Bringing Live Music To The Radio Audience
It's a straight forward concept; every week bands go on the Jo Whiley show and perform a live version of one of their most popular hits and often get coerced into providing a new take on a cover track. The 'Live Lounge' has provided some of the most amazing live tracks to the radio listener and thrown up some interestingly bizarre covers that verge on the "oh my god, I don't believe they did that" to the "what the...?" Now we get the chance to relive some of the best moments, some of the awe inspiring sessions and some of those unbelievable covers.
BBC Radio 1's 'Live Lounge' is a collection of 38 tracks that veer from the straightforward rendition of a well known track (Foo Fighter's 'DOA') to the acoustic version (Snow Patrol's 'Run' fits perfectly in this category surprisingly snuggly alongside Queens Of The Stone Age's 'No One Knows') to those weird and wacky covers that are either surprise hits of total duds. In short this is a Pandora's Box of hits that stuns you with one surprise after another. Genre wise, you'd be hard pressed to find a more diverse collection with rock mingling playfully with pop whilst echoes of jazz flit besides American hip hop and dance tracks effortlessly, it really is all here for you to hear, showcasing the diverse range of music Radio One can offer.
Although slightly overshadowed by the cover version, the bulk of BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge is made up of artists playing their tracks the way they always intended, or at the very least offering a stripped down, back to basics version. From Coldplay's 'The Scientist' to Basement Jaxx's 'Romeo' right through to Razorlight's acoustic take on 'Golden Touch', equipped with a gospel backing that adds a charming new sheen to the number, the album brings together the best of live music. Added to this are The Futureheads' 'Hounds Of Love' that radiates with the charisma that made it such a huge hit for them along with a polished 'Ms Jackson' courtesy of Outkast and a emotionally charged performance of 'Family Portrait' by Pink. In short, the album does what the Live Lounge always professed to; it brings live music direct to the listener, letting us experience first hand how accomplished these guys actually are.
And then we have the cover tracks which possibly steal the show, sometimes not necessarily for the right reasons. On the plus side Franz Ferdinand provide a menacingly manic version of Gwen Stefani's 'What You Waiting For' that transforms into Billy Idol's 'White Wedding' towards the end. In addition to this we get Blur's 'Song 2' complete with a My Chemical Romance make over that sees the track adopt a more rockier stance and replaces Damon Albarn's cockney twang with Gerard Way's New Jersey drawl. And then comes the ones that you wish they never tried to do, let alone immortalised by placing on a compilation album. First up comes Natasha Bedingfield's attempt at Coldplay's 'The Scientist' that seems only too happy to whine along whilst Will Young's attempt of Outkast's 'Hey Ya' sees the feel good track of the last decade robbed of all its vibrancy and cheer, slowed down to the point that it is unrecognisable. But the 'Live Lounge' is not finished with us just yet, throwing in the "oh my god" covers for good measure, the ones that just shouldn't work but unbelievably do. Standing out a mile is Kayne West's 'Gold Digger' that is transformed by The Automatic. Somewhere you just know Kayne is kicking himself for not realising what a screechy yelping rap and a kazoo solo could do to his song.
From the joy of simply great live music to the shock and disbelief of a bizarre cover, BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge truly opens up live music to the radio audience and although the album may not be essential for your collection, at the very least it will give you an new insight into tracks you never would have dreamt possible.