My Track By Track brief review (& Rating out of 10)

 

Disc: 1

 

1. Flowers In The Rain - Kaiser Chiefs - Unremarkable, but solid cover of an unremarkable old Roy Wood song. (5)

 

2. All Along The Watchtower - Fratellis - This cover does not work, failing to capture any of the greatness of Jimi Hendrix's cover or even the Bob Dylan original. Surprisingly disappointing (3)

 

3. Cupid - Winehouse, Amy - Despite the fact her vocals sound slurred, this is still a great reggae/ska version of this song (8)

 

4. Lola - Williams, Robbie - It sounds like old Robbie, back to his best. Well it was produced by his former, no longer estranged songwriting partner Guy Chambers. The only track to surpass the original IMHO (10)

 

5. Your Song - Streets - From the sublime to the ridiculous. Mike sounds like a bad X-Factor auditionee that we laugh at. He must have been taking the P when he recorded this. Surely??? Radio 1 would have been better off getting Frank Skinner to cover this (0)

 

6. Betcha By Golly Wow - Sugababes OK. But why is it that the Sugababes are great at tackling original songs, yet not so good at tackling covers. Stick to the Prince cover version (6)

 

7. You're So Vain - Feeling I was looking forward to hearing this. Then I heard it. The first The Feeling track I've not liked. Stick to the original. (2)

 

8. Band On The Run - Foo Fighters A superb reading of the Wings classic. The Foos have made this their own whilst doing justice to the original. (9)

 

9. Love Is The Drug - Minogue, Kylie A huge disappointment. This track fails to catch fire, lacking the lounging sleaziness of the original. Hopefully not a bad omen for her comeback album. (3)

 

10. Let's Stick Together - Tunstall, K.T. Another Ferry song & another disappointment. Lacking the alcoholic looseness of the Ferry classic (4)

 

11. Sound And Vision - Franz Ferdinand A bonus mark for getting Girls Aloud to emulate Mary Hopkins original "Do-do-do". The rest of the track is simultaneously faithful to the original, yet sounding like Franz Ferdinand. (7)

 

12. Teenage Kicks - Raconteurs A solid live version of "Saint" John Peel's all-time favourite song. (6)

 

13. Can't Stand Losing You - Mika & Armand Van Helden Oh my god, I actually like a track featuring Mika. This is really good. If this is anything to go by, Mika should hook up with Armand Van Helden for his second album. (7)

 

14. Too Much Too Young - Kasabian Are Kasabian taking the michael? It sounds like they recorded it in one attempt after 5 minutes rehearsal. (3)

 

15. Under Pressure - Keane A solid version of this classic, but anyone is going to sound second best versus Freddie Mercury & David Bowie aren't they? (6)

 

16. Town Called Malice - McFly This sounds exactly how you would imagine it to sound. But at least McFly took the effort to rehearse & record the track properly, unlike a lot of acts on this album. (5)

 

17. Come Back And Stay - Morrison, James "The new Paul Young" covers Paul Young. mmmm. Should have saved this for Celebrity Stars in Your Eyes.. (3)

 

18. Careless Whisper - Gossip The positive, it sounds nothing like the original. The negative, they've killed this 80s Classic Love song dead. (1)

 

19. Power Of Love - Pigeon Detectives They sound like they recorded this song as a bet with their mates. Not big, not clever, not good (3)

 

20. Don't Get Me Wrong - Allen, Lily This is far better than her Mark Ronson assisted assault of the Kaiser Chiefs song "Oh, My God" earlier this year. Her vocals sound charming (7)

 

Disc: 2

 

1. You Sexy Thing - Stereophonics A great start to CD2. Kelly & the boys turn in an enjoyable pub-rock version of this well-known classic (8)

 

2. Fast Car - Buena, Mutya I would have a higher opinion of this, except Mutya has clearly heard Gabrielle's (circa 2000) cover of this Tracy Chapman classic and has (photo)copied it hook, line & sinker. (5)

 

3. Lullaby - Editors The jury is out on this cover. Neither good, nor bad, just indifferent (5)

 

4. Englishman In New York - Razorlight The sounds like The Police half-arsing around with the Sting classic, with a less than impressive vocal performance by Johnny Borrell. (3)

 

5. Crazy For You - Groove Armada At least Groove Armada have tried to reinvent this 80s Madonna ballad. OK. (6)

 

6. It Must Be Love - Nutini, Paolo An adequate cover of Madness' cover of the old Labi Siffre song. (4)

 

7. All That She Wants - The Kooks A novelty ironic cover, that does not work. (2)

 

8. You're All I Need To Get By - Ronson, Mark A great version of this soul standard. Good predictions, great vocals (8)

 

9. Stillness In Time - Harris, Calvin This is a strange, strange version. I can't make up my mind whether this is brilliant or awful (6)

 

10. No Diggity - Klaxons This is miles better then their awful cover of Grace's Not Over Yet. I really like this with their standard strange soundscapes (8)

 

11. Lovefool - Just Jack A mediocre cover by a mediocre artist. Mediocrity a beckons.... (4)

 

12. Ray Of Light - Bedingfield, Natasha A huge negative shock. Words cannot describe, how awful this version is. Natasha's over sung earnest vocals have ruined the living daylights out of this track with a backing track that sounded like it was recorded on a generic baggie dance PC music program circa 1991. Hideous (0)

 

13. Drinking In LA - Twang I wanted this cover to work. Alas, it does not quite achieve it's aim. (4)

 

14. Great Beyond - Fray A huge positive shock. I've hated every original song this band has done, yet like their cover of The Beatles' Fixing A Hole, this cover works. (7)

 

15. Teenage Dirtbag - Girls Aloud Maybe, it is their reality TV background. But Girls Aloud have a knack of pulling off covers like this track. (7)

 

16. Like I Love You - Maximo Park Now this is what this album should be about. A hugely entertaining cover, probably about as much fun to record as it is to listen to. Superb. I love the Chaka Khan ad-libs... (9)

 

17. Don't Look Back Into The Sun - View The View sound like a Scottish pub band covering the Libertines. Nothing special but lacks the debauched effervescent of the original (4)

 

18. Toxic - Hard-Fi Another great cover. I loved how this band worked in The Clash's Brand New Cadillac into this superb reading of the Cathy Dennis penned track. It is clear this band loves their music. (9)

 

19. Father And Son - Enemy A surprisingly straight, yet moving & heartfelt reading of the Cat Stevens classic. (8)

 

20. Steady As She Goes - Bailey Rae, Corinne A solid, professional yet unspectacular performance to finish off the album (6)

Is the album available on iTunes?! I can't find it if it is! :angry:

Is the album available on iTunes?! I can't find it if it is! :angry:

 

None of the Radio 1 albums are avaliable to download off iTunes at all.