Light of the Stable

Light of the Stable
Light of the Stable
Studio album by Emmylou Harris
Released	November 1979
Genre	Country, Christmas
Length	30.20 (LP): 41:32 (2004 CD)
Label	Warner Bros. Nashville / Rhino
Producer	Brian Ahern
Emmylou Harris chronology
1992 alternative Cover
	1992 album cover
2004 alternative cover
	2004 album cover

Light of the Stable is the first Christmas album by Emmylou Harris. It was originally released in 1979 by Warner Bros. Records but has since gone through several intervening releases. The 1992 Warner release was a remastered version of the original with a different album cover. The latest edition was released in 2004 by Rhino Records. It contains three newly recorded tracks in addition to remastered versions of the ten original tracks. Its cover came from the record sleeve of the original 45-rpm single version of "Light of the Stable" that was released in 1975. The title song featured harmony vocals from Neil Young, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
The Austin Chronicle	^[2]

Critical reception

Mark Deming of AllMusic gives the album 4 out of a possible 5 stars and writes, "Emmylou Harris is an artist with the rare sort of voice that communicates an honest and firmly grounded humanity while possessing a crystalline purity that verges on the angelic. In short, she was a singer born to make a great Christmas album, and in 1979 she did just that with Light of the Stable".^[1]

Gavin Edwards lists this album at No, 19 in Rolling Stone's 40 Essential Christmas Albums list. He writes, "Harris has always sung like an angel, and on this 1979 album she played the part, a living herald of joyful Nativity tidings. Some of the other golden-throated seraphim providing backing vocals: Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and, er, Neil Young."^[3]

Jim Caligiuri of The Austin Chronicle gives this album 4 stars and says, "Emmylou Harris possesses the voice of an angel, so it only makes sense that her versions of Christmas classics are unequaled, as are special guests Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and Dolly Parton."^[2]

Track listing

Original release

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Christmas Time's A-Coming"	Tex Logan	2:51
2.	"O Little Town of Bethlehem"	Phillips Brooks, Lewis H. Redner	3:40
3.	"Away in a Manger" (with Nancy Ahern)	Martin Luther; arr. Jonathan E. Spillman	2:37
4.	"Angel Eyes (Angel Eyes)"	Rodney Crowell	3:18
5.	"The First Noel"	Traditional	2:40

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Beautiful Star of Bethlehem"	Arthur L. Phipps	3:05
2.	"The Little Drummer Boy"	Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone	4:02
3.	"Golden Cradle" (with Nancy Ahern)	Traditional; arr. Nancy Ahern	2:05
4.	"Silent Night"	Josef Mohr, Franz Gruber; arr. Brian Ahern	3:33
5.	"Light of the Stable"	Steven Rhymer, Elizabeth Rhymer	2:29

2004 expanded version

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Christmas Time's A-Coming"	Tex Logan	2:51
2.	"O Little Town of Bethlehem"	Phillips Brooks. Lewis H. Redner	3:40
3.	"Away in a Manger" (with Nancy Ahern)	Martin Luther; arr. Jonathan E. Spillman	2:37
4.	"Angel Eyes (Angel Eyes)"	Rodney Crowell	3:18
5.	"The First Noel"	Traditional	2:40
6.	"Beautiful Star of Bethlehem"	Arthur L. Phipps	3:05
7.	"Little Drummer Boy"	Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone	4:02
8.	"There's a Light" (new track)	Beth Nielsen Chapman	2:54
9.	"Cherry Tree Carol" (new track)	Traditional/arr. Kate McGarrigle/Anna McGarrigle	3:33
10.	"Golden Cradle" (with Nancy Ahern)	Traditional/arr. Nancy Ahern	2:05
11.	"Silent Night"	Josef Mohr, Franz Gruber; arr. Brian Ahern	3:33
12.	"Man Is an Island" (new track)	Kate McGarrigle, Anna McGarrigle, Jane McGarrigle	4:45
13.	"Light of the Stable"	Steven Rhymer, Elizabeth Rhymer	2:29

Personnel

Brian Ahern – acoustic guitar, percussion, 6-string bass
Nancy Ahern – backing vocals
Mike Bowden – bass
Brian Bowers – autoharp
Tony Brown – clavinet
James Burton – electric guitar
Rodney Crowell – acoustic guitar
Hank DeVito – pedal steel guitar
Emory Gordy Jr. – bass
Glen Hardin – piano
Sharon Hicks – backing vocals
Albert Lee – mandolin
Willie Nelson – backing vocals
Dolly Parton – backing vocals
Frank Reckard – electric guitar
Linda Ronstadt – backing vocals
Ricky Skaggs – banjo, mandolin, violin, acoustic guitar
John Ware – drums
Cheryl Warren – backing vocals
Neil Young – backing vocals
Emmylou Harris – vocals, acoustic guitar

Charts

Album – Billboard
Year	Chart	Position
1980	Billboard 200	102^[4]
1981	Top Country Albums	22^[5]

Release history

Release history and formats for *Light of the Stable*
Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
North America	November 1979	LP cassette	Warner Bros. Records	^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b Deming, Mark. Light of the Stable at AllMusic
^ ^a ^b Caligiuri, Jim (24 December 2004). "Light of the Stable". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
^ Edwards, Gavin. "40 Essential Christmas Albums". Rolling Stone Magazine. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
^ "Billboard 200". billboard.com. Billboard. 26 December 1980. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
^ "Top Country Albums". Billboard. 16 January 1981. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
^ Harris, Emmylou (November 1979). "Light of the Stable (Liner Notes)". Warner Bros. Records. BSK-3484 (LP); M5-3484 (Cassette).

[AM-1] Deming, Mark. Light of the Stable at AllMusic

[AC-2] Caligiuri, Jim (24 December 2004). "Light of the Stable". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 24 February 2020.

[RS-3] Edwards, Gavin. "40 Essential Christmas Albums". Rolling Stone Magazine. Retrieved 24 February 2020.

[BB2-4] "Billboard 200". billboard.com. Billboard. 26 December 1980. Retrieved 24 February 2020.

[BB1-5] "Top Country Albums". Billboard. 16 January 1981. Retrieved 24 February 2020.

[6] Harris, Emmylou (November 1979). "Light of the Stable (Liner Notes)". Warner Bros. Records. BSK-3484 (LP); M5-3484 (Cassette).

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