Various Artists

War Child Presents Heroes: An Album to Benefit Children Affected by War

Astralwerks Records

Grade: A-

Benefit albums rarely work. Tribute albums rarely work. A combination of the two nearly never works.

Heroes, however, is the refreshing exception. Maybe it was the methodology: A number of classic artists, ranging from Bob Dylan to The Clash to Iggy Pop, were asked not only to pick one of their songs but a latter-day artist to cover it.

The results are at times fascinating - Beck doing Dylan's Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat, Lily Allen doing almost a nursery-rhyme version of The Clash's Straight to Hell (with Mick Jones guesting), Duffy doing Paul McCartney's Live and Let Die.

Many of the matchups are inspired and revealing, though some are merely OK, with Estelle bringing nothing new to Stevie Wonder's admittedly untouchable Superstition. Elbow's stark take on U2's Running to Stand Still has a rough start but effectively conveys the tale of addiction and isolation. The only real disappointment is TV on the Radio's mush-mouthed treatment of David Bowie's Heroes, the title track of the whole project.

The highlights are nearly every other track on the disc. The notion of The Hold Steady covering Bruce Springsteen seems redundant, as every song they sing sounds like a Boss cover. Atlantic City, however, never seemed to sit right, either in the original acoustic version on Nebraska or live with the E Street Band. The Hold Steady finally does it up right, faithful enough to the original but putting its own stamp on it.

The Kooks give a delightfully spirited take on the Kinks' chestnut Victoria. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs don't change too much on the Ramones' Sheena Is a Punk Rocker, and that's a wise move.

Rarely these days do good music and good causes come together (War Child is an organization that helps children affected by war). Buy it today.

brownm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2674

Listen in

To hear Elbow's version of U2's Running to Stand Still, go to

youtube.com/ watch?v=CROUAE9bhp8. For Lily Allen's version of The Clash's Straight to Hell, go to

youtube.com/ watch?v=MGL5EtYGGDM

OTHER RELEASES THIS WEEK

* Van Morrison: Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl

* Joe Bonamassa: The Ballad of John Henry

* J.J. Cale: Roll On

NEXT WEEK

* U2: No Line on the Horizon

* Neko Case: Middle Cyclone

* Buddy & Julie Miller: Written in Chalk

Back to Top