Released in 2006 (the same year as his mid-career Best Of), this is his sixth studio album.
Holiday In Cambodia may be drawing a long bow regarding the Christmas theme, but I thoroughly approve of its inclusion. The original is a favourite of mine, particularly due to the poignant lyrics. And it's perfectly suited to this jazz parody version.
On the other hand, I don't rate Madonna's Like A Virgin and this puts me off the Cheese version too. And Jingle Bells is a cheap gag dragged out for too long.
Christmas In Las Vegas is a rare original composition by Richard Cheese. The lyrics are nicely amusing and the instrumentals are very... ummmm... cheesy. So it meets the brief perfectly.
Who would have though that Ice Ice Baby would make a fantastic gentle lounge tune? The arrangement works really well and, of course, there is great novelty value in turning Vanilla Ice inside out.
Maybe I'm a bad person, but I really enjoy hearing the saccharine Do They Know It's Christmas torn to shreds! Especially the "that's too high" joke at the end. I Melt With You doesn't appeal to me musically and the lyrics aren't that funny, however the Weird Al cameo at the end is comedy gold.
Comedy aside, the adaptions of Personal Jesus, Naughty Girl and The Trees are brilliant songs. The bebop style of Personal Jesus injects some nice variety into the album, in fact I kinda wish the vocals weren't hammed up so much, so that the song could be enjoyed more seriously. Naughty Girl strikes an incredible combination of being super-catchy yet hilarious at the same time. Great stuff. Finally, The Trees has a seriously cooking boogie-jazz beat. The song is a bit all over the place (like the original), but it's tied together well so somehow it just works.
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