Silver & Gold: Songs for Christmas, Vols. 6–10 is a five-EP box set of Christmas-related songs and carols recorded by Sufjan Stevens between 2006 and 2012.[12] It is a follow-up to Songs for Christmas, which was released six years prior.
On October 2, 2012, it was announced that Stevens would release Silver & Gold on November 13, 2012 in digital format, CD and LP boxset.[13] On October 24, 2012, a claymation music video, animated by Lee Hardcastle, was released for "Mr. Frosty Man".[14]
Reception
The album has received mostly positive reviews from critics, with Pitchfork giving it a 7.8 out of 10. As Keelan H. of Sputnikmusic writes,"[T]he album exists on [a] plane where introspection meets with group sing-a-longs, depression meets with joyous outbursts, traditional meets with left-field kookiness."[11] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 76, based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6]
"Lumberjack Christmas / No One Can Save You from Christmases Past" - 3:22 (music by Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, and Sufjan Stevens; words by Sufjan Stevens)
"Coventry Carol" - 2:54 (featuring Marla Hansen) (16th-century English Carol)
"The Midnight Clear" - 2:49 (music by Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, and Sufjan Stevens; words by Sufjan Stevens)
"Carol of St. Benjamin the Bearded One" - 3:32 (music by Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, and Sufjan Stevens; words by Sufjan Stevens)
"Eternal Happiness or Woe" - 1:23 (music by Sufjan Stevens)
"Ah Holy Jesus" - 1:00 (a capella)
"I Am Santa's Helper" - 1:52 (words & music by Sufjan Stevens)
"'Maoz Tzur' (Rock of Ages)" - 0:42 (traditional Jewish hymn)
"Even the Earth Will Perish and the Universe Give Way" - 2:01 (music by Sufjan Stevens)
Christmas Infinity Voyage: Songs for Christmas, Vol. VIII
Originally recorded December 2008, as "Astral Inter Planet Space Captain Christmas Infinity Voyage: Songs for Christmas Vol. 8"; box set version re-recorded 2011-2012