Mann and her producer Paul Bryan used the Peanuts Christmas special as one jumping-off point, with both the jazz-inflected Vince Guaraldi Trio soundtrack and comic melancholy of Charlie Brown as influences.
Mann also cites the Johnny Mathis record she heard every year in her house as a kid as another major influence and archetypical Christmas record. "That's why I wanted to make sure at least half of the songs on the record were classic Christmas standards that everybody knows."
The album is also sprinkled with some lesser-known but no-less-classic songs: the Jimmy Webb song "Whatever Happened to Christmas," which opens the record; "Christmastime" written by Michael Penn; the brilliant "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" from the Dr. Seuss cartoon "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," featuring Grant Lee Phillips' inspired narration; and an original song, co-written with producer Paul Bryan, "Calling on Mary."
Track Listing:
1. Whatever Happened To Christmas
2. Christmas Song
3. Christmastime
4. I'll Be Home For Christmas
5. You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch
6. Winter Wonderland
7. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
8. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
9. White Christmas
10. Calling On Mary
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