Tim: Mr Light Bright Light is another one with a Christmas EP out this year, comprising six covers of songs from Christmas movies; this is the only one on YouTube. and for anyone who doesn’t know the connection, the Annie Lennox cover of the original 1960s track is from the Scrooged soundtrack.
Tim: For me, that starts good and just keeps getting better. Sure, it’s clearly a cover of an 80s song, but it’s a damned good song, such a lovely duet.
Tom: It is, although — and I’m well aware that this is down to personal preference rather than anything in the production here — it’s a song that I don’t actually like. I can’t explain why, the lyrics are just a bit too trite, the melody just a bit too Playdays.
Tim: Hmm, I get where you’re coming from – and if you don’t like the saccharine of the original, this isn’t going to be an improvement. Looking at it from my view, though: we’re not kept waiting too long for that lovely textbook key change, and the sax that comes in towards the end just adds that little bit more. Sure, there’s nothing seasonal in the lyrics – the original was released in June – but as we saw with Love Me Like You, you don’t necessarily need festive lyrics to have a great Christmas song. And I reckon this is.
Tom: Yep, if I try and treat this with a bit of objectivity, there’s little to complain about: the production’s spot-on.
Tim: In that case I’d suggest for you another cover, and one that’s also entirely devoid of festive lyrics: Siouxsie & the Banshees’s Face To Face, from the Batman Returns soundtrack; that’s on the EP as well. It’s wonderfully Christmassed up, and is so weird but also so great, so check that out.