Review: Instant Karma
BostonNOW, MA
June 17, 2007
Lennon's music reworked for Darfur
'good music for a good cause'
Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur is a typical 'good music for a good cause' benefit package where a bunch of musicians donate a song to support something they believe in.
While no one will argue that the work being done by Amnesty International to save people in Darfur is important, the quality of the music on this specially priced two-disc CD package is much more open to debate. A lot of your opinion about the music will, of course, depend on how much you like the music of John Lennon's solo career to begin with, as well as how precious you are about that same music. For example, you may love the song Imagine, but you might absolutely hate the idea of having Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne sing it.
Some of the 23 songs on this set are fantastic. Give Peace a Chance, featuring Aerosmith and the Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars is a funky re-working of the song that will blow you away. Likewise, it's cool to hear Christina Aguilera use her impressive set of pipes to take a lesser-known Lennon song like Mother and make it her own. And, credit where credit is due, Lavigne's Imagine is quite good, too.
On the other hand, U2's version of Instant Karma is dull, as is R.E.M. cover of #9 Dream. And why Jackson Browne was invited to be part of the disc to sing Oh, My Love, is a complete mystery.
June 17, 2007
Lennon's music reworked for Darfur
'good music for a good cause'
Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur is a typical 'good music for a good cause' benefit package where a bunch of musicians donate a song to support something they believe in.
While no one will argue that the work being done by Amnesty International to save people in Darfur is important, the quality of the music on this specially priced two-disc CD package is much more open to debate. A lot of your opinion about the music will, of course, depend on how much you like the music of John Lennon's solo career to begin with, as well as how precious you are about that same music. For example, you may love the song Imagine, but you might absolutely hate the idea of having Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne sing it.
Some of the 23 songs on this set are fantastic. Give Peace a Chance, featuring Aerosmith and the Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars is a funky re-working of the song that will blow you away. Likewise, it's cool to hear Christina Aguilera use her impressive set of pipes to take a lesser-known Lennon song like Mother and make it her own. And, credit where credit is due, Lavigne's Imagine is quite good, too.
On the other hand, U2's version of Instant Karma is dull, as is R.E.M. cover of #9 Dream. And why Jackson Browne was invited to be part of the disc to sing Oh, My Love, is a complete mystery.
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