Holiday for Swing! [LP]

by Seth MacFarlane

Overview

One thing eternal prankster Seth MacFarlane takes seriously is Frank Sinatra. He abandoned yucks in 2011 for a de facto Sinatra tribute called Music Is Better Than Words -- a record that so exactingly replicated the sound and style of Frank's Capitol LPs, it was recorded in the same room in the Capitol Records building that the Chairman of the Board used -- and it was successful enough to open the door for a sequel in 2014. MacFarlane, perhaps wisely, opted to channel his Sinatra obsession into a Christmas record called Holiday for Swing! Once again, he works with Joel McNeely -- the arranger/producer behind Music Is Better Than Words, plus all those animated homages to Wait 'Til Your Father Gets Home that MacFarlane airs on Fox -- with the intent of re-creating the snazzy snap of the holiday albums from Old Blue Eyes. So, Holiday for Swing! is another full-bore Frank tribute and, like its predecessor, it isn't bad. McNeely is a deft arranger steeped in the work of Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins and MacFarlane is an able mimic, mimeographing Frank's cadences while wisely avoiding any attempts to conjure up the master's charm. Apart from the ever so slight notion that he's singing with a wink borrowed from Burl Ives -- a tell that gives away his status as a Gen-Xer weaned on Rankin & Bass holiday productions -- MacFarlane plays it straight, even when he's camping it up with Sara Bareilles on "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (Norah Jones is the other guest, singing on "Little Jack Frost Get Lost"), and this sincerity plays out in his favor. MacFarlane loves Frank too much to mess with his music so he winds up with a retro salute that's thoroughly pleasant. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	11/24/2014
Label:	Republic / The Republic
UPC:	0602547013774
Rank:	71215

Tracks

1. Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
2. Christmas Dreaming
3. I'll Be Home For Christmas
4. Little Jack Frost Get Lost
5. Snow [From White Christmas]
6. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?
7. A Marshmallow World
8. Baby, It's Cold Outside
9. Mele Kalikimaka
10. Warm in December
11. Moonlight in Vermont
12. (Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man With the Bag
13. The Christmas Song

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Seth MacFarlane   Primary Artist
Norah Jones   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Sara Bareilles   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Richard Berry   French Horn
Camilla Pay   Harp
Rolf Wilson   Violin
Richard Bissill   French Horn
Phillip Eastop   French Horn
Julia Knight   Viola
Alison Dods   Violin
Phil Todd   Flute,Sax (Alto),Flute (Alto),Sax (Soprano),B-Flat Clarinet
Pat White   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Mike Lovatt   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Teri Eiko Koide   Vocals (Background)
Rita Manning   Violin
Skaila Kanga   Harp
Everton Nelson   Violin
Patrick Kiernan   Violin
Tom Rizzo   Guitar (Acoustic)
Nigel Black   French Horn
Andrew Haveron   Violin
David Hartley   Piano,Celeste
John Bradbury   Violin
Missi Hale   Vocals (Background)
Mark Berrow   Violin
David Pyatt   French Horn
Alan Pasqua   Piano
Howard McGill   Flute,Sax (Tenor),Flute (Alto),B-Flat Clarinet
Eliza Marshall   Flute
Danny Marsden   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Joel McNeely   Conductor
Mark Nightingale   Trombone (Tenor)
Cathy Thompson   Violin
Bruce White   Viola
Richard George   Violin
Dan Bates   Oboe,Cor Anglais
Sonia Slany   Violin
Andy Wood   Trombone (Bass)
Jennifer Barnes   Vocals (Background)
Kate Musker   Viola
Boguslav Kostecki   Violin
David Daniels   Celli
Jackie Shave   Violin
Chris Cowie   Oboe,Cor Anglais
Ian Humphries   Violin
Frank Ricotti   Percussion
John Heley   Celli
Jamie Talbot   Flute,Sax (Alto),Flute (Alto),Sax (Soprano),B-Flat Clarinet
Peter Erskine   Drums
Dave Bishop   Flute,Sax (Tenor),Flute (Alto),B-Flat Clarinet
John Parricelli   Guitar (Acoustic)
Emlyn Singleton   Violin
Richard Watkins   French Horn
Andy Panayi   Flute,Sax (Alto),Flute (Alto),Sax (Soprano),B-Flat Clarinet
David Loucks   Vocals (Background)
Colin Skinner   Flute,Sax (Baritone),B-Flat Clarinet,Clarinet (Bass)
Timothy Gill   Celli
Steve Morris   Violin
Chuck Bergnoffer   Bass
Liam Kirkman   Trombone (Tenor)
Gordon Campbell   Trombone (Tenor)
Nick Moss   Flute,Sax (Tenor),Flute (Alto),B-Flat Clarinet
Caroline Dearnley   Celli
Bozidar Vukotic   Celli
Dai Emanuel   Violin
Reiad Chibah   Viola
Ishani Bhoola   Violin
Jim Lynch   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Adam Goldsmith   Guitar (Acoustic)
Graeme Blevins   Flute,Sax (Alto),Flute (Alto),Sax (Soprano),B-Flat Clarinet
Emil Chakalov   Violin
Andrew Gathercole   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Vicci Wardman   Viola
Karen Jones   Flute
Christopher Tombling   Violin
Martin Robertson   Flute,Sax (Baritone),B-Flat Clarinet,Clarinet (Bass)
Tim Davis   Vocals (Background)
Magnus Johnston   Violin

Technical Credits

Matthew Peak   Illustrations
Sidney Keith Russell   Composer
Jo Ann Kane   Music Preparation
Mark Graham   Music Preparation
David Hage   Librarian
Frank Loesser   Composer
Everton Nelson   Leader
Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Bob Russell   Composer
Irving Taylor   Composer
Irving Berlin   Composer
Irving Gordon   Composer
Kim Gannon   Composer
Andrew Haveron   Leader
Dudley Brooks   Composer
Joel McNeely   Arranger,Producer,Liner Notes
R. Alex Anderson   Composer
Seth MacFarlane   Liner Notes
Buck Ram   Composer
Isobel Griffiths   Contracting
Al Stillman   Composer
Seger Ellis   Composer
John Blackburn   Composer
Lester Lee   Composer
Rich Breen   Mixing,Engineer
Jule Styne   Composer
Mel Torme   Composer
Karl Suessdorf   Composer
Carl Sigman   Composer
Walter Kent   Composer
Jackie Shave   Leader
Peter DeRose   Composer
Sammy Cahn   Composer
Robert Wells   Composer
Joy Fehily   Executive Producer
Jonathan Allen   Engineer
Tim Davis   Vocal Contractor
Magnus Johnston   Leader
Hal Stanley   Composer