“The Conflict in Darfur, Sudan, has led to some of the worst human rights abuses imaginable, including systematic and widespread murder, rape, abduction and displacement. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed by deliberate and indiscriminate attacks, and over 2.5 million civilians have been displaced. Help Amnesty International end the atrocities.” www.amnesty.org/noise

This 2 CD compilation of 23 John Lennon song covers by 28 major international acts could also help raise awareness of human rights abuses the world over including Iraq, Zimbabwe, Palestine, Guantanemo, China, North Korea. The list is extensive and growing. But the lack of any real progress in Darfur is symptomatic of today’s ‘freeworld leaders’ whose rhetoric is tragically louder than their actions – and for this the West (especially) must stand condemned.

Nobody is going to pretend that this is the greatest record since sliced bread, especially since anybody trying to cover John Lennon songs is taking their life in their hands. It may not even be the world’s biggest selling record. But it is without doubt the most important record to be released in 2007, with most artists making valiant (and sometimes successful) efforts in their contributions. Opening strongly is U2 with their marginally more upbeat version of ‘Instant Karma. R.E.M. then provide an interesting interpretation of ‘#9 Dream’ with Stipe in wonderful vocal form. An unrecognisable Christina Aguila performs an album highlight in ‘Mother’ and sounds more like Lennon than anybody else on this record. Aerosmith featuring Sierra Leon’s Refugee All Stars give arguably the most original interpretation here with their rendition of ‘Give Peace A Chance’ sung in very funky Reggae style. Lenny Kravitz tries hard but fails with his funk soul version of ‘Cold Turkey’ while The Cure gives a real hazy, laid back and very different rock version of ‘Love’ with a higher degree of success. Corinne Bailey-Rae very nearly triumphs with her live, jazzy version of ‘I’m Losing You’ followed by a pretty fair cover of ‘Gimme Some Truth’ by Jakob Dylan featuring Dhani Harrison,’ complete with some interesting guitar riffs. Jackson Brown provides another highlight with his simple, gentle and very beautiful version of ‘Oh, My Love.’ Avril Lavigne provides a rather forlorn, weak version of ‘Imagine’ (should have used the Alex Parks version). Others artists appearing on the first CD are The Raveonettes (‘One Day At A Time’), Big & Rich (‘Nobody Told Me’), Eskimo Joe (a pleasant spaced-out ‘Mind Games’), and Youssou N’Dour (‘Jealous Guy’).

CD 2 opens very strongly with the high point of the whole collection, Green Day’s almost perfect rendition of my Lennon favourite ‘Working Class Hero.’ The vibe is rockier and angrier with fabulous riffing from the middle-eight, ending finally with Lennon’s calm voice. Black Eyed Peas manage to fuck-up ‘Power To The People’ before Jack Johnson provides a poignant, acoustic version of ‘Imagine.’ Ben Harper provides another highlight with his haunting version of ‘Beautiful Boy’ followed by a dreamy and pleasant version of ‘Isolation’ by Snow Patrol. Matisyahu delivers a reasonable reggae version of ‘Watching The Wheels’ followed by The Postal Service and a wistful, very nice version of ‘Grow Old With Me.’ The Jaguares deliver another (rocky) highlight in their version of ‘Gimme Some Truth’ before the formidable Flaming Lips reprise the most suitable song for their style in ‘(Just Like) Starting Over’ – another highlight. Solid piano notes add depth and drama to a wonderful version of ‘God’ by Jack’s Mannequin featuring Mick Fleetwood before Duran Duran murder ‘Instant Karma.’ A further (poor) version of ‘#9 Dream’ by a-ha is compensated by a really good jagged, punk rock version of ‘Instant Karma’ by Tokyo Hotel. The compilation concludes with Regina Spektor’s piano-soaked, gorgeous and distinctive version of ‘Real Love’ – a fitting and moving conclusion.

Sure there are a few duds here but that’s to be expected. Fortunately the highlights outweigh the negatives by a good margin, and in the knowledge that your cash is going towards a really worthy cause makes this Lennon song collection a solid, recommended purchase. ENJOY!

4/5