Stevens, Sufjan: Worst Christmas Ever! (Rudolph red vinyl) LP

Sufjan Stevens' relationship with Christmas music dates back to 2001, when he began recording songs as gifts for friends and family. He would typically spend a week in December recording at home with whoever happened to be around, eventually accumulating nearly five hours of material. Asthmatic Kitty packaged the first five volumes as "Songs For Christmas" in 2006, followed by another five EPs on "Silver & Gold: Songs For Christmas, Vols. 6-10" in 2012. Featuring fifteen favorites from Sufjan's extensive holiday catalogue plus the never-before released original "On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)", "Worst Christmas Ever!" pulls from both collections, bundling originals with the singer-songwriter's interpretations of holiday classics like "Silent Night" and "Joy To The World". All tracks were performed, recorded, and produced by Stevens, with contributions across the original recordings from a wide-ranging cast that includes Aaron and Bryce Dessner, Richard Reed Parry, James McAlister, Rob Moose, Gabriel Kahane, Rosie Thomas, Shara Nova, and many more.