Picked up cheap somewhere (aren't they all?), this compilation of Cole Porter songs was a fundraiser for AIDS research and relief, and boasts a stellar line-up, even looking 30 years later.
So, it's not a piece of high art, it's a bit of fun and a fundraiser, selling over a million copies and raising a million dollars for ALT UP.
Starting with the lead (hit) single, Neneh Cherry's individual, but dull version of I've Got You Under My Skin, there are twenty songs covered, mostly competently by established artists. But there aren't many stand outs. Deborah Harry and Iggy pop's take on Well, Did You Evah? raises a smile, and sound like they had fun recording it, Kirsty MacColl and The Pogues offer double value with a lively Miss Otis Regrets running into a frantic Just One Of Those Things, and David Byrne makes a fantastic job of Don't Fence Me In.
Lots of the versions are extremely stylised, but rarely work, neither Youssou N'Dour's African beat, nor Tom Waits' growling and the rap version of I Get A Kick by The Jungle Brothers is horrible, as is the Thompson Twins' mangling of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. The closest to an interesting interpretation is Negresses Vertes' Gallic flavoured I Love Paris.
Disappointing, but a lot of money raised for a worthy cause.
2* - The diamonds in this compilation are few and far between, and most is at best ordinary.
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