Released: November 25
Sophie Ellis-Bextor throws the ultimate Kitchen Disco as she unveils her first live album from her celebratory UK tour.
Inspired by her hit Instagram Live series that ran throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, during which the singer, her husband Richard Jones and their five kids would livestream mini-concerts from their family kitchen, the LP includes the pop icon’s biggest hits and cover versions as performed during the shows.
Opening with her rendition of Cher’s Take Me Home – her first solo hit single, with which the singer-songwriter peaked at No. 2 in the UK back in 2001 – the album segues between originals and larger than life takes on classics such as The Trammps’ Disco Inferno, ABBA’s Dancing Queen, and Alcazar’s Crying At The Discotheque.
Pre-release track Like A Prayer – Sophie’s live Madonna cover, which came bundled with a performance of her latest single Hypnotized – showcases her unfaltering energy as a live performer, which is maintained across all 24 songs on the set.
Of the tracklist, more than half of the recordings are cover versions and while usually we’d lament the lack of original material, in this instance they showcase not only Sophie’s versatility as a performer, but also her love of music across the board, drawing on her favourite cuts from across the decades.
What’s notable, though, is the strength of her own material, which holds its own alongside renditions of some of the biggest pop songs of the past five decades, with tunes like Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer) and Murder On The Dancefloor keeping the energy flowing, while tender ballad Young Blood is a rare quiet moment in Sophie’s live show that brings out the emotion and tone in her voice.
From the strobe lights of the club to the bright lights of the silver screen, she also channels her love of film with renditions of There Are Worse Things I Could Do from ‘Grease’ (1978) and ‘The Sound of Music’ (1965) classic My Favourite Things.
During her ‘Kitchen Disco Tour’, each night saw Sophie perform a different setlist, determined in the show by a wheel of songs, which she would spin to select certain tracks. Alongside a first disc featuring her setlist from The London Palladium, a second disc features additional songs as performed during other dates, including her own Music Gets The Best Of Me and Bittersweet.
Other additions include Rufus & Chaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody, Baccara’s Yes Sir, I Can Boogie, and Annie Lennox’s Walking On Broken Glass.
It makes for a joy of an album and the perfect celebration to round out over two years of Kitchen Discos – during which Sophie spread joy among fans worldwide and also completed a mammoth 24 hour danceathon, raising £1 million for Children In Need charities – in style.
Now, it paves the way for the next era in her career, which will no doubt deliver a new cohort of modern pop classics – after a much-deserved rest, of course.
Brava Sophie, thank you for keeping the disco ball spinning!
‘Kitchen Disco – Live at The London Palladium’ is available now.
