Cher – an inimitable icon, just a Tony away from achieving EGOT status, the counterpart of Sonny – can add Christmas legend to her list of appellations after dropping one of the most highly anticipated holiday albums of the season. Simply titled Christmas, Cher’s new holiday album combines updated classics, quintessentially Cher originals, and a slew of equally iconic featured artists to create a dazzling record of what can largely be described as festive disco.
Here’s the thing about holiday albums – they’re never that deep. The vast majority of Christmas albums feature covers of hymns and longstanding popular holiday songs, and some include original recordings, but rarely – if ever – in modern times do we hear a holiday album of complete originals. Because of this, there’s no reason to listen to Christmas albums in the way we listen to other albums. We don’t need to judge Cher’s holiday album as a piece of art the way we judge her other albums. We only need to decide whether it’s pleasant to our ears, and Christmas is.
Cher Knows How to Make Good Music
To Cher’s creative credit, she included a number of Christmas originals, like the synthy lead single “DJ Play A Christmas Song” that could double as a club banger and “Drop Top Sleigh Ride” featuring Tyga. Her originals likely won’t take off like Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You” or Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me,” but they’ll reach their target demographic, and those who listen to them within the context of the album will be more than pleased.
Cher also, after decades of recording, knows her voice remarkably well, and she chose Christmas classics for this album that showcase her alto range. Her cover of “What Christmas Means to Me,” for which she recruited Stevie Wonder, is particularly good, as is her duet cover of “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)” with Darlene Love. Cher rounds out Christmas with a feature from Cyndi Lauper, as well as a cover duet with Michael Bublé of his wistful ballad “Home,” the latter of which has a slight lyric change a la Billy Nighy’s character in Love Actually to make the song more holiday.
Cher, recording artist of ‘Christmas’
A Solid Addition to the Christmas Music Library
Again, Christmas is just a holiday album – it’s not that deep. The record is fun and upbeat. It’s not the most provocative piece of art that’s ever been made, but it shouldn’t be. It’s just a holiday album. Cher took appropriate and safe risks, and they paid off. Anyone who enjoys Christmas music will enjoy this album.
Christmas is streaming now wherever you listen to music.