(4ortherecord.com, March 6, 2009)
Album review
Duffy's usually unfeasibly husky voice cracks cracks on Paul McCartney and Wings' 1973 classic, it all becomes clear - this is what War Child is great at.
Yeah, sure, there's all that helping out kids in war zones stuff - good work - but what we hear when the record goes on is the unmistakable sound of musical history being made.
One of the artists of the year covering a song written by one of the most successful British songwriters of all time = priceless.
Duffy isn't the only one to confound and astound here - other modern acts given their chance to shine are Elbow, with a pretty great version of U2's 'Running The Stand Still', TV On The Radio with a unique take on Bowie's 'Heroes' and Beck with his own inimitable stamp on Dylan's 'Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat'.
Oft-maligned The Kooks make a really great fist of The Kink's 'Victoria' - not Ray Davies' boys' greatest moment, but given a really nice treatment from the wonky-voweled Brighton beat combo.
Karen O shows how she is the great lost Ramone on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 'Sheena Is A Punk Rocker', offering the perfect balance of 'fuck you' cool and vocal histrionics.
Perhaps the greatest event on the record is Estelle's version of 'Superstition'. Her honey-smooth vocals bring the Stevie Wonder classic bang up to date with the merest hint of cheek, proving how soulful her voice can sound with the right material.
The icing on the cake has to be Peaches doing Iggy on 'Search And Destroy' - although it's tough to see how anyone could make Ignacious sound any dirtier, the Berlin-based bawd makes it her business to rip into it.
If you buy one album this week, wouldn't you prefer it to be packed with quality tracks brought to life by the very cream of the musical crop?
Go on. It's for charity.
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