Various: Warchild
Heroes (-)
It’s difficult to give a critique on a release where the main intention is to bring attention and much needed revenue to a more than worthy organisation, and the War Child efforts have always offered a diverse and eclectic mix for your charitable dollar.
The 2009 version is no different in respect of managing to persuade well-known artists to perform a wide-ranging list of covers, and the basic premise has always been to offer unique twists on tried-and-tested classics.
There are a number of triumphs here; Franz Ferdinand breeze through Blondie’s ‘Call Me’ in their own effervescent style, and Hot Chip de-construct Transmission by Joy Division further than you ever thought possible. Estelle just about does justice to Stevie Wonder’s seminal ‘Superstition’, and it is always pleasant to hear Beck in action, this time on Bob Dylan-selected ‘Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat’.
If it’s possible to have a gripe over such a well-meaning record, it could be that Duffy’s ‘Live and Let Die’ is a touch on the bland side, and asking The Kooks to pay homage to The Kinks on ‘Victoria’ shows little more than how inferior a band the former are.
But the package and performances are neat and worthwhile, and War Child: Heroes should be an essential purchase for the genuine nature of its cause than anything else.
Donny
