseph Mohr, Traditional, John Freeman Young (A1), Walter Afanasieff, Mariah Carey (A2, A5, B2), Adolphe Adam, John Sullivan Dwight, Traditional (A3), Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector (A4), Hoyt Axton, George Frederick Handel, Lowell Mason, Traditional, Isaac Watts (B1), J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie (B3), William Hayman Cummings, Felix Mendelssohn, Traditional, Charles Wesley (B4), Traditional (B5)
1 LP, Box set
Limited to 3,000 numbered copies
Original analog Master tape : YES
UltraDisc One-Step (UDS1)
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Label : MOFI
Original Label : Columbia
Record Press : Fidelity Record Pressing
Recorded December 1993 – August 1994 at The Hit Factory (New York City)
Recorded by Jay Healy (A1, B4-6), Jay Healy (A2-B3), Dana Jon Chappelle (A2-B3)
Engineered by Chris Theis (B6), Andy Smith (A2, B2), David Gleeson (A2, B2), Gus Garces (A2, B2), Mike Scott (A2, B2)
Mixed by Mick Guzauski
Produced by Mariah Carey (A1-B4, B6), Walter Afanasieff (A2-B3, B6), Walter Afanasieff, Loris Holland
Mastered by Bob Ludwig
Photography by Daniela Federici
Originally released in October 28, 1994
Reissued in 2024
Tracks:
Side A:
1. Silent Night
2. All I Want For Christmas Is You
3. O Holy Night
4. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
5. Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)
Side B:
1. Joy To The World
2. Jesus Born On This Day
3. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/Gloria (In Excelsis Deo)
5. Jesus Oh What A Wonderful Child
6. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Awards:
The song was certified 14× Platinum in the US, becoming the first holiday song to achieve this.
It is also Carey's best-selling single in the UK, where it was certified eight-times Platinum, becoming the highest-certified song of all time by a female artist in the country.
Reviews:
« Mariah Carey's first holiday-themed album, 1994's Merry Christmas, featured a gospel-tinged "O Holy Night" and a dance club take on "Joy to the World." However, it is perhaps best remembered for her co-penned hit "All I Want for Christmas Is You," a well-crafted Phil Spector tribute, with Beach Boys-style harmonies, jangling bells, and a sleigh-ride pace. » AllMusic Review by Roch Parisien
UltraDisc One-Step : Instead of utilizing the industry-standard three-step lacquer process, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's new UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) uses only one step, bypassing two processes of generational loss. While three-step processing is designed for optimum yield and efficiency, UD1S is created for the ultimate in sound quality. Just as Mobile Fidelity pioneered the UHQR (Ultra High-Quality Record) with JVC in the 1980s, UD1S again represents another state-of-the-art advance in the record-manufacturing process. MFSL engineers begin with the original master tapes and meticulously cut a set of lacquers. These lacquers are used to create a very fragile, pristine UD1S stamper called a "convert." Delicate "converts" are then formed into the actual record stampers, producing a final product that literally and figuratively brings you closer to the music. By skipping the additional steps of pulling another positive and an additional negative, as done in the three-step process used in standard pressings, UD1S produces a final LP with the lowest noise floor possible today. The removal of the additional two steps of generational loss in the plating process reveals tremendous amounts of extra musical detail and dynamics, which are otherwise lost due to the standard copying process. The exclusive nature of these very limited pressings guarantees that every UD1S pressing serves as an immaculate replica of the lacquer sourced directly from the original master tape. Every conceivable aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the most perfect record album available today.
Ratings :
Allmusic : 4 / 5 ; Discogs : 4.41 / 5