By Brendan Harte Gilsenan
✭✭
Lionel Richie is a Grammy award-winning artist who has fronted the Commodores, and sold over 100 Million records. Just Bieber is a 15-year-old Canadian boy-band-type heartthrob, who will most likely drift into obscurity upon reaching puberty. What do these two have in common? There comes a time when we heed a certain call, when the world must come together as one.
I fell to the ground. I literally fell to the ground with shock and disappointment upon witnessing Justin Bieber lead off the 25th anniversary remake of Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie’s “We Are The World”. Beiber’s appearance only served to foreshadow the multitude of atrocities committed throughout the recording.
After seeing the names of artists involved with the remake, I jokingly told my friends I thought it would make use of that dreadfully overused modern touch of auto tune. It was meant to be a joke… and oh, how I wish it had stayed one.
Michael Jackson definitely had a taste for hip-hop. 1992’s Dangerous was littered with it. But he knew where the urban beats were appropriate, and where they were not. Jackson did not write a rap bridge into “Will You Be There”. That simply would have been absurd. Almost as absurd as LL Cool J, Snoop “Doggy” Dog, and Busta Rhymes, with the help of other obscure hip-hoppers, rapping a Will.i.am penned bridge on “We Are The World”.
I understand that Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie were looking to get A-list stars for the recording, but I don’t remember hearing RUN-DMC on the original. Back in 1985, “We Are The World” was recorded as the song it was written to be. It was a sensitive pop tune performed by some of the world’s most notable vocalists, not most notable celebrities.
This song was recorded to sell, to get money to Haiti. But other artists with more credibility could have been used without diminishing sales. Where was John Mayer? Justin Timberlake? I’ll even take Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. Instead we have Disney manufactured icons such as Miley Cyrus, Hilary Duff, and the Jonas Brothers, and vocally talentless acts such as T-Pain and Lil Wayne. The later of whom heavily use auto tune on the track to have their computerized sounding voices hit all the right pitches.
The newly written sections and array of non-deserving artists take away from the truly fantastic aspects of this rerecording. Musicians such as Pink and Enrique Iglesias had me pleasantly surprised, while those like Josh Groban and Jennifer Hudson unsurprisingly delivered lines that carried the depth and emotion the lyrics convey. Unfortunately we had to be greeted with a Pussycat Doll at Hudson’s side whose biggest hit seductively proclaims “Don’tcha wish you girlfriend was hot like me?” And God bless Wyclef Jean, whose heart has truly been in the right place since the tragedy in Haiti, but his frog-in-the-throat quivering vocals are over the top and too detracting of the song.
Half of the featured artists did a fantastic job. Celine Dion, Jamie Foxx, and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland all contributed beautiful vocals. But the rest seemed to simply be a who’s who of TMZ. There are dozens of alternative vocalists that could have taken part in this recording: Bono, Elton John, Dave Matthews, Kelly Clarkson even. The first season American Idol winner has done more to legitimize herself away from her commercial roots than Miley Cyrus ever could, and is more deserving of the privilege to contribute to such a monumental recording.
To me, “We Are The World 25” is the equivalent to George Lucas reviving the Star Wars franchise. Lucas added many bangs and whistles and digital effects to make his prequels bigger and better than the originals. Unfortunately, while visually captivating, the heart and soul of the films fell flat when compared to the classic tales of Luke Skywalker and the evil Empire.
The heart of the cause is in the right place, but it could have been done better. I find this rerecording to be more insulting to the original than honoring. Unfortunately, what is done is done, but I do still encourage everyone to purchase this track. The cause is more important than the legacy of any song ever could be.
✭✭
Lionel Richie is a Grammy award-winning artist who has fronted the Commodores, and sold over 100 Million records. Just Bieber is a 15-year-old Canadian boy-band-type heartthrob, who will most likely drift into obscurity upon reaching puberty. What do these two have in common? There comes a time when we heed a certain call, when the world must come together as one.
I fell to the ground. I literally fell to the ground with shock and disappointment upon witnessing Justin Bieber lead off the 25th anniversary remake of Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie’s “We Are The World”. Beiber’s appearance only served to foreshadow the multitude of atrocities committed throughout the recording.
After seeing the names of artists involved with the remake, I jokingly told my friends I thought it would make use of that dreadfully overused modern touch of auto tune. It was meant to be a joke… and oh, how I wish it had stayed one.
Michael Jackson definitely had a taste for hip-hop. 1992’s Dangerous was littered with it. But he knew where the urban beats were appropriate, and where they were not. Jackson did not write a rap bridge into “Will You Be There”. That simply would have been absurd. Almost as absurd as LL Cool J, Snoop “Doggy” Dog, and Busta Rhymes, with the help of other obscure hip-hoppers, rapping a Will.i.am penned bridge on “We Are The World”.
I understand that Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie were looking to get A-list stars for the recording, but I don’t remember hearing RUN-DMC on the original. Back in 1985, “We Are The World” was recorded as the song it was written to be. It was a sensitive pop tune performed by some of the world’s most notable vocalists, not most notable celebrities.
This song was recorded to sell, to get money to Haiti. But other artists with more credibility could have been used without diminishing sales. Where was John Mayer? Justin Timberlake? I’ll even take Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. Instead we have Disney manufactured icons such as Miley Cyrus, Hilary Duff, and the Jonas Brothers, and vocally talentless acts such as T-Pain and Lil Wayne. The later of whom heavily use auto tune on the track to have their computerized sounding voices hit all the right pitches.
The newly written sections and array of non-deserving artists take away from the truly fantastic aspects of this rerecording. Musicians such as Pink and Enrique Iglesias had me pleasantly surprised, while those like Josh Groban and Jennifer Hudson unsurprisingly delivered lines that carried the depth and emotion the lyrics convey. Unfortunately we had to be greeted with a Pussycat Doll at Hudson’s side whose biggest hit seductively proclaims “Don’tcha wish you girlfriend was hot like me?” And God bless Wyclef Jean, whose heart has truly been in the right place since the tragedy in Haiti, but his frog-in-the-throat quivering vocals are over the top and too detracting of the song.
Half of the featured artists did a fantastic job. Celine Dion, Jamie Foxx, and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland all contributed beautiful vocals. But the rest seemed to simply be a who’s who of TMZ. There are dozens of alternative vocalists that could have taken part in this recording: Bono, Elton John, Dave Matthews, Kelly Clarkson even. The first season American Idol winner has done more to legitimize herself away from her commercial roots than Miley Cyrus ever could, and is more deserving of the privilege to contribute to such a monumental recording.
To me, “We Are The World 25” is the equivalent to George Lucas reviving the Star Wars franchise. Lucas added many bangs and whistles and digital effects to make his prequels bigger and better than the originals. Unfortunately, while visually captivating, the heart and soul of the films fell flat when compared to the classic tales of Luke Skywalker and the evil Empire.
The heart of the cause is in the right place, but it could have been done better. I find this rerecording to be more insulting to the original than honoring. Unfortunately, what is done is done, but I do still encourage everyone to purchase this track. The cause is more important than the legacy of any song ever could be.
Comments
Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:50:18 pm
I'm looking more like my dogs every day - it must be the shaggy fringe and the ears.
