Radio 1 - Established 1967

by

Various Artists

Edit

Obviously this thing is WAY overpriced on Amazon here, but if you're in the UK or a savvy eBay user you'll probably be able to get it for a lot less and it's 100% worth it. Radio 1 is a massive radio station in the UK under the BBC umbrella. For their 40th anniversary they got 40 big name acts to record 40 big songs spanning the 40 years the station has been in existence.

If you're a fan of most of the alternative bands out there you'll probably recognize a good deal of the artists that populate this album, from Lily Allen to Mark Ronson to Hard Fi to Corinne Bailey Rae to Natasha Bedingfield to Mika to Amy Winehouse, it's a full house of top of the charts stars singing some really stunning covers, some very recognizable, some a bit more obscure.

Highlights for me include some of the more recent covers such as Mutya Buena's (of Sugababes fame) take on Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" and The Twang doing Canada's Bran Van 3000's "Drinking In LA". The album is arranged chronologically by the original song's release date - placing Amy Winehouse predictably towards the beginning in the 60's era with her cover of "Cupid" by Johnny Nash.

In terms of the cohesive sound of the album - it's there. That signature brit pop/rock sound is found in most songs, even when they waver into more classic rock (The Fratellis "All Along the Watchtower") or electro (Mika "Can't Stand Losing You") directions.

Do the covers stand up to the originals? In most cases yes, in fact the songs almost sound better in a lot of the covers because of the unique take on the songs. Many of these artists accomplish the best compliment I could pay to a cover singer - they make the song their own. Didn't think Corinne Bailey Rae could make The Raconteurs her own? Take a listen and see for yourself - it's the last song on the album.

As for the misses - there are a couple of tunes you'll probably pass over or forget about, but the hits (and there are plenty) more than make up for it. Great background tunes for a party or singalong tunes for the car!

I would have to say I thought it was pretty good. I really love the Foo Fighters, Kylie, and Winehouse! The thing I really didnt think about until I was listening is there is a 'cover' by a band that is also 'covered' (Raconteurs). That makes the mix seem biased. Also, it didnt push the envelope. It seemed like it was a bit of a half hearted search for the bands/people to do the covers. I enjoy 'covers' because they are, hopefully, a Totally different style. I thought it was a little bland, over all. Its not at all bad, its just not the 'VA-VA-VOOM!" I was expecting from the BBC.