I’m always searching for new Christmas music and was delighted to discover that Morgan Wade had released a short EP of festive tunes this year. She has recorded three personal favourite covers and one original for this EP ‘Christmas in My Dreams’.
Opening song is a version of ‘Merry Christmas, Baby’ which was first recorded in 1947 by Johnny Moore before becoming a R&B standard recorded by artists as wide ranging as Chuck Berry, Elvis, Tina Turner, En Vogue, Melissa Etheridge and Bruce Springsteen. It’s Springsteen’s version that has obviously inspired Morgan and she keeps the Boss’s lively, spirited style of delivery. It sounds real, real good.
What initially made me want to review this E.P. was the title track ‘Christmas in My Dreams’ which is a gorgeous country ballad about the sadness of the season. It’s full of longing and regret, proving that the best Christmas songs aren’t afraid to look into the darkness. Her voice sounds as good as I’ve ever heard it.
An unexpected cover choice follows with ‘Same Old Lang Syne’ which is a song I was not previously familiar with, originally released by Dan Fogleberg in 1980. Morgan doesn’t flip the pronouns and so elevates this song about meeting an ex-lover at the grocery store into a tragically beautiful exploration of queer heartbreak.
She finishes the EP with a slowed down version of Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ which is transformed into something softer and quietly poignant.
For anyone seeking some thoughtful Christmas songs that aren’t the obvious covers done in the same old style, then ‘Christmas in my Dreams’ is a gift to you.
Highway Queens 
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