Slip A Sable Under The Tree

Kylie Minogue “Santa Baby” – Kylie is so cute! This song is already a very kitschy tune, but good ol’ Kylie camps it up above and beyond the call of duty. So, as a result, it comes out being closer to the Eartha Kitt original than the fine but perhaps overly literal version that Madonna recorded back in the mid-80s at the height of her Material Girl shtick.

Aretha Franklin “Eleanor Rigby” – Now this is a peculiar cover. Musically, it’s a totally different song from the Beatles original in terms of arrangement, chords, melody, and overall tone. So I’m wondering, did Aretha just really love the lyrics and decided to turn it into an upbeat soul number because that’s, well, what she does? It’s a pretty great version though, even if it seems like a totally different song. In fact, I kinda prefer it this way, but I’ve never been a huge fan of the Beatles version to begin with. I’ll take the party tune over the dirge, thank you.