Any album aiming to raise funds for a country where close to four million are starving and another half a million have already died is arguably beyond criticism. Five stars for the cause, certainly, and even if only about half of the 28 tracks pass muster Amnesty International should be applauded for securing so many A-listers.
The allocation of specific Lennon songs hasn’t been an issue, though, as the compilers have been happy to let the artists double up. Hence, we get two renditions apiece of Imagine, Working Class Hero and #9 Dream, and three of the title track. Carbon copies by Lenny Kravitz (Cold Turkey) and REM (#9 Dream) hardly excite, but others have been a little more adventurous. Aerosmith team up with the Sierra Leone Refugee All- Stars for a jaunty reggae take on Give Peace A Chance, while Jakob Dylan and Dhani Harrison emerge as second generation Wilburys during their fierce duet on Gimme Some Truth.
Lennon’s own presence is felt, with both Green Day (Working Class Hero) and Black Eyed Peas (Power To The People) sampling the originals, and Regina Spektor’s tenderly cool reading of Real Love is perhaps how John’s rough demo sounded before being tarted up for the Anthology project.
