Joey Arias has been performing his entire life – singing, improv, cabaret, acting, drag… anything and everything to entertain an audience. Arias On Holiday was his debut solo record, though he’d been singing for ages – his band Purlie put out a 7″ on Capitol all the way back in 1973 and he famously accompanied David Bowie during his Saturday Night Live performances in 1979.
What drew me to Arias On Holiday was Joey’s cabaret-fueled cover of Madonna’s “Holiday”. It’s slowed down; not exactly sultry, but maybe a little slurry, a slight quaalude vibe. If you didn’t know better, you’d be forgiven for thinking Arias was in fact a woman with a deeper voice, soulful yet also a little playful around the edges, an entirely different take on the sugar-pop original.
That vocal style infuses all five songs on Arias On Holiday. Only one track sees Arias with a writing credit, “Unhappy at Happy Hour”. “Good Morning Heartache” was originally made famous by Billie Holiday back in 1946, and interestingly offers another tie in to the word “holiday” in the album’s title to go along with the Madonna track as well as the B-sider “(I Want to Take You) On a Holiday”, written by Tony Frere. The other song on the B side is a cover of The Beatles’ “Hard Day’s Night”, sung in Arias’ signature style.
While it may sound campy to modern ears, Arias On Holiday is hardly a novelty record. There’s a sincerity in the performances, a re-envisioning of some well-known songs in a lounge style. It conjures forth images of champagne, cigarettes in long holders, generously applied makeup, and ennui. It’s a fun listen in the right mood for sure.