Out Of Print! Only a few copies left!
Forget the 50 States. Christmas is a bigger concept. As some of you may or may not know, for the past few years, as a holiday tradition, Sufjan has embarked on an extraordinary experiment to record an annual Christmas EP. It started in 2001, the year of Epiphanies, and continued onward (skipping only 2004), culminating into an odd and idiosyncratic catalog of music that has only existed in the Asthmatic Kitty archives (and on a number of file sharing sites). The recording process took place every December, for one week, usually at home, provoking collaborations with friends, roommates, and musical peers. Armed with a ReaderÂ’s Digest Christmas Songbook (and a mug of hot cider) Sufjan & friends concocted a musical fruit cake year after year, implementing every musical instrument they could find lying around the house: banjo, oboe, Casiotone, wood flute, a buzzy guitar, hand claps, sleigh bells, Hammond organ, and some tree tinsel. Did we mention sleigh bells? It doesnÂ’t take much to capture that Creepy Christmas Feeling, does it? Recorded, mixed and mastered at home, the EPs themselves were often assembled in the kitchen, stapled together, and sent out with stickers and stamps to loved ones across the globe, year after year.
Recording traditional favorites alongside unique originals, Sufjan has, over the course of five years, constructed an odd, impressive, and compelling collection of Christmas tunes. He was "determined to present the EPs in their original form; flaws, blemishes, mistakes and all."
The box set is chock full of surprises!
Features:
• Five individually packaged CD EPs!
• Fun Christmas stickers!
• Extensive liner notes and short stories by Sufjan Stevens!
• An original Christmas essay by Rick Moody!
• An animated music video and comic strip by Tom Eaton!
• A Christmas Songbook with lyric sheets and chord charts--so you can sing along too!
• An original Christmas Family Portrait painting of Santa Sufjan (with wife and kids!) by Jacques Bredy!
| Disc 1 - Noel: Vol. I | |
 | 1. Silent Night |
| | 2. O Come O Come Emmanuel |
| | 3. WeÂ’re GoinÂ’ To the Country! |
| | 4. Lo! How A Rose EÂ’er Blooming |
| | 5. ItÂ’s Christmas! LetÂ’s Be Glad! |
| | 6. Holy Holy, etc. |
| | 7. Amazing Grace |
| Disc 2 - Hark!: Vol. II | |
| | 1. Angels We Have Heard on High |
| | 2. Put the Lights on the Tree |
| | 3. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing |
| | 4. I Saw Three Ships |
| | 5. Only at Christmas Time |
| | 6. Once in Royal DavidÂ’s City |
| | 7. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! |
| | 8. What Child Is This Anyway? |
| | 9. Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella |
| Disc 3 - Ding! Dong!: Vol. III | |
| | 1. O Come, O Come Emmanuel |
| | 2. Come on! LetÂ’s Boogey to the Elf Dance! |
| | 3. We Three Kings |
| | 4. O Holy Night |
| | 5. That Was the Worst Christmas Ever! |
| | 6. Ding! Dong! |
| | 7. All the KingÂ’s Horns |
| | 8. The Friendly Beasts |
| Disc 4 - Joy: Vol. IV | |
| | 1. The Little Drummer Boy |
| | 2. Away In A Manger |
| | 3. Hey Guys! ItÂ’s Christmas Time! |
| | 4. The First Noel |
| | 5. Did I Make You Cry On Christmas Day? (Well, You Deserved It!) |
| | 6. The Incarnation |
| | 7. Joy To The World |
| Disc 5 - Peace: Vol. V | |
| | 1. Once in Royal DavidÂ’s City |
| | 2. Get Behind Me, Santa! |
| | 3. Jingle Bells |
| | 4. Christmas in July |
| | 5. Lo! How A Rose EÂ’er Blooming |
| | 6. Jupiter Winter |
| | 7. Sister Winter |
| | 8. O Come O Come Emmanuel |
| | 9. Star of Wonder |
| | 10. Holy, Holy, Holy |
| | 11. The Winter Solstice |
