Christmas Fantasy

Christmas Fantasy was recorded in the summer of 2005. ==Critical reception==

Caroline Sullivan, writing for The Guardian, found that Baker's "first Christmas album is exactly the ticket for that pre-coma moment late on December 25, when all you can face is something cool and easily digestible." She concluded: "With not an ounce of filler, you might even want to listen to it again, come January." AllMusic editor David Jeffries remarked that "there are only nine tracks on Baker's Christmas Fantasy, but the album still clocks in at 45 minutes, with most tracks letting things comfortably develop past the five-minute mark. Part of the reason for this is the band. With George Duke, Larry Carlton, Joe Sample, the underrated Ricky Lawson, and other top-notch folk involved, it would be a shame not to let these boys play, but as much as they get to vamp, it's still Baker's album, 100 percent." Paul Robinson from Gigwise wrote: "Ready to cash in, Anita and her ‘unknown’ collaborators provide what any Christmas CD provides while tucking into your turkey… ambience!!" ==Commercial performance==

Released on October 4, 2005, by Blue Note Records, Christmas Fantasy peaked at number 120 on the US Billboard 200. It also reached number 31 on Billboards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number 17 on the Top Holiday Albums. ==Track listing==

All tracks produced by Anita Baker and Barry J. Eastmond. == Personnel ==

Performers and musicians • Anita Baker – vocals • George Duke – acoustic piano (1, 3) • Joe Sample – acoustic piano (2, 6, 8, 9) • Barry J. Eastmond – Rhodes electric piano (2, 6, 9), keyboards (3, 4, 7, 8), acoustic piano (5) • Russell Ferrante – acoustic piano (7) • Larry Carlton – guitars (1–3, 8, 9) • Tim May – guitars (5) • Phil Upchurch – guitars (5) • Nathan East – bass guitar (1, 3, 4, 6, 8), acoustic bass (2, 9) • Reggie Hamilton – acoustic bass (5) • Jimmy Haslip – bass guitar (7) • Ricky Lawson – drums (1–6, 8, 9) • Marcus Baylor – drums (7) • Rafael Padilla – percussion (3, 7) • Gene Lobianco – clarinet (1) • Sharon Bryant – backing vocals (8) • Tiffany Palmer – backing vocals (8) • Carol Ricketts – backing vocals (8) Technical • Executive Producer – Anita Baker • A&R – Eli Wolf • Producer – Barry J. Eastmond • Engineers – Barry J. Eastbound, Al Schmitt and Bill Smith. • Assistant Engineers – Steve Genelek and Jason Wormer • Tracks 1–7 mixed by Al Schmitt at Capitol Studios, assisted by Steve Genelek. • Tracks 8 & 9 mixed by Michael O'Reilly at Avatar Studios (New York, NY), assisted by Peter Doris. • Mastered by Doug Sax and Robert Hadley at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, CA). • Product Manager – Shanieka D. Brooks • Art Direction and Design – Gordon H. Lee • Photography – Adrian Buckmaster == Charts ==