This festive offering at the Royal Albert Hall was not Jules Buckley‘s first foray into Aretha Franklin’s catalogue. The brilliant arranger and conductor, known for his work with the Metropole Orkest, paid homage to the Queen of Soul at the 2022 season of the BBC Proms.

This concert was largely a repurposing of this previous Proms event, substituting a few numbers for Christmas tracks. Though perhaps not recognised for any seminal Christmas-themed recordings, Aretha would occasionally dabble: She recorded ‘Winter Wonderland’ for her 1964 album Runnin’ Out of Fools, and in 2008 released her first and only Christmas album This Christmas (named after the Donny Hathaway tune which closed the first act of this concert).

American vocalist Sheléa – championed by the likes of David Foster, Stevie Wonder, and the late Quincy Jones – returned for vocal duties. Silken toned but with no shortage of vocal horsepower, Sheléa gave pitch-perfect renditions of Aretha staples like ‘Don’t Play That Song’, ‘Chain of Fools’, ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’, and ‘Respect’. Gospel tune ‘Precious Memories’ (from Franklin’s 1970 Amazing Grace masterpiece) and the Curtis Mayfield-penned ‘Sparkle’ provided some welcome variety from the well-trodden classics that tend to dominate such tributes. Sometimes effortlessness can be a crutch – some of my favourite singers are those who need to occasionally stretch, strain, and rasp to hit their vocal climaxes – but Sheléa knew when to add some grit and angst when needed, particularly on the sexual powder keg of ‘Dr Feelgood’.

The Christmas tunes, though well executed and popular with the audience, were less impressive by comparison. However, a performance of ‘Joy to the World’ (modelled off Whitney Houston’s version from The Preacher’s Wife soundtrack) was certainly rousing, featuring Sheléa vamping over the refrains of gospel outfit Vula’s Chorale.

There’s no denying: this format – big catalogue, big orchestra, big vocals – works for Buckley. He has taken tributes to Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, and Aretha to the Royal Albert Hall. I await to see who’s next.