Acoustic Love Vol.1 (A Stunning Collection Of Today's Finest Singer Songwriters) [PA] - Various Artists > Reviews > Strange Love...

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Not applicable
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Good Album
Disadvantages:	Not technically 'acoustic'

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

'Acoustic Love' is one of the latest compilation albums to grace the shelves of the music stores. It appears to follow a line of other acoustic albums that were made popular following the 'MTV Unplugged' series.

The idea, I guess, is to strip music bare from mixing boards and other electronic intervention so that the listener is entertained by a 'purer' type of music. With nothing more than acoustic guitars, piano, percussion instruments, and possibly a backing of a string quartet the you find out who can really sing.

The album contains 2 CDs and has a whole host of well known singers and songs, and some that I am not aware of:

CD 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

CD 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

I think you'd agree that there is a good mix and from listening to the album you don't get the impression that a few songs were chucked in just to make up the numbers and pad it out a bit.

However, a couple of things that let the album down are -

1. Although the title suggests otherwise, I wouldn't really class this as a 'Love' album. The songs are slow in tempo and all tend to be mellow, but not necessarily love related. It would be a good album to have playing in the background if you have friends round, or if you want to relax and read on a rainy day. But it wouldn't be my first choice if I was feeling amorous with my better half!

2. The album is not strictly 'Acoustic'. There are some cracking songs on the album that DO stick to this pure format, such as Joan Armatrading's 'Love And Affection' and the Connell's '74-75'. But there are plenty on this album that have allowed synthesizers and a bit of mixing to slip in.

One example is Labi Siffre - Something Inside So Strong. The backing to this is an electric organ. Is that acoustic? I would humbly suggest not. Surely any instrument that relies on anything other than the musicians skill and talent to play the music cannot be classed as acoustic.

Irrespective, this is a good album that will have your foot tapping and singing along and worth adding to anyones collection.