Cher: Christmas
Verdict: The pop goddess turns back the clock.
Duff McKagan: Lighthouse
Verdict: Illuminating Return.
Cranberries: to the faithful
Verdict: Pointant tribute.
There is an unwritten rule on this page that no Christmas entries are mentioned until December. As with most rules, there’s always an exception and when Cher decides to release a Christmas album in October, it would seem like Scrooge not to line the hallways with holly sprigs and join in on the fun.
There is nothing understated about Christmas. The original goddess of pop refuses to dress it up as a ‘holiday album’ that would also carry the November holiday of Thanksgiving.
From the opening sleigh bells to a cheeky duet with Michael Bublé, the Christmas spirit reigns supreme. Made with the California diva’s longtime collaborator Mark Taylor (who co-produced her biggest hit, 1998’s Believe), the album is scattered in the way it jumps between genres — pop classics, jazz tunes, newly written dance numbers — but it all ties together neatly. With Sherry’s raspy powerful voice and infectious sense of fun.
Her first album since 2018’s Dancing Queen, a tribute to Abba inspired by her role in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Christmas is a mix of new songs and covers. From the first, DJ Play A Christmas Song is Disco with a touch of Believe-style auto-tune. “I should fall asleep in the heat of the fire,” Cher thinks. ‘But I’m on my way out. . . and I will stay outside.’
A star in name only long before Madonna, Beyoncé and Adele, she still has plenty of power and parades great guests. Stevie Wonder, who has been in hiding since undergoing a kidney transplant in 2019, plays accordion on What Christmas Means to Me.
Her first album since 2018’s Dancing Queen, Christmas is a mix of new songs and covers
A star in name only long before Madonna, Beyoncé and Adele, Cher still has plenty of power and parades great guests.
There is nothing understated about Christmas. The original goddess of pop refuses to dress it up as a ‘holiday album’ that would also welcome Thanksgiving
“Every time I hear that accordion, I’m a teenager again,” Cher says. There are duets with Buble (on Home) and Cyndi Lauper (on the country track Put A Little Holiday In Your Heart).
The most emotional moment pairs Cher with veteran soul star Darlene Love for the latter’s fantastic recreation of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). When Love first recorded the song, for Phil Spector’s legendary album A Christmas Gift For You in 1963, the then-unknown Cher sang backing vocals. Now sharing the lead role, the two singers revisit the classic with the warmth and intensity of a storm.
Elsewhere, Cher is in her element on Chuck Berry’s Run Run Run Run Run (“all I want for Christmas is a rock ‘n’ roll electric guitar”), and her version of Charles Brown’s “Please Come Home For Christmas” sticks to the bluesy doo-wop- a. The 1960 original Eartha Kitt’s Santa Baby feels like a novelty too far, but the digital pop of new track Drop Top Sleigh Ride is eminently believable.
Cher isn’t known for gentle introspection, but she ends by thinking.
This Will Be Our Year, the 1968 American hit for British band The Zombies, is not a Christmas song. But, singing beautifully, she turns it into one. “This will be our year. . . it was a long time coming,” she sings. Christmas 2023 is here before the clocks go back, but Cher pulls this off with a bang and a cheeky edge.
As a founding member of hard rock group Guns N’ Roses, bassist Duff McKagan was central to both the band’s badass attitude and the way they refreshed the genre with Sweet Child O’ Mine and Welcome To The Jungle.
He’s also a versatile songwriter — admired by Bob Dylan — and Lighthouse , his first solo LP in four years, packs a punch.
The title track, a song about finding harbor in a storm, sacrifices crunchy riffs for acoustic strums and an arrangement reminiscent of Hunky Dory-era Bowie. Even more unexpected are the religious metaphors sprinkled throughout I Sav God On 10th St. and Holy Water. “Mother Mary, won’t you come to me,” McGegan sings, echoing Paul McCartney’s lyrics in Let It Be.
Duff McKagan is a versatile songwriter — admired by Bob Dylan — and Lighthouse , his first solo LP in four years, brings surprises
Duff McKagan, seen here with Ackle Rose, was a founding member of the superstar hard rock band Guns N’ Roses
The Cranberries’ new album is also a tribute to Dolores O’Riordan, who died in London in 2018.
The Seattle musician hasn’t completely given up on mosh pits, and his Guns N’ Roses bandmate Slash provides a thunderous riff for Hope.
There are also fun cameos from Iggy Pop and Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell. The latter assists on the brooding ballad I Just Don’t Know, helping to cast colorful rocker McKagan in a new light.
The Cranberries were at a crossroads in 1996. Despite sounding nothing like the Britpop bands of the era, the Limerick quartet were huge on both sides of the Atlantic, and their third album, To The Faithful Departed, attempted to build on the success by mixing their famous indie- pop with mainstream rock.
Now repackaged, the album moves between sensitivity and silliness. It is now also a tribute to singer Dolores O’Riordan, who died in London in 2018.
Her haunting vocals lift an uneven set of songs and she shines on the bonus tracks: a live version of the anti-war song Zombie and a rousing version of Fleetwood Mac’s Go Your Own Way.
