As a sucker for all things Apple, I will often nod my head in a submissive, zombified fashion whenever iTunes attempts to ram its music preferences down my slack-jawed gullet. While I'm being very obviously force-fed corporate advertising schemes, I'm usually not disappointed with the suggestions they make. One of the more recent campaigns featured the John Lennon tribute album, "Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur." Did I mention I'm also a sucker when it comes to both tribute albums and Darfur?
It's always a good sign when I experience no buyer's remorse after purchasing something from iTunes (although it could have been the warm and fuzzy feeling of social responsibility clouding my usual guilt). This CD has barely left my playlist since, and definitely gets better with multiple listens. The wide range of artists featured on the disc give listeners a good surface skim of the large and varied (and occasionally bizarre) Lennon catalogue and the artists featured on the project parallel the diversity of the music they cover.
Standout tracks on the album include the obligatory U2 title track, "Instant Karma," a worthy outing by R.E.M. on "#9 Dream" and "Real Love" covered by the ever effervescent Regina Spektor. Most of the tracks are very true to the original recordings which to me might be the album's only downfall (except for a few real misses with some of the featured artists). I would have preferred a little bit more of a departure from form for a lot of these (a la Lennon....?). One tends to really lose the excitement and novelty of these bands performing these beloved songs when you listen to the original and the cover side-by-side and realize that many of these are just what they claim to be--covers.
However, there were several truly standout tracks that jump out and attack these songs from a different angle (or perhaps, slide gently in the backdoor for a couple). The Flaming Lips' cover of "[Just Like] Starting Over" is a superbly subtle reinterpretation of what was originally a rollicky sort of sock-hop-esque number. Complete with standard Lips electronic blips and grand synth choirs, this song has an after-hours sort of atmosphere that contrasts much of the band's previous work. Singer Wayne Coyne's voice sometimes leave something to be desired as far as technique and subtlety, but on this track, his imperfections give a depth, perhaps even a melancholy, that adds some very interesting facets to the classic Lennon chart.
Misses on this collection would have to include both covers of "Imagine" (awkwardly assigned to Jack Johnson and Avril Lavigne) and "Cold Turkey," covered by Lenny Kravitz who sort of growls and grunts his way through what could have been a very promising number.
Other tracks to check out include "Gimme Some Truth," simply for the novelty value of putting Dhani Harrison and Jakob Dylan in the same song, and "Whatever Gets You Through the Night," covered by Los Lonely Boys who so completely own this song that it could have appeared on any of their recent albums and been mistaken for an original by all but the most astute John Lennon fans.
Corinne Bailey Rae's rendition of "I'm Losing You" wins huge bonus points for it's groove-tastic Rhodes accompaniment and she sort of lets the engines out to full steam at a couple places on this track, giving careful listeners a glimmer of hope that she might become an honest-to-god force to reckon with in a few albums' time.
"Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur" is out now on hardcopy and on iTunes. There is an extended edition of the album that costs a few bucks more, but looks to be worth the extra dough for a few decent cuts from the likes of Duran Duran, O.A.R. and Yellowcard.
