Medusa

Annie Lennox - Medusa (1995) **

Nominated by: Gregarious

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: No More 'I Love You's'

Cover albums are tricky and notoriously hit or miss. It's usually hard for me to ignore the original song. Very rarely do I think the cover version improves on the original. If the song is obscure and I don't know the original, it's much easier.

I've written that paragraph without listening to Annie Lennox's Medusa.

I figure I'll rate each song on this scale:

• A - Improves on the original
• B - good because I don't know the original (at all or much)
• C - meh (doesn't improve on the original)
• D - yikes (not a pass mark)

But before then - more preamble: Annie Lennox is pretty much a household name. In the eighties she was leading the vocal line for Dave Stewart in synth pop band, The Eurythmics. I own their Greatest Hits collection, but none of their albums. They never did it for me, I'm afraid.

Unlike GK, I haven't felt the pull of her solo albums, so this is my first listen to Medusa. 

Okay. Got all that? Then, here we go...

No More 'I Love You's' - B+. Excellent start to the album. I think this one was a hit at the time (1995 I was in my first year teaching back at Mt Albert Grammar so, a tad too busy to keep up with the pop world)

Take Me To The River - C. Al Green did it originally and Talking Heads made it an A version. Annie's is pleasant and spirited, but that's it.

A Whiter Shade Of Pale - D-. Procol Harum are one of my favourite all time bands. She should have avoided this one, their original is incomparable.  

Don't Let It Bring You Down - D. Brave or foolhardy taking on Neil? He has such a distinctive voice and I love this song when he does it. She doesn't add anything and I'm not sure I believe her.

Train In Vain - D - Same as for the Neil Young. I love this as done by The Clash. Their one's the definitive version.

I Can't Get Next To You - B. Annie takes on Motown and does a good job via some almost falsetto Temptations like lead vocal. Good choice - it's a relatively obscure song.

Downtown Lights - B. Another good choice.

Thin Line Between Love And Hate - B. A catchy song perfect for Annie.

Waiting In Vain - B. Bob Marley is another good choice to cover. Actually, reggae generally seems to translate well to alternative versions. This one hasn't been over exposed so it works well.

Something So Right - C. Paul Simon seems an unlikely choice for the final song on the album (Thin Line would have been better IMHO). As with Procol Harum, Neil Young and The Clash, I've known this song only one way until now, and it's jarring hearing someone else doing it. I think the crux of the biscuit here is that the emotional heft of an original is honest in the writer's hands, whereas, when it's covered it's liable to be a counterfeit or, at worst, a pastiche. This version is well sung by Annie but Paul's original is the true one.

In summary - a mixed bag with weakest moment Whiter Shade Of Pale and strongest covers coming from the less well known ones, especially the first song.