Tuesday, 28 October 2025

Eric Benét - It's Christmas


58 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

Buy Eric's Christmas album here (Eric's website)
Stream Eric's Chistmas album here (Spotify)

You wait nearly a decade for a new Eric Benét album and then two arrive in the same calendar year. Hey, when the muse strikes, she strikes hard! I'm still luxuriating in his most recent studio album The Co-Star but very happy to take a pause for him to soundtrack my favourite time of year. Santa's co-star this year has to be Eric because his It's Christmas album is a joy from start to finish. It's definitely a labour of love for Mr Benét who also co-wrote and co-produced some originals, alongside Randy Emata & Sam SZND. It's a delightfully fresh collection of songs yet something that already sounds as timeless as crackling log fires and snow covered meadows. Eric's voice on these songs is nuanced and expressive, so a fine gift for the season - and one you'll want to revisit year after year. After all, a Christmas album is for life...

The album opens with the delectably warming original song I Really Don't Want Much For Christmas; a lovely piano/percussion gem about the grown up Christmas list Eric desires - it crafts a charming vibe of intimacy that radiates through the rest of the album. Notably, stands shoulder to shoulder with the standards. My Favourite Things adds some rhythmic grooves to the jazzy mood; Eric feels effortlessly at home with this Sound of Music classic and in perfect symbiotic time with the band - as if each other's energy fuels this performance. An extended, dramatic outro takes you to It's Christmas - a title track so grandiose that it needs special guest Stacy Ryan to help unwrap such an addictive gift. Finger click goodness shimmy alongside descriptive lyrics and evocative vocals. Dripping in festive horn flourishes, this sparkles with enough chemistry to light the Rockefella tree.

The state of the world today means we need songs like Christmas Morning; with Eric's children providing additional vocals this is a lilting ballad about doing the best you can in life - the choral effect of the younger voices and the ra-pa-pum-pum of the little drummer boy makes this the biggest hug of a holiday classic since ABBA's I Have A Dream. If you are inspired to Give Love On Christmas Day, then Eric has done the work of Santa! The Jackson 5 track is sung with contagious sincerity, reviving a long loved favourite for an entire new generation. Christmas Time Is Here demonstrates how the instrumentalists on this album contribute equally to the impact of the song - notable on this track with the elegant strings and achingly exquisite piano. One Little Christmas Tree is a soothing lullaby of a song that helps you pause the craziness of the season and just focus on Eric's skills as a musical narrator of stories.

Merry Christmas Babe sees Eric get a little more seductive on the romantic Merry Christmas Babe, adding some hammond organ to the texture of the track (with some lyrical nods to the Motown influences). The spoken word outro maybe the most sizzling since Prince sang Gett Off! While the heat is up why not celebrate a Hawaiian Christmas with Mele Kalikimaka, the island breezes almost tangible on this sunny take song (with some lush backing vocals that Eric lets take centre stage). Love the playful touches in the instrumental that add personality to the song. Eric then takes on Please Come Home For Christmas - and you'd better believe he leans into the bluesy nature of the melancholy words. You can visualise him singing in a smoky bar, surrounded by his vocalists and jazz band. Rarely does sorrow sound so good. O Holy Night closes out the album - my favourite carol performed with all the reverence and crescendo it deserves and demands. A rousing finale. 

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