55 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!
Buy Slay Belles here (Amazon UK)
Ho ho ho, hoes. Nearly twenty years after her first (and still sickening) Christmas album, RuPaul has gagged the holiday market purchasers by sliding a whole new album of festive tunes gently into the iTunes. She's basically done a Beyonce by keeping this so quiet (Kenya Michaels Beyonce obviously) - almost impossible in this era of instant communication, where every overheard snippet of gossip is instantly posted, retweeted and discussed ad infinitum. Also impossible - that twenty year gap between new album Slay Belles and 1997's Ho Ho Ho! I used watched a RuVealed where Dame Ru told us she was twenty three ;) Of course, all that matters here is the music (man), and RuPaul has rounded up some of her best squirrel* friends to bring us a dragtacular cornRUcopia of intoxicating and elevating Christmas sounds. Here are some of the highlights (because there is no #SHADE here)...
The album opens with Merry Christmas, Mary - an uplifting ode to the most famous Mary of them all where Ru brings 1970s hand-clap disco realness, thanks to that funky beat and scintillating synths. "This ain't your mama's Christmas carol" sings Ru and thank god it isn't because when that glorious house-piano drops in the middle 8 you just want to shake your moneymaker, raise your hands to the gay gods and tes-ti-fy. I truly believe that if there were more songs like this on the radio, the world would be a better place. Christmas Is About Love is the natural seasonal extension of one of RuPaul's most famous sayings ("Everybody say 'love'"). There's a genuinely sincere message here about the true meaning of the day of Santa's birth - that you should be there for your family (whatever and however that family came to be). RuPaul is in fine vocal fettle (good word, FETTLE) and accentuates the lyrics with her earnest delivery. It's hard not to be seduced by that percolating beat and catchy refrain, so why not just let the musical message wash over and edify you - you'll be glad that you did because it's just GAAAAAW-JUS. Next up is a duet with Michelle Visage (a name that should really only be said the way RuPaul introduces her on Drag Race) called From Your Heart. It's about getting real, dahling - that even if you have worked hard in life and reaped the rewards, Christmas can take you back to that wonder you experienced as a child. I do love it when these two sing together - you can feel the love and camaraderie between them in a way that sparkles as brightly as that alluring instrumental that they sing alongside. I'm feeling warm and fuzzy already...
You're The Star (On My Christmas Tree) may be one of my favourite songs on the entire album. You can tell it's a Lucian Piane co-write because he has this symbiotic relationship with Ru where they just bring out the best in each other - and their love for pop music just radiates. Those playful keyboard riffs, the vibrant horns and shuffling sleigh bells all coalesce to craft an instrumental that is the perfect backdrop for RuPaul to sing her love letter. It's not just a love letter to that special person in her life, but also (like the album) a love letter to the season, the sentiments it brings and the music that celebrates it. Those horns are giving me Darlene Love realness and I just can't get enough. Next up, RuPaul invites Markaholic around to gussy up My Favourite Holiday. The shimmering synths and drum loop beat remind me simultaneously of Wham's Last Christmas (never a bad thing) and a classic Stock Aitken and Waterman remix from the late 80s. Factor in the indelible chorus that just refuses to get out of your head and it's like Ru's magically found a long lost Jason Donovan single, a spiritual follow up to When You Come Back To Me. As if this wasn't all enough, you throw in a few "fa la la"s and "whoo" and it's exactly the type of party I want to get invited to :) And there had better be some Christmas Cookies at this alleged shindig. Oh, there they are - by Jiggly Caliente (it's funny because it's true)! RuPaul brings metaphor ingenuity for THE GODS on this entirely seductive 60s girl group inspired number and I honestly don't know whether I feel hungry or horny. Both probably. I've tasted this warm dough and I want more. PS dutch oven?! "LOL" (Cookies continue to get referenced on the Big Freedia and Ellis Miah featuring Jingle Dem Bells, an instant rap classic that demands multiple plays just so you can get all three parts of your lip sync darn tooting perfect for the office Christmas party. And I'm talking Coco Montrese perfect or you may as well not bother. *Points finger to lips*).
If you never imagined RuPaul channelling Barry White, then Nothing For Christmas will come as something of a jaw-dropping surprise. It's got that sensuous r'n'b groove that the big man was so well known for, gospel inflected backing vocals, hammond organ and a vocal from RuPaul that expertly veers between sassy attitude and whimsical melancholy. The message is that if you ain't been a good girl then Santa ain't gonna empty his sack for you. Which is clearly wrong on so many levels. Luckily, MTV star and amazing re-inventor of Hocus Pocus, Todrick Hall has swung by to help Ru Deck The Halls. Ru's a generous performer as she lets Todd's gorgeous silky vocals take the lead on a song that ebbs, flows and then crescendos into a satisfying and satiating chorus. It's like a great big aural hug, as heartwarming as those final three chats over tic-tacs on RuPaul's Drag Race. I really do love how much Ru loves Christmas and how her message of love really does transcend the season - the songs feel like you can listen to them into January and beyond. That's why by the time Brand New Year rolls around to close the album down. it's a little bit sad. Don't worry though because Siedah Garrett is singing along too and I really just can't stop loving her. It feels like Ru's way of saying that kindness, acceptance and new opportunities really should be a year round thing. And Brand New Year encapsulates this beautifully as well being a splendid coda to all the music that came before. All in all, Slay Belles is entirely magnificent. I'm smitten.
*In England squirrel rhymes with Cyril so it took me ages to clock what this meant. And by the time I did, well, she done already done had herses. True story...
**Ghosts of Christmas past:**
No comments:
Post a Comment