Poptastic Confessions!: Holiday '20 by Parralox

Dear Poptastic Readers,

In December, Parralox released their 7th Holiday series album. What is the Holiday series? Since 2014, Parralox has released an album near the end of each year mostly made up of cover songs. However, sometimes the songs are original. Most of the songs do not have a seasonal holiday theme, but there have been a few. Some albums are long, while others have been short.

Holiday '20 is the latest. At the end of this posts, we will give you links to the previous ones featured in Poptastic Confessions over the past 7 years. For now, here is our track-by-track review ...

1. "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth" was originally recorded by Sparks in 1974

This is a strange song and we didn't know the original. John give a great vocal performance. It does have a Christmas feel to it. At 2 minutes and 40 seconds, it is a shortest track on the album. Check out the music video Parralox made for it ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VJwtD9ik-c

2. "Space Age Love Song" was originally recorded by A Flock Of Seagulls in 1982

This classic song gets a total synth-pop makeover as the original guitar part is now done by a keyboard. John is on lead vocals, but a really nice part of this remake is that the lovely Louise Love comes in near the end making a duet, and it works quite nicely. Parralox have a fun video as they took footage from the 1991 movie Career Opportunities where the Flock Of Seagulls version was played. Have a look ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOvr1ReQ_zk

3. "Sirius" was originally recorded by Alan Parsons Project in 1982

Parralox has recorded a song by Alan Parsons Project before. In 2013, Parralox covered the song "Eye In The Sky." We didn't find out about Parralox until 2014. Anyhoo ... Sirius is an instrumental track. It is also rather short, coming in at 2:45. You can hear Sirius at the end of the video for "Eye In The Sky."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP3byVO07S4

4. "Tears Run Rings" was originally recorded by Marc Almond in 1988

I have a funny story about this song. I knew Parralox's Holiday '19 album from listening to it on Spotify. However, I bought the CD because I like to support Parralox instead of just listening on Spotify. This past summer, I put the CD in my car and was quite surprised when this song started playing. I had no idea what it was. I went to Parrlox.com and saw that it was a bonus track for the CD. I absolutely love it! The CD hasn't left my car since. Glad that it is on Spotify now, too. This is a fabulous song!

5. "Home" was originally recorded by Erasure in 1991

"Home" was the ballad that closed Erasure's amazing 1991 album Chorus. Parralox gives a faithful cover here with John on lead vocals. It is very nicely done. Have a listen ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWW6ncpQBMw

6. "Wind Of Change" was originally recorded by The Scorpions in 1990

Now this is a remake that we didn't see coming. Way to surprise us, Parralox! Most people probably know The Scorpions from their 1984 his called "Rock You Like A Hurricane." However, "Wind Of Change" was by far their biggest hit reaching #1 in the Austria, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. As well as being a Top 10 hit in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US. The lyrics are about the end of the Cold War in the Soviet Union. Parralox has put together a video for the song. Our favorite bit is the Techno Viking. Check it out ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0_7TNEBVc0

7. "M62 Song" was originally recorded by Doves in 2002

This isn't a song that we knew before. It's a downtempo song that is very artsy. John is on vocals here.

That ends our review. You can listen to the album on Spotify, but please consider buying the digital tracks or buying the CD to help support the artists.