Adapter: Aretha Franklin.
Personnel: Aretha Franklin (piano); Clydene Jackson (vocals); Paul Jackson, Jr. (guitar); Onita Sanders (harp); Brandon Fields (saxophone); Richard Gibbs (piano); Darryl Houston (organ); James "Big Jim" Wright (keyboards); Nathan East (bass instrument); Ricky Lawson (drums, drum); Arthur Marbury (drums); Luis Conte, Michito Sánchez (percussion); Steve Genewick (programming); Brenda White-King, Fonzi Thornton, Lisa Fischer, Tawatha Agee, Vaneese Thomas (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Al Schmitt.
Audio Remasterer: Doug Sax.
Recording information: Capitol Records, Hollywood, CA; Firehouse Recording Studios, Pasadena, CA; Glenwood Place Studios, Burbank, CA; Legacy Studios, New York, NY; Studio A Recording, Dearborn, MI.
Editor: Steve Genewick.
Librettist: Alvin Chea.
Arrangers: Bill Meyers; Aretha Franklin; Tim Heintz; James "Big Jim" Wright ; Carmen Twillie.
With THIS CHRISTMAS, Aretha Franklin delivered what was, amazingly, the first Holiday CD of her stellar, decades-long career. Producer Tena Clark wisely keeps it simple, framing the queen of soul's heaven-sent voice with velvety, sparsely adorned retro-style R&B. The album includes a mix of time-worn chestnuts given typically sensitive, understated readings ("Silent Night," "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing") and impassioned takes on lesser-known songs such as the funky, gospel-infused "Christmas Just Ain't Christmas" and the smooth-as-silk title track.
The obvious title here would have been Wreatha Now, but Aretha opted to follow in the footsteps of at least 20 other artists by going with This Christmas as the title of her first Christmas album. Apart from the Donny Hathaway/Nadine McKinnor-written title track, a duet with her son Edward that is both sweet and playful (at one point, Aretha interjects, "Eddie, you mustn't upstage mom with those high notes"), the disc is filled mostly with the spiritual and relatively serious side of holiday material. The likes of "Silent Night," "Ave Maria," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," and "Angels We Have Heard on High" are given the kind of treatment only Aretha could grant, though it should be noted that there are moments where you might feel stuck inside the Aretha Melismatorium. It's not all reverence and reflection: best of all is a reading of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" that can only be termed "personalized." ~ Andy Kellman minimize