Monday, 7 November 2022

Alicia Keys - Santa Baby


48 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!

Buy-stream Santa Baby here (Apple Music)

Actual soul icon Alica Keys has released what I can only hope is her inaugural holiday collection of songs. Santa Baby, exclusively available on Apple Music. It is a selection of festive favourites (plus a few originals) all reinvented through the prism of the element of freedom that one gets when immersing oneself in the liberating spirit of the season. Evocative arrangements swathe songs you thought you know intimately well in a new light, uncovering hidden nuance; meanwhile the new compositions slide in nicely, like a plush gift into a well-worn Christmas stocking. It's no surprise that Ms Keys is able to take such a luxurious, explorative approach - time and again she has proved what a musical mastermind she is. Dive into this new collection of songs because within no time they will be your new favourite future oldies...

The album opens with Santa Baby - a transformative approach turns this from coquettish musical flirtation into full on quiet storm romantic seduction. Alicia's vocal caresses the glittering piano line which coalesce to bring a crackling warmth to the lyrics. Christmas Time Is Here unfurls at a steady pace, Alicia savouring the poetic, descriptive nature of the much loved lyrics - her voice sliding into the higher register with graceful ease. Heavenly choir add an aura of nostalgia to the lovely vibe created. Favourite Things gets down and funky, whispered lyrics bouncing alongside rhythmic chords and a pulsing beat. "Just a few of my favourite things" purrs Alicia in full knowledge that the sensual way she delivers the lyrics would make Julie Andrews blush. Haunting and utterly mesmerising. 

The funk continues via the album's single December Back 2 June. Shuffling grooves are shoulder shimmying joy whilst the celebratory nature of the lyrics leave you feeling merry and bright. Gloriously layered production gives soulful magic that shines like the brightest star. Please Come Home For Christmas is such a passionate performance that every ounce of blues is exquisitely conveyed through the expressive vocal. It is one of the more traditional arrangements on the album, yet no less infused with influences and inspiration from soul classics of years gone by. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) takes a simple piano scale and a little drummer boy beat to ensconce Alica's soaring singing into a charming lilt of an accompaniment. It gradually crescendos into a joyful and triumphant finale. 

You Don't Have To Be Alone is the second new track, a piano-vocal ballad fuelled by honest yearnings and hopes of a better tomorrow. The holidays can be a challenge for many people so this comforting song is exactly the cure for what ails you. Listen & let the worries of the world fade away. An off-kilter arrangement of The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) makes it a quirky but thoroughly engaging melange of styles that actually melt together rather well (like whipped cream melting into the most decadent of hot chocolate). Old Memories on Christmas is a lush finger-click, mid-tempo ballad that soaks the listener in wistful nostalgia and lets you elicit your own mind's eye of visuals from ghosts of your own Christmases past. 

Talking of old memories on Christmas, Alicia revives her stunning Girl on Fire album track, Not Even The King. Co-written with Emile Sandé, this entrancing piano-vocal ballad explores the true power of love and how pure love can make you the wealtiest person alive. It manages to effortlessly capture the true meaning of Christmas without mentioning the season once - still as majestic and wondrous all these years later. The album closes with Ave Maria, a flawless version of the classic carol done in true Alicia Keys style. Like adding ingredients into a Christmas cake, a gradient wall of sound builds as the song progresses yet Alicia's smooth vocal never gets lost in the mix. She never needs to belt out the words for the power; she just bends each note to her will. A fine conclusion to this lovely set.

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