Wednesday, 26 November 2025

George Perris - Christmas in Athens


29 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!

Stream Christmas in Athens here (Spotify)

Scroll down to my Ghosts of Christmas Past section at the bottom of this review and you'll find that George Perris has always loved the most wonderful time of the year. So much so that he even named his inaugural Christmas album after it. This year, he's not only returned with a brand new song (Merry Merry Ho, a duet with Mario Frangoulis - review here), but put on a whole Christmas concert that is now immortalised in recorded form. If, like me, Athens isn't just down the road for you, then you get to experience the magic and sparkle of this concert by popping on your most dapper outfit, turning on your Christmas tree lights and playing this loud with seasonal cheer for all to hear. As well as all the songs I fell in love with on his Christmas opus, there are some surprises in here that could easily form part of a new studio album in years to come...
  • It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas ~ with a charming spoken word introduction that encapsulates everything I love about the holiday season, George then unwraps an elegant take on the Perry Como classic. Swathed in elegant strings, he's a brilliant storyteller - imbuing the words with just the right cadence and sense of wide eyed wonder. A playful middle 8 instrumental adds to the enchantment, but it is George who is the beating heart of this song. He makes it feel like Christmas once more.
  • Winter Wonderland ~ you can see how the Great Christmas Song Book can set up a Most Wonderful Time Of The Year Vol 2 (my suggested title - It's A Wonderful Life). This jazzy romp is dripping in seductive sax, frisky piano and swirling strings. George is giving it his best Golden age of Hollywood leading man vibes, a thoroughly captivating raconteur who makes his elaborate score seem intimate and personal. And isn't that part of the enchantment - making the song feel like it is for you and you alone?
  • O Holy Night ~ my favourite carol and one I will never tire of hearing in new versions as long as the singer is respectful to the source material. Was there ever any doubt that George would understand the ebbs and flows of the song? He's appropriately reverent and humble, yet inflects the crescendo parts of the lyrics with the right power so they have the right type of impact (but don't feel like he's shouting it out). The swell of the music with his serene vocal is a spine tingling moment that leaves you feeling joyful and triumphant. 
  • Jingle Bells ~ strap yourself in because this is going through some fast tempo that seems more spirited than the reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh. It's done with drama, wit and flair that keeps your attention but also leaves you somewhat breathless with giddy anticipation. There's sudden dips in tempo that hlp create a musical metaphor for the momentum of the one horse open sleigh that George sings about with such rapid fire merriment. Oh, and that final note he holds? That's the feeling of Christmas you won't wanna let go of.
  • Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ~ if Julie Andrews' My Favourite Things (from The Sound of Music) can become reappropriated as a Christmas song then so can this bonkers highlight from Mary Poppins. Nothing atrocious about this hand clap rollercoaster of a ride - and if Greece is looking for the most stylish Bert the chimney sweep for the stage musical, they could do a lot worse than George. He's the right amount of delirious theatrical - he might need to work on saying it all backwards though!
  • Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas ~ the final new song is the delightful Judy Garland standard from Meet Me In St Louis. It is the most mellifluous of melodic invitations, sung with ornate understanding of the hopeful lyrics by Mr Perris. It's a music box of a wish that you really do believe will come true - even if just for the time that George sings this radiant hug of a rendition. Getting six new standards with such opulent production means that we all get to have ourselves a merry little Christmas now (and for many Christmases to come).
**Ghosts of Christmas past**
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