Details:
Another week, another Radio 1 compilation, this time courtesy of Jo Whiley and her Live Lounge; this mix of ’40 unique covers and classic tracks’ gets off to a slow start with the Foo Fighters tepid ‘Times Like These’, but once you get past Dave Grohl’s unnecessary grunting and dodge the indie rubbish (The Fratellis, The Holloways, Kasabian…I could go on) there are some unexpected treats to behold.
Biffy Clyro approach Rihanna’s summertime mega hit ‘Umbrella’ with a gentle touch and it works, Simon Neil’s Scottish lilt bringing the same sentiment to the song, but over simple acoustic backing. Similarly Jose Gonzalez’s pared down version of The Knife’s electro thumper ‘Heartbeats’ is exquisite and The Fray’s cover of ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ by Shakira (Shakira), with its down-tempo groove and deadpan delivery on Wyclef Jean’s lines is a pleasant surprise too.
Bloc Party’s take on Nelly Furtado’s ‘Say It Right’, starts promisingly, re-worked with some interesting guitar twiddling, but is quickly ruined by Kele Okereke’s London accent which proves especially grating on the line: “oh you don’t mean naa-uffin’ at-awl to me”. The Pigeon Detectives go on to butcher another pop gem; Avril Lavigne’s ‘Girlfriend’, trying and failing to turn it into some sort of cheeky northern romp. She deserves it though, as her equally awful cover of Coldplay’s ‘The Scientist’ is actually painful to listen to! Others spoiling the fun include Corinne Bailey Rae disjointedly jazzing up Justin Timberlake’s ‘SexyBack’ and 30 Seconds To Mars slowly trudging their way through Kanye West’s ‘Stronger’.
But if you’re prepared to take the rough with the smooth it’s not all bad; Nelly Furtado manages to pack a punch on an acoustic version of her comeback hit ‘Maneater’, her sassy vocals accompanied by handclaps and foot stomps as percussion. Kings Of Leon perform a brilliant live version of their single ‘Fans’, Caleb Followill’s raspy vocals punctuated by yelps and wails, over tight instrumentation and Robyn’s piano led rendition of ‘With Every Heartbeat’ is even more heartbreaking than the original.
Listen: www.myspace.com/liveloungethealbum
Tracklist:
Disc One:1. Foo Fighters - Time Like These
2. Amy Winehouse - Valerie (Originally By The Zutons)
3. Biffy Clyro - Umbrella (Originaly By Rihanna)
4. Nelly Furtado - Maneater
5. The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger
6. KT Tunstall - The Prayer (Originally By Bloc Party)
7. Mark Ronson - Stop Me (Originally By The Smiths)
8. The Klaxons - Golden Skans
9. Bloc Party - Say It Right (Originally By Nelly Furtado)
10. Kings Of Leon - Fans
11. Editors - An End Has A Start
12. Reverend & The Makers - Heavyweight Champion Of The World
13. Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats (Originally By The Knife)
14. Calvin Harris - The Girls
15. The Holloways - Generator
16. The Pigeon Detectives - Girlfriend (Originally By Avril Lavigne)
17. Avril Lavigne - The Scientist (Originally By Coldplay)
18. Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control
19. Paolo Nutini - Rehab (Originally By Amy Winehouse)
20. Robyn - With Every Heartbeat
Disc Two:1. Arctic Monkeys - You Know I’m No Good (Originally By Amy Winehouse)
2. Mika - Grace Kelly
3. James Morrison - You Give Me Something
4. 30 Seconds To Mars - Stronger (Originally By Kanye West)
5. Keane - Dirrtylicious (Originally By Christina Aguilera/Destiny’s Child)
6. Corinne Bailey Rae - SexyBack (Originally By Justin Timberlake)
7. Jack Penate - Minute, Second Or Hour
8. The Fray - Hips Don’t Lie (Originally By Shakira Featuring Wyclef Jean)
9. Maroon 5 - Makes Me Wonder
10. The View - Same Jeans
11. The Enemy - Hung Up (Originally By Madonna)
12. Kasabian - Empire
13. The Zutons - Valerie
14. Damien Rice - Cannonball
15. Maximo Park - I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) (Originally By The Proclaimers)
16. Dizzee Rascal - Fix Up, Look Sharp
17. The Streets - Never Went To Church
18. Elbow - Forget Myself
19. Natasha Bedingfield - Chasing Cars (Originally By Snow Patrol)
20. Coldplay - Yellow
