Acoustic 'Love' - more like Acoustic Hell!

[klee]

You may have seen the TV adverts for this. This year's 'Can't Think What To Buy Dad For Christmas: Try this!' compilation.

And oh what a sorry line-up we have here. Look

Disc: 1
1. James Blunt - You're Beautiful
2. David Gray - Sail Away
3. Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved
4. Madeleine Peyroux - Always A Use
5. Stephen Fretwell - Emily
6. Joseph Arthur - A Smile That Explodes
7. Joan Armatrading - Love And Affection
8. Paul Weller - Wild Wood
9. John Legend - Ordinary People
10. Sixpence None The Richer - Kiss Me Acoustic Version
11. Extreme - More Than Words
12. Eva Cassidy - Over The Rainbow
13. Wilco - Someone Else's Song
14. Everything But The Girl - I Don't Want To Talk About It
15. Morcheeba - Otherwise
16. Edwina Hayes - I Want Your Love
17. Beth Nielsen Chapman - Sand And Water
18. Bob Dylan - Love Minus Zero
19. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

Disc: 2
1. Daniel Powter - Bad Day
2. Damien Rice - Cannonball
3. Dido - Thank You
4. Jack Johnson - Good People
5. Natalie Imbruglia - Wishing I Was Here
6. R.E.M. - Nightswimming
7. Madeleine Peyroux - Hey Sweet Man
8. Gordon Haskell - How Wonderful You Are
9. Aqualung - Strange & Beautiful
10. Muse - Unintended
11. Magnet - Lay Lady Lay
12. The Connells - 74-75
13. Keisha White - The Weakness In Me
14. Labi Siffre - Something Inside So Strong
15. Harry Chapin - Cats In The Cradle
16. Tim Buckley - Song To A Siren
17. Jackson Browne - Sky Blue And Black
18. Jewel - You Were Meant For Me
19. Lou Reed - Perfect Day Live

Yes, there are one or two decent songs in there (mostly, I note, by artists who are too dead to object - ie Jeff and Time Buckley, or too in debt to their record companies to have a say - ie REM), but oh God.

A million homes will ring out to the strains of You're Beautiful from this on Christmas fucking morning, My ears, my ears, my poor ears!

[James]

I saw the advert for this yesterday and cringed.

Absolute fucking shite.

[agrippina]

Eww. Blunt and Powter on the same fricking album. I feel like I want a shower just from thinking about it.
Muse, Aqualung and the Connells are all OK, though...

[Mike]

As a whole it looks like pretty gruelling stuff, but I've seen worse compilations. Damien Rice is easily the best of the singer/songwriter crop, managing to have a voice that's distinctive without sounding like a corncrake with a knitting needle up its arse. Take note Mr Blunt.

Meanwhile, REM's Nightswimming is rather lovely, Ms Imbruglia is a respite from the dirge, and anyone who thinks Strange And Beautiful is anything less than a classic should have their ears washed out. With bleach.

No, I won't be buying it. Certainly not for my dad, who HATES James Blunt.

[klee]

thisisnotatest said:

As a whole it looks like pretty gruelling stuff, but I've seen worse compilations. Damien Rice is easily the best of the singer/songwriter crop, managing to have a voice that's distinctive without sounding like a corncrake with a knitting needle up its arse. Take note Mr Blunt.

Meanwhile, REM's Nightswimming is rather lovely, Ms Imbruglia is a respite from the dirge, and anyone who thinks Strange And Beautiful is anything less than a classic should have their ears washed out. With bleach.

I want to meet the person who thought it would be a good idea to put in on there after Gordon sodding Haskell and box their ears.

Afraid I can't bear Damien Rice one little bit, but that's for personal reasons.

I think the thing that's most wrong about this compilation is that it devalues great 'acoustic' songs by putting them in the company of shite. I also notice the TV adverts panders to this, highlighting the James Blunts and Daniel Powters.

The song choices do verge on the po-faced as well. Why does the impression one man / woman with a guitar equalling miserable self-pitying whine-age have to be perpetuated? If they'd have had any sense of humour at all, they would have put Joan Armatradang's Water With The Wine on there instead of Love And Affection.

[stalin]

On the plus side it has got Wilco, Jeff Buckley and the goddam genius Tim Buckley but it is mostly toss. The accoustic version of Ordinary People is nice though, in a Diazapam induced slumber kind of way.

[drbastard]

kleeuk said:

You may have seen the TV adverts for this. This year's 'Can't Think What To Buy Dad For Christmas: Try this!' compilation.

And oh what a sorry line-up we have here. Look

Disc: 1
1. James Blunt - You're Beautiful
2. David Gray - Sail Away
3. Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved
4. Madeleine Peyroux - Always A Use
5. Stephen Fretwell - Emily
6. Joseph Arthur - A Smile That Explodes
7. Joan Armatrading - Love And Affection
8. Paul Weller - Wild Wood
9. John Legend - Ordinary People
10. Sixpence None The Richer - Kiss Me Acoustic Version
11. Extreme - More Than Words
12. Eva Cassidy - Over The Rainbow
13. Wilco - Someone Else's Song
14. Everything But The Girl - I Don't Want To Talk About It
15. Morcheeba - Otherwise
16. Edwina Hayes - I Want Your Love
17. Beth Nielsen Chapman - Sand And Water
18. Bob Dylan - Love Minus Zero
19. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

Disc: 2
1. Daniel Powter - Bad Day
2. Damien Rice - Cannonball
3. Dido - Thank You
4. Jack Johnson - Good People
5. Natalie Imbruglia - Wishing I Was Here
6. R.E.M. - Nightswimming
7. Madeleine Peyroux - Hey Sweet Man
8. Gordon Haskell - How Wonderful You Are
9. Aqualung - Strange & Beautiful
10. Muse - Unintended
11. Magnet - Lay Lady Lay
12. The Connells - 74-75
13. Keisha White - The Weakness In Me
14. Labi Siffre - Something Inside So Strong
15. Harry Chapin - Cats In The Cradle
16. Tim Buckley - Song To A Siren
17. Jackson Browne - Sky Blue And Black
18. Jewel - You Were Meant For Me
19. Lou Reed - Perfect Day Live

Yes, there are one or two decent songs in there (mostly, I note, by artists who are too dead to object - ie Jeff and Time Buckley, or too in debt to their record companies to have a say - ie REM), but oh God.

A million homes will ring out to the strains of You're Beautiful from this on Christmas ------- morning, My ears, my ears, my poor ears!

Oh. My. God.

I was doing some performance poetry recently and stole the show from everyone there, of course they all hated my guts but the owner of the venue (a classy jazz bar) asked me to MC from then on. I quickly came to regret even contemplating this. I was forced to endure LOADS of whiny little shits playing guitar. It almost killed me, I swear it did.