Sheryl Crow is following in the footsteps of Barry Manilow, George Straight and James Taylor in producing a Christmas CD marketed by Hallmark in 2008. These CDs are typically offered as an exclusive in Hallmark stores for one year before being repackaged for general distribution.

“I had been wanting to do this for awhile, so when the opportunity came up I just kind of jumped at it.” Crow said. “I love Christmas music; every year we have this ritual after the Christmas Eve service, 40 or 50 people come over the house and we play Christmas music. We pretty much rely on the same Christmas music every year, and every year I’ve said, “I’m gonna make some Christmas music of my own.” There’s been lots of amazing Christmas records that have come out, but where Christmas music is concerned there’s always room for everyone.”

“The album is just gorgeous. It’s kind of a humble record; it’s very sweet and innocent and a little bit of a throwback to maybe the ’60s or ’70s in production. It’s definitely a departure from any Christmas record I’ve ever heard. There’s just a beautifully lush, kind of soulful version of “Oh Holy Night.” And “All Through the Night,” which is a traditional carol, actually; [Bottrell] put together a beautiful suite arrangement, which is a little bit of a departure from the stoic hymn version. But the lyrics for it are fantastic. And then there are just a few songs that are fun and everybody loves them-”Merry Christmas, Baby” and “White Christmas” and stuff like that.”