You Make It Feel Like Christmas [Opaque White Vinyl]

by Gwen Stefani

Overview

Showbiz has been in Gwen Stefani's blood since the start of her career, which is the reason why she, unlike many '90s alt-rock veterans, can seem at home within the confines of the televised musical competition The Voice. Her very presence on The Voice, one of the last genuinely popular franchises on network television in the 2010s, guaranteed the existence of an album like You Make It Feel Like Christmas, one that's pitched directly in the mainstream. You Make It Feel Like Christmas plays upon her romance with co-host Blake Shelton, making her bouncy duet with the country singer the album's title track and first single. "You Make It Feel Like Christmas" bops along to a Motown beat, just one of many intentional nostalgic nods at the past -- "Never Kissed Anyone with Blue Eyes" grooves to a simmering '60s soul groove, her version of "Santa Baby" has a mid-century swing, Wham!'s "Last Christmas" is given drippy strings that turn it into a girl group number -- but the record is surprisingly heavy on new material for a holiday album. Occasionally, this means Stefani veers into territory that doesn't feel strictly seasonal: "When I Was a Little Girl" plays like a diary entry, not a memory of Christmases past, "My Gift Is You" is a love song bearing the faintest hint of mistletoe, and "Never Kissed Anyone with Blue Eyes" has only a tangential relationship with Christmas. They don't seem out of place, since they're given the same bells and whistles as "Let It Snow" and "White Christmas," but they also diminish the album, making it seem smaller than the season. Still, the moments that work have a coquettish charm that is appealing, which is reason enough to warrant a listen. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	10/20/2017
Label:	Interscope / Polydor
UPC:	0602557848021

Tracks

1. Jingle Bells
2. Let It Snow
3. My Gift Is You
4. Silent Night
5. When I Was a Little Girl
6. Last Christmas
7. You Make It Feel Like Christmas
8. Under the Christmas Lights
9. Santa Baby
10. White Christmas
11. Never Kissed Anyone with Blue Eyes
12. Christmas Eve

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Gwen Stefani   Primary Artist,Vocals
Blake Shelton   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Mon Laferte   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Patrick Warren   Piano,Celeste,Strings,Conductor,Dulcitone,Keyboards,Harpsichord,Synthesizer,Glockenspiel,Tubular Bells,Synthesizer Strings
Natalie Leggett   Violin
Daphne Chen   Violin
Leah Katz   Viola
Blair Sinta   Percussion
David Davidson   Violin
Eric Valentine   Percussion,Lap Steel Guitar
Eric Gorfain   Violin
Jamie Hovorka   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Darrin McCann   Viola
Stewart Cole   Trumpet,Flugelhorn,French Horn
David Moyer   Flute,Piccolo,Sax (Tenor),Sax (Baritone)
Danny T. Levin   Trumpet,Trombone,Flugelhorn,Horn (Alto)
Daniel Fornero   Trumpet
David Angell   Violin
John Wittenberg   Violin
Rob Moose   Viola,Violin
Robin Olson   Violin
Grace Potter   Vocals (Background)
Monet Owens   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Mike Busbee   Piano,Trombone,Percussion,Vibraphone
Greg Camp   Guitar,Soloist,Handclapping,Guitar (Electric)
Charlie Bisharat   Violin
Aaron Sterling   Drums
Danny Levin   Trumpet,Trombone,Flugelhorn,Horn (Alto)
Joel Pargman   Violin
Sean Hurley   Bass,Bass (Vocal)
Songa Lee   Violin
Brent Kutzle   Keyboards
Matthew Melton   Bass
Jonathan Sterling   Percussion
Betsy Lamb   Viola,Violin
Kingston James McGregor Rossdale   Vocals (Background)
Conesha Owens   Vocals (Background)
Kate Reddish   Viola
Matthew Funes   Viola
Paul Nelson   Cello
Mario de Leon   Violin
Vanessa Freebairn-Smith   Cello,Viola
Alisha Bauer   Cello,Viola
Michele Richards   Violin
Laura Cooksey   Vocals (Background)
Luke Sullivant   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Elizabeth Lamb   Viola,Violin
Erik Hughes   Trombone
Nick Mancini   Vibraphone
Ryan Dragon   Trombone,Tenor Bass,Tenor (Vocal),Trombone (Bass)
Peter Slocombe   Clarinet,Sax (Tenor),Tenor (Vocal),Sax (Baritone)
Erica Canales   Vocals (Background)
Cian Riordan   Percussion
Matt Musty   Drums,Timpani,Percussion,Handclapping
Mike Rocha   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Grant Pittman   Keyboards
John Storie   Guitar,Handclapping,Guitar (Electric)
Laura Mace   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Dave Richards   Trumpet
Josh Varnadore   Vocals (Background)
Loren Ferard   Guitar (Electric)
Michael Rocha   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Dolly Sparks   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Apollo Rossdale   Vocals (Background)
Zuma Rossdale   Vocals (Background)
Jon Hyrkas   Drums
Kingston Rossdale   Vocals (Background)
Richard Dodd   Cello,Viola

Technical Credits

Patrick Warren   Horn Arrangements,String Arrangements
Traditional   Composer
Blake Shelton   Composer
J. Fred Coots   Composer
Irving Berlin   Composer
Chris Gehringer   Mastering Engineer
Tony Springer   Composer
Eric Valentine   Editing,Engineer,Producer,Recording
Greg Koller   String Engineer
Eric Caudieux   Editing
Franz Gruber   Composer
James Pierpont   Composer
Joseph Mohr   Composer
Jose Feliciano   Composer
Ryan Tedder   Composer,Vocal Producer
Jule Styne   Composer
Stewart Cole   Horn Arrangements
Michael Carey   Assistant Engineer
Bradley Cook   Assistant Engineer
George Michael   Composer
Gwen Stefani   Composer,Creative Director,Executive Producer
Mitchell Parish   Composer
Dave Way   Vocal Engineer
Haven Gillespie   Composer
Grace Potter   Vocal Arrangement
Adam Ayan   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Philip Springer   Composer
Leroy Anderson   Composer
Mike Busbee   Editing,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Vocal Engineer,Executive Producer
Felix Bernard   Composer
Doug Sarrett   Engineer
Justin Tranter   Composer
Dave Clauss   Mixing,Editing,Vocal Mixing,Vocal Editing
Sammy Cahn   Composer
Ivy Skoff   Production Coordination
Wesley Seidman   Second Engineer
Joan Javits   Composer
Shari Sutcliffe   Contractor
Brent Kutzle   Composer,Producer
Aaron Bay-Schuck   A&R
Jonathan Sterling   Assistant
David Way   Engineer
Jolie Clemens   Art Direction
Mike Wilson   Engineer
John Nathaniel   Mixing,Vocal Producer
Richard B. Smith   Composer
Jamie Nelson   Photography
Cian Riordan   Second Engineer
Brandon Michael Collins   Strings Contractor
Grant Pittman   Engineer
Brandon Collins   Composer,Producer,Strings Contractor
Josh Varnadore   Composer
Peter Chun   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Tyler Spry   Engineer