Sunday, 15 November 2020

Sapphire - Driving Home For Christmas


40 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!

Buy-stream Driving Home For Christmas here (external link)

Insert dreamy sigh *here* - my introduction to the lilting vocal tones of Sapphire comes via one of the most melancholy yet hopeful Christmas songs out there; the charming Chris Rea standard, Driving Home For Christmas. Produced by Steve Anderson, the accompaniment is a simplistic guitar, piano and finger click beat, yet it is within that simplicity that Sapphire absolutely shines. It is as if the original lyrics are like her favourite warm blanket which she has wrapped around her. She injects so much nuanced emotion into her delivery that it becomes as vivid as a theatrical performance. For example, when she sings "it's been so long" you can feel the haunted sense of regret linger in the air; yet just one line later she refuses to let misery bring her down and she's sharing her optimism via a determined "I will be there". Halfway through, the song emerges into a shimmering wall of sound with a "i'm driving home" hook repetition that may be the most positive refrain you'll hear all year. It is the most glorious musical traffic jam you can imagine!

If this was 1989, when the Chris Rea song was initially released, we'd be flipping over the vinyl record to listen to the b-side. Sapphire would make Judy Garland with this exquisite piano-vocal take on Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. There is just a touch of fragility in Sapphire's voice to give it a poignant longing - and this aura of wistful nostalgia feels rather relevant for the tough times of 2020. Graceful strings waltz with elegiac elegance alongside that heartfelt piano in a way that feels like Sapphire draws strength from; it is a symbiotic support to ensure this plaintive, sincere plea is heard. The type of song that, when performed live, you could hear a pin drop. Global lockdown be damned - if this is the invitation to meet me in St Louis then I'll be there (powered by that magical little sprinkle of Jingle Bells at the end). Gorgeous.

UPDATE (4 DEC 2020): A very Sapphire Christmas is the gift which keeps on giving as Sony music release 2 more wintry gems to expand this from a double-A sided single into a four-track EP.  It starts off with what most people don't know is the Mariah Carey penned song (but made famous by Faith Hill), Where Are You Christmas. The song, from the greatest Grinch movie ever made, is delivered through the prism of grown up ennui; it is almost as if Sapphire is reliving childhood memories and trying to discover where the innocent wonder has gone. With a tremulous introductory verse, full of echoing music and yearning singing, the answer to the titular question comes through an angelic choir & a chiming music box aura.  It builds to a lush wall of sound, conjuring up images of snowfall and Christmas lights illuminating the path for Sapphire - and all of us - to rediscover the whimsy.

O Holy Night is my favourite ever Christmas carol so, as I have noted many times, I am super protective of it. I absolutely adore that Sapphire has done something different with the song - taking the less expected route. It is no less emphatic a performance than those that lean into the glorious crescendo of the song, but when Sapphire takes a reverent, hushed approach to the first "fall on your knees", it is a moment of calm reflection that glimmers as brightly as the fabled star in the sky. The lilting layering of vocals feels like a gathering of like minded souls in appreciation of the melodic deference given to the awe-inspiring words. The burgeoning surge of sound simmers with celestial majesty before fading away to let Sapphire finish her humble tribute. It really is quite mesmerising. I can't wait for whatever she does next...

**Ghosts of Christmas Past**
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