Advantages: Great sense of fun and music abilty, lacking ego! Disadvantages: The Automatic and Fiddy!
Covers have always been a bit of a hit and miss affair. Some people do it well, some people don't. It can be commercial suicide and ruin artists' credibility. The recent trend over the years, pushed particularly by Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley, and other ventures such as Warchild, is that an artist can perform live, or record a cover and still retain their credibility and not come over as a sell-out. Maybe it's just that people have lightened up a little, or maybe it is just because there are things like the LiveLounge, that encourage well-picked songs to do as a cover.
Granted that the concept is not a new one, and even Jo would not say that. But, I think the idea of the LiveLounge is maybe new. For the last couple of decades, musicians and music lovers have been concerned about what is cool and what is now. Noone would have dared ...
Advantages: A great selection of singles and covers Disadvantages: Some people may not 'get' the covers
The problem with compilation albums is often they can vary from the downright brilliant to the utterly awful. Well here's one for your delectation - Radio One's LiveLounge Volume 4.
Being Volume 4 in the series, you may have come across some of the previous editions over the past few years. It consists of two CDs containing live tracks taken from the Radio One LiveLounge, which are often performed during Fearne Cotton's show during the week (previously during Jo Whiley's show for those who remember a good radio show!). During these performances, the artist plays their latest single, and a cover version - often a track from a completely different genre to their own, some of which work brilliantly and some which fall flat and are instantly forgotten. This album combines the best of the cover versions and live performances ...
Advantages: Brilliant Covers, Great Original Versions Disadvantages: Data Listings on MP3 Players Is Sketchy
I actually downloaded this rather than buy the CD, but then had the wonderful surprise of The Blonde coming home and depositing it in my lap having just been out shopping.
She bought it because I had been wittering on about how much I loved Jo Whiley on Radio One and especially the covers that the artists did on the livelounge. It seems to have got through.... I might have to try that tactic when I want a new suit *grin*
Anyhow.... The album covers are actually pretty non-descript. The front shows some guitar cases with plenty of stickers, a couple of Mike stands and a bright red label with Radio One livelounge emblazened upon it. It does a job I suppose.
The reverse of the CD has the track listings on, and since it is a double CD, there really isn't that much room for anything else.
The tracks involved are as follows ...
