Fans of Australian singer-songwriter Delta Goodrem are getting spoiled this year by Music on Vinyl. In the last few months Goodrem’s debut album ‘Innocent Eyes’ and her second album ‘Mistaken Identity’ were released on vinyl and just this week, the star’s third album ‘Delta’ has also made its way to vinyl. The fourth vinyl release from the singer’s catalogue is her 2020 Christmas album ‘Only Santa Knows’, which includes the track listing from the 2021 re-release that expanded the album with four additional tracks.
Limited to 1,500 numbered copies, ‘Only Santa Knows’ has been pressed on 2-LP snowy white marbled 180-gram vinyl. The stunning release features the artwork from the ‘Deluxe Edition’ along with a colour insert featuring imagery, lyrics and credits, and a postcard. For ‘Only Santa Knows’ Goodrem recorded two original tracks – the title track and ‘Merry Christmas to You’ featuring the late Olivia Newton-John. The album’s other 15 tracks are Goodrem’s versions of classic festive tunes from across the year.
The album kicks off with the short ‘Carol of the Bells’ before making way for ‘Only Santa Knows’, an original song that sits nicely next to the covers. It’s the classics that fans will be getting this album for and Goodrem doesn’t disappoint. Here striking, and classy, rendition of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ is one of the strongest moments on the record and it features the Kids Choir by Sister 2 Sister School of Singing. If ever you doubted Goodrem’s vocal prowess, her vocal on this track is pure magic. She has such an incredible range and so much power, she really is magnificent to listen to.
Making Christmas classics your own isn’t an easy thing to do but Goodrem manages it with ease. ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed-Reindeer’ is elevated by Goodrem’s vocals while “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” pays homage to the original while still sounding modern and fresh. Goodrem tackles Joni Mitchell’s festive classic ‘River’ and it honestly sounds like a song she could have written and recorded herself. It’s definitely in the wheelhouse of what fans expect from the singer. Goodrem’s version of Irving Berlin’s ‘White Christmas’ is jaw-droppingly beautiful as she uses a lighter tone of her voice before letting loose in the song’s final minute.
Other highlights include a cover of David Foster’s ‘Grown-Up Christmas List’, which Goodrem interprets with plenty of emotion, and you can’t help but love Goodrem’s duet with Olivia Newton-John on original track ‘Merry Christmas to You’. With Goodrem having played Newton-John in a biopic, and the two having worked together prior to that (not to mention both of them battling cancer in their lives), the song packs a lot more emotion in the wake of Newton-John’s passing. A playful version of ‘Sleigh Ride’ is another standout moment and it might actually be my favourite interpretation of the Christmas classic. The album comes to a close with ‘Frosty the Snowman’, which has a very Queen-like intro. The minute the song finishes, you’ll be reaching for the first disc to play the album all over again.
‘Only Santa Knows (Deluxe Edition)’ is one of those rare Christmas albums that’s actually very, very good. It’s so hard for singers to make a decent Christmas album but Goodrem made it look easy with this album. Now on vinyl just in time for the festive season, fans will be rushing out to grab a copy to soundtrack the next few weeks. Goodrem has always been a class act and this might be her classiest collection yet.
Track listing: Side A – 1. Carol of the Bells 2. Only Santa Knows 3. The Little Drummer Boy 4. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Side B – 1. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 2. River 3. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree 4. White Christmas Side C – 1. Santa Claus is Coming to Town 2. Deck the Halls 3. Grown-Up Christmas List 4. Silent Night (feat. Gurrumul) Side D – 1. Merry Christmas to You (feat. Olivia Newton-John) 2. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) 3. Sleigh Ride 4. Jingle Bell Rock 5. Frosty the Snowman Record label: Music on Vinyl Release date: 17th November 2023 Buy ‘Only Santa Knows (Deluxe Edition)’ now
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