The Christmas Attic

The Christmas Attic is the second studio album by the American rock band Trans-Siberian Orchestra, released in 1998. The cover art is by Edgar Jerins.^[5]

The Christmas Attic
Studio album by Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Released	September 15, 1998
Recorded	1997–1998
Studio	Soundtrack Studios, Studio 900 and Stellar Productions (overdubs), New York City
Genre	Symphonic rock, Christmas music
Length	73:19
Label	Lava/Atlantic
Producer	Paul O'Neill and Robert Kinkel
Trans-Siberian Orchestra chronology
Christmas Eve and Other Stories (1996) The Christmas Attic (1998) Beethoven's Last Night (2000)
Singles from The Christmas Attic
"The World That He Sees" Released: 1998^[1] "Christmas Canon" Released: 2001^[2]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	8/10^[4]

On September 5, 2019, The Christmas Attic was certified 2× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[6]

References to other carols and works

• "Boughs of Holly" is a reworking of "Deck the Halls".
• "March of the Kings/Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," besides the obvious carol, is also a rock version of the Farandole from Bizet's L'Arlésienne's Suite No. 2.
• "The Three Kings and I (What Really Happened)" briefly quotes "O Holy Night" and the "Hallelujah" chorus.
• "Christmas Canon" is based on Pachelbel's Canon.
• The "Joy" section of "Joy/Angels We Have Heard on High" is a reworking of Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Ghosts of Christmas Eve"	Robert Kinkel Paul O'Neill	2:15
2.	"Boughs of Holly" (instrumental)	Traditional	4:24
3.	"The World That She Sees"	O'Neill Jon Oliva	5:59
4.	"Midnight Christmas Eve" (instrumental)	O'Neill Oliva	4:21
5.	"The March of the Kings / Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" (instrumental)	Georges Bizet Charles Wesley	3:52
6.	"The Three Kings and I (What Really Happened)"	Kinkel O'Neill	6:29
7.	"Christmas Canon"	O'Neill Johann Pachelbel	4:19
8.	"Joy of Man's Desire/Angels We Have Heard on High"	Johann Sebastian Bach James Chadwick Kinkel O'Neill	3:55
9.	"Find Our Way Home"	O'Neill Oliva	3:45
10.	"Appalachian Snowfall" (instrumental)	Kinkel O'Neill	4:12
11.	"The Music Box"	O'Neill	3:00
12.	"The Snow Came Down"	Kinkel O'Neill	5:43
13.	"Christmas in the Air"	O'Neill Oliva	4:12
14.	"Dream Child (A Christmas Dream)"	O'Neill Oliva	7:04
15.	"An Angel's Share"	Kinkel O'Neill	3:05
16.	"Music Box Blues"	O'Neill	5:36

The album was re-released in 2001 with a companion track to "The World That She Sees" (which was shortened from 6 minutes to just 3) called "The World That He Sees" inserted into the track listing directly after "She Sees" and having a length of 4:45. The last track "Music Box Blues" was also truncated to 4:57; this version was previously used in the TSO film The Ghosts of Christmas Eve.

Personnel

Performers

Vocals

Solos

• Jody Ashworth
• Joe Cerisano
• Katrina Chester
• Marlene Danielle
• Thomas Farese
• Peggy Harley
• Daryl B. Pediford

Back–Ups

• Latisha Jordan – background coordinator
• Peggy Harley
• Robert Kinkel
• Maurice Lauchner
• Al Pitrelli
• Jon Oliva
• Timara Sanders
• Zak Stevens
• Doug Thoms
• Yolanda Wyns

Child choir

• Dan Moriarty – conductor

Choir

• The Choristers, St. Bartholomew's Church, New York City
• Marilina Acosta
• Brendan Burgess
• Julia George
• Shoshana Frishberg
• Julian Drabik
• Jack Gibson
• Nina Gottlieb
• Erick Hernandez
• Michelle Repella
• Anton Spivack

Orchestra

• Robert Kinkel – piano and keyboards
• Jon Oliva – piano, keyboards and bass guitar
• Al Pitrelli – lead, rhythm and bass guitars
• Paul O'Neill, Chris Caffery^[7] – rhythm guitars
• Johnny Lee Middleton – bass guitar
• Jeff Plate – drums

Production

• Paul O'Neill – producer
• Robert Kinkel – co–producer, additional engineering
• Dave Wittman – recording and mixing engineer
• Darren Rapp, Kathy Rich, Robert Duryea, Steve Ship, Tim Ronaghan – assistant engineers
• Joe Johnson, Michael Shielzi, Sheldon Guide – additional engineering
• Gin–Won Lee – additional engineering assistant
• Kevin Hodge – mastering at The Cutting Room, New York

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2014) Peak position US Billboard 200^[8] 60 Chart (2018) Peak position US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[9] 14

Year-end charts Chart (2019) Position US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[10] 82

References

1. The World That He Sees (track listing). Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Lava Records. 1998. 2-84548.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
2. Christmas Canon (track listing). Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Lava Records. 2001. PRCD 300705.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Christmas Attic review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
4. Popoff, Martin (August 1, 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 455. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
5. Roth, Dan (May 28, 2012). "A conversation With Edgar Jerins: the man behind seven classic Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra album covers". Music & Art Interviews.com. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
6. "RIAA Searchable Database: search for Trans-Siberian Orchestra". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
7. Saulnier, Jason (June 3, 2008). "Chris Caffery Interview: Guitarist talks Savatage History". Music Legends.ca. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
8. "Trans-Siberian Orchestra Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
9. "Trans-Siberian Orchestra Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
10. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2021.

External links

• Trans-Siberian Orchestra Homepage