Songs for Christmas

Disc 1
1	Silent Night 0:44
2	O Come O Come Emmanuel 4:00
3	We're Goin' to the Country! 2:17
4	Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming 3:22
5	It's Christmas! Let's Be Glad! 1:55
6	Holy Holy, Etc. 0:41
7	Amazing Grace 4:09
Disc 2
1	Angels We Have Heard on High 0:45
2	Put the Lights on the Tree 1:48
3	Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing 4:43
4	I Saw Three Ships 2:34
5	Only at Christmas Time 2:14
6	Once in Royal David's City 3:40
7	Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! 0:45
8	What Child Is This Anyway? 6:47
9	Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella 4:11
Disc 3
1	O Come O Come Emmanuel 1:03
2	Come on! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance! 3:49
3	We Three Kings 2:58
4	O Holy Night 4:04
5	That Was the Worst Christmas Ever! 3:18
6	Ding! Dong! 0:55
7	All the King's Horns 2:59
8	The Friendly Beasts 3:42
Disc 4
1	The Little Drummer Boy 3:43
2	Away in a Manger 2:54
3	Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time! 4:41
4	The First Noel 0:52
5	Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day? (Well, You Deserved It!) 3:21
6	The Incarnation 2:23
7	Joy to the World 4:20
Disc 5
1	Once in Royal David's City 2:01
2	Get Behind Me, Santa! 3:49
3	Jingle Bells 0:36
4	Christmas in July 3:16
5	Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming 1:45
6	Jupiter Winter 3:50
7	Sister Winter 5:04
8	O Come O Come Emmanuel 1:06
9	Star of Wonder 7:07
10	Holy, Holy, Holy 3:50
11	The Winter Solstice 3:22

All Music Guide

Like Avalanche, Songs for Christmas is nothing if not eclectic. A whole sleigh-load of carols and original tunes collected from 2001 to 2006, these songs were written and recorded off the cuff, and naturally many of them feel a little ragged and underdone. But they're far more mature than any of the songs on A Sun Came, and there are moments of quirky holiday splendor -- moments akin to some of the best material on Greetings from Michigan and Illinoise -- that make plowing through the entire five-EP set a pleasure. If you're worried that Sufjan Stevens will sound a trifle predictable or indulgent covering traditionals like "Silent Night," your worries are justified. Recorders, oboes, glockenspiels, and banjos abound, and Stevens approaches these songs with the same vulnerability, preciousness, and weird religious overtones (à la Seven Swans) as he has on his previous work. That aside, "O Holy Night" and "O Come O Come Emmanuel" are deeply affecting, especially because they rely on Stevens' idiosyncratic arrangements and frail voice. The real sugarplums, though, are the original tunes. "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!" is all meandering banjos and luminous harmonies reminiscent of "Romulus" and "Casimir Pulaski Day," and the jumpy "Get Behind Me, Santa!" reaches "The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts" heights with some of the best Santa-related lyrics the world has yet known ("You're a bad brother breakin' into people's garages!"). Stevens fans will love Songs for Christmas. Unabashedly, almost frighteningly, with the kind of glee normally attributed to a certain jolly old elf, fans will revel in this little blue box with its silver lettering and scribbly Christmas art. In addition to 42 shiny new tracks, the lucky recipients of Songs for Christmas will also receive: An animated short by Tom Eaton! One (mildly creepy) poster of Stevens in full holiday regalia! Two short stories by Stevens! A weird essay by Rick Moody! And a complete singalong book for the entire EP set! Not to mention stickers! And comics! Songs for Christmas is a veritable stocking's worth of doodads and oddities lovingly embroidered with Stevens' kitschy crayon drawings, scribbly pencil sketches, and extra-long song titles. Which adds up to one merry Christmas indeed for Sufjan Stevens fans. Margaret Reges

Entertainment Weekly

The season's most thrilling holiday release. (A) Chris Willman