Cher is one of the most-loved and successful music artists in the world. At 77-years-old, the singer has had the kind of career that the current crop of music stars can only dream about.
Incredibly, it’s taken her until this year to put out a Christmas album. Over her career she’s dabbled in pop, rock, soul, dance and ABBA, but never in holiday music. Recently she released her album ‘Christmas’, which is a mix of original tracks and festive favourites.
The album features a host of guest stars including Michael Bublé, Cyndi Lauper, Darlene Love, Tyga and Stevie Wonder. First single ‘DJ Play a Christmas Song’ was performed recently as part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York so we thought we’d take a listen to the full ‘Christmas’ record and rank all of the tracks!
13. Drop Top Sleigh Ride (with Tyga)
This is the track we had concerns about when the track listing for ‘Christmas’ was first released. Actually, the song itself bops along at a pleasant mid-tempo pace but we just can’t get over that title. It doesn’t really fit with the rest of the songs on here and the addition of Tyga certainly doesn’t help.
12. Christmas Ain’t Christmas Without You
Cher and the vocoder go hand-in-hand since ‘Believe’ but it’s overkill on this song. Is it a robot? Is it Cher? We’ll never know. It’s a real shame as the stompy Christmas beat makes this a banger but the distorted vocal is far too distracting. When she ditches the vocoder on the chorus it’s so much better. Can we get a version that’s vocoder free?
11. This Will Be Our Year
The Zombies classic is the final track on the ‘Christmas’ album. It might not be as widely known as some of the songs on this collection but Cher puts her own stamp on it. A low-key ending to a great album, it allows Cher to show off her vocal chops a little more.
10. Home (with Michael Bublé)
There’s actually nothing wrong with this version of Michael Bublé’s iconic track ‘Home’ but we’ve heard it covered to death and is it really a Christmas song? We know it’s featured in Hallmark movie ‘A Merry Scottish Christmas’, and it’s really quite lovely, but did it need to be on ‘Christmas’? Not really.
9. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) with Darlene Love
Darlene Love features on this cover of her song ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)’, giving Cher her seal of approval. The key of the song is somewhat lower than we’re used to for this classic, ensuring it fits Cher’s deep voice. There are better versions of the song out there but honestly, it didn’t stop us from cranking up the volume when it came on.
8. Santa Baby
‘Santa Baby’ has been covered to death but there’s something about Cher singing it that just works. Perhaps taking a little inspiration from her ‘Burlesque’ era, Cher injects a playful nature into her vocal and she really does the song justice. Consider us fans of this one!
7. What Christmas Means to Me (with Stevie Wonder)
What makes a cover of a classic Christmas song by a legend even better? Adding another legend into the mix. ‘What Christmas Means to Me’ is one of the finest upbeat Christmas songs ever recorded so having Cher enlist the talents of the iconic Stevie Wonder is a recipe for success. The two vocalists play off each other well and this is a total bop.
6. Please Come Home For Christmas
Blues singer and pianist Charles Brown originally made this a hit and with Cher singing it, it could easily be a hit all over again. Leaning in to the more soulful side of her bombastic voice, the song sounds pretty lovely. It’s nice to really hear Cher sing, away from the vocal effects and tricks. Absolutely stunning!
5. I Like Christmas
One of the originals on the record, ‘I Like Christmas’ has a classic soulful festive feel. With sleigh bells in the background and Cher singing about how much she loves the season, it’s a heartwarming moment. We like how this song isn’t over-produced and it could easily make it onto our annual Christmas playlist.
4. Run Rudolph Run
This song was made for Cher to cover! The rock/blues edge is perfect for the icon to put her own twist on. She really lets loose vocally on her version of the song and it’s one of the highlights here. Covers are always hard but when you sing with the amount of gusto Cher does here, you can’t fail.
3. Angels in the Snow
This original song features Cyndi Lauper on backing vocals and it brings to mind a more uptempo ‘Stay Another Day’. There’s a dance beat that pulsates throughout the track and it’s Cher in her comfort zone. We can imagine playing this at our Christmas parties over the next few weeks.
2. Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart (with Cyndi Lauper)
‘Put a Little Holiday In Your Heart’ is a proper duet with the incredible Cyndi Lauper and it very almost topped our ranking. It starts off as a ballad but soon it kicks up a gear as Cher and Cyndi’s vocals harmonise to great effect. Lyrically the song is about sharing kindness and the joy of giving. Uplifting, positive and optimistic, it’s a cracker!
1. DJ Play a Christmas Song
Taking us back to the ‘Believe’ era, ‘DJ Play a Christmas Song’ is a fun uptempo Christmas song that utilises the vocoder that Cher introduced into pop music back in the 90s. At first, we didn’t think too much of the track but it’s quite clever in that it lodges into your brain. The bombastic dance chorus is pretty epic and this is unashamedly Cher at her best.
