Description
Donna Summer – Christmas Spirit – Vinyl Record
Christmas Spirit brings Donna Summer’s voice to a holiday program that includes familiar popular standards, traditional carols and three original songs. Released in 1994, it was her only Christmas album and reunited her with producer Michael Omartian, who had worked with her on She Works Hard for the Money and Cats Without Claws. The ten selections place the emphasis on singing, melody and seasonal expression, giving Summer a different setting from the dance records most closely associated with her career. This 2024 Mercury Records vinyl reissue contains the complete original album program, from White Christmas through Lamb of God, and returns the release to LP format for its thirtieth anniversary.
White Christmas and The Christmas Song open the record with two of the most familiar titles in the American holiday songbook. Their presence establishes a recognizable entry point before O Come All Ye Faithful moves toward the sacred repertoire. Summer’s voice is the common element across those different traditions, while Omartian’s production gives the collection a consistent setting. Orchestral arrangements and choral contributions are part of the album’s palette, broadening its sound beyond a simple singer-and-band presentation. The choice of repertoire also gives the opening stretch a useful balance. Popular Christmas standards sit beside a carol with a different history, allowing the record to move between seasonal nostalgia and religious observance.
Christmas Is Here introduces one of the three original compositions. Summer wrote it with Omartian and Bruce Sudano, bringing her own songwriting perspective into the program rather than relying entirely on established material. The Christmas Medley follows, joining What Child Is This?, Do You Hear What I Hear? and Joy to the World within a single selection. That medley is an important part of the album’s design because it allows several familiar melodies to share one larger performance. The combination of an original song and a multi-part traditional setting makes the middle of the record particularly varied, while retaining the same overall emphasis on Christmas and the expressive possibilities of Summer’s voice.
I’ll Be Home for Christmas begins the latter portion of the running order before the title track adds another Summer–Omartian–Sudano composition. Breath of Heaven, associated with Amy Grant, then contributes a more contemporary piece to the religious side of the program. O Holy Night and Lamb of God complete the album, with the closing original written by Summer and Omartian. This final stretch gives the record a clear devotional dimension, alongside the seasonal popular songs heard earlier. The originals are spread through the sequence rather than grouped together, so Summer’s writing remains in conversation with the standards and carols. That arrangement helps the ten selections feel like one considered holiday program.
Listeners who know Summer primarily through her disco and pop hits will find a record that directs attention toward a different part of her musical identity. Omartian’s involvement connects the album with earlier collaborations, while the use of orchestra, choir and a broad Christmas repertoire gives it a distinct purpose. The three originals—Christmas Is Here, Christmas Spirit and Lamb of God—provide an additional reason to explore the collection alongside more familiar seasonal records. This single-LP Mercury reissue preserves all ten tracks, including the complete three-song Christmas Medley as one selection. Its appeal is the combination of Summer’s recognizable voice, established holiday material and songs she helped create for this particular album.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic
Track Listing
White Christmas
The Christmas Song
O Come All Ye Faithful
Christmas Is Here
Christmas Medley: What Child Is This? / Do You Hear What I Hear? / Joy to the World
I’ll Be Home for Christmas
Christmas Spirit
Breath of Heaven
O Holy Night
Lamb of God
