New Holiday music offerings on the way from Shelby Lynne, Annie Lennox

Two iconic female singer songwriters will be releasing their first full-length Christmas albums later this year. Shelby Lynne (who's most recent studio album 'Tears, Lies and Alibis' also sees a belated UK release this week) and Annie Lennox will both be vying to be the soundtrack to your Yuletide. Hopefully we'll be able to play you a track from each of these on our annual holiday podcast this December. More info below!

SHELBY LYNNE’S MERRY CHRISTMAS

GRAMMY® winner Shelby Lynne will release Merry Christmas, her first-ever holiday collection, on October 12th. The album will mark her second release on her own independent label, EVERSO RECORDS, which is distributed through Fontana, the award-winning independent distribution division of Universal Music Group. Tears, Lies, And Alibis, EVERSO’s first release, debuted at No. 16 on Billboard’s Top Independent Albums chart earlier this year. It became a Top 10 hit at Americana radio and was hailed by Newsday as “her strongest album in a decade,” a sentiment echoed by numerous critics.

From its cover – a photograph of Shelby at age four, playing in the snow in her Mobile, Alabama front yard – to the music, Merry Christmas is a warm and heartfelt collection. Rootsy and off-the-cuff, it has an immediacy that makes you feel like you’ve joined Lynne and her musician pals around the hearth.

“I’ve always wanted to do a Christmas record and now that I have my own label, the time seemed right,” says Lynne, who produced the album and penned two original songs for it.

She’s been called “one of the greatest voices of her generation” (The Aquarian Weekly) and when she kicks off the festivities with a stanza of richly layered acapella vocals on the medley “Sleigh Ride/Winter Wonderland,” it’s clear why. Childhood favorites like “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” are playful and vibrant while Lynne brings a subtle majesty to the traditional Christmas carols “Silent Night” and “O Holy Night.” Her two new compositionscapture both sides of the season. ”Ain’t Nothin’ Like Christmas” is a rollicking celebration of all its joys:

“Ain’t nothin’ like Christmas, baby

Don’t come but once a year

Ain’t nothin’ like Christmas, baby

With carols and good cheer

Ain’t nothin’ like Christmas, baby

Let’s meet around the tree

I’ll bring the nog, you put on a log

It’s a Christmas party.”

On the flipside, “Xmas” acknowledges that not all of our holiday memories are happy ones. The song builds from a slow burn to a blistering finale as Lynne engages in a mesmerizing call-and-response with special guest Dave Koz, whose soulful saxophone lines accentuate her bluesy vocals.

Other highlights include a dreamy version of “Christmas Time Is Here” from one of Shelby’s favorite Christmas albums, the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas, and an exuberant version of “Christmastime’s a Comin’,” a song she heard bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe perform years ago. “I liked its back porch, family vibe,” Lynne recalls.

A stellar group of backing musicians help give Merry Christmas its down-home vibe, including: John Jackson (acoustic, electric and slide guitars, percussion); Mike Ward (acoustic and electric guitars); Gregg Field (drums); Marc Doten (upright bass); Dave Palmer (Wurlitzer, piano); Ben Peeler (mandolin, steel guitar); Val McCallum (harmonica, acoustic guitar) and Jim Honeyman (clarinet, flute). Brian Harrison engineered the album.

At 18, Lynne’s demos landed her an appearance on TNN s Nashville Now series, which led to a Top 50 duet ("If I Could Bottle This Up") with George Jones and a record deal. On the strength of 2000’s I Am Shelby Lynne, she won the GRAMMY for Best New Artist. Love, Shelby was released in 2001, followed by a pair of intimate, self-produced albums – Identity Crisis (2003) and Suit Yourself (2005). She made her acting debut in 2005, playing Johnny Cash’s mother in the Fox Searchlight motion picture Walk the Line. Just a Little Lovin’, her critically acclaimed tribute to Dusty Springfield, was released in 2008. Lynne has been on the road since Tears, Lies, And Alibis was released in April. For upcoming dates, please visit http://www.shelbylynne.com/.

Merry Christmas – Track Listing

1. Sleigh Ride/Winter Wonderland

2. Ain’t Nothin’ Like Christmas
3. Christmas Time Is Here
4. Silver Bells
5. Christmastime’s a Comin’
6. O Holy Night
7. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
8. Xmas
9. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
10. Silent Night
11. White Christmas

Visit www.shelbylynne.com for pre-order info and tour dates.

ANNIE LENNOX'S 'A CHRISTMAS CORNUCOPIA'

Internationally renowned recording artist, songwriter and musician Annie Lennox has signed with Universal Music Group (UMG), the world’s leading music company, for a long-term worldwide recording agreement.

As one of the world’s most successful and critically-acclaimed British female artists in pop music history, Ms. Lennox will release her brand new album, “A Christmas Cornucopia,” on November 22nd through Island Records UK and Decca Records in the US and the rest of the world.
The album features Ms. Lennox’s unique and personal interpretations of some of her favorite Christmas carols as well as a completely new, and wonderful, original composition entitled, “Universal Child.”

“I’m absolutely delighted to be working with Island Records on my upcoming recording,” stated Ms. Lennox. “This album is something I’ve wanted to do for many years. It’s a true labour of love, and I feel very fortunate to be in partnership with such a cutting edge team, especially when I’m at a stage in my creativity when I want to diversify, and pursue my passion in my own individual way. I’ve never been part of a “mold,” and Island are really supportive and appreciative of where I’m coming from. I want to make timeless music that people will love in many years to come…and I’d like to think that “A Christmas Cornucopia” is going to be of those recordings.”

“There are precious few artists who redefine the boundaries of popular music like Annie,” said Lucian Grainge, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Universal Music Group. “And we are delighted to be part of the next exciting chapter in her already storied career.”

“Annie Lennox is one of world’s greatest singers,” commented Ms. Lennox’s manager Simon Fuller. “She has sold tens of millions of albums, celebrated countless hit singles and won every major award and honour there is to receive. However there is one thing she has always wanted to do and now it’s about to happen. Annie has always wanted to record an album of Christmas songs and to see this finally come to fruition is very special. Annie and I are thrilled to now be working with Island Records and all my friends at Universal around the world. We are looking forward very much to a long, happy and successful partnership for many years to come.”

“The album Annie has recorded is timeless and inspiring, a very special showcase for her extraordinary voice,” added Universal Music UK chairman David Joseph. “This record is just the start of what feels like a natural, and very exciting, new partnership between Annie and Island Records.”

Throughout her remarkable career, Annie Lennox has been celebrated as an innovator, and a symbol of enduring excellence. Both as a member of the groundbreaking Eurythmics and as a solo artist without peer, Annie has amassed sales of more than 80 million albums worldwide and claimed 34 hit singles, four Grammy Awards, 11 Brit Awards, five Ivor Novellos, an Academy Award and two Golden Globes.

Visit www.AnnieLennox.com for more information.