Immediately, there’s one glaring problem with Silver Lining, the unique compilation album masterminded by the good folk at Dublin’s Sound Training Centre, and it’s that the clever studio project only stretches to one volume.
In a sprightly move that we all wish we’d thought of first, the Sound Training Centre asked ten Irish artists to each cover a tune originally released in 1986, the year of its establishment. All proceeds from the sale of the album go to Headstrong, the national centre for youth mental health, but there’s plenty of other reasons to shell out your hard-earned green for Silver Lining.
Unlike pretty much every charity assemblage you can think of, there’s not a lazy cover or copycat version in the bunch. The Dublin Gospel Choir struggle somewhat with the colossal ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’ but that’s understandable given Jon Bon’s iconic vocal gymnastics. Bell X1’s Paul Noonan avoids veering into Wedding Band territory on his delightful, cooled-off version of Paul Simon’s ‘You Can Call Me Al’ and even Blizzards frontman Bressie sounds enraptured on Superfly’s cover of Peter Gabriel’s ‘Sledgehammer’.
From here, Silver Lining plays out like a kind of hairbrained Now: 1986, only without the unwanted accessory of a second disc of Cutting Crew and Chris De Burgh duds.
James Vincent McMorrow’s gut wrenching version of Steve Winwood’s ‘Higher Love’ could easily be a top 10 hit, and along with Heathers’ powerful rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘True Colors’, brings on the waterworks faster than My Little Pony: The Movie, which also just so happened to be released in ‘86.
Perhaps inspired by some of the other electro-powered chip pop of the times, ‘Dancing On The Ceiling’ gets a total melodic overhaul by This Club and The Cast Of Cheers transform the Top Gun theme, ‘Danger Zone’, into a deliciously potent dancefloor anthem.
The sweetest surprise of all is RSAG’s subtly brilliant version of the quintessentially uncoverable ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’, which even the great Moz couldn’t fault.
The unfortunate omission of Cameo’s ‘Word Up’ notwithstanding, Silver Lining is a honking, bleeping, whirring, soaring triumph. Why can’t all cover albums be this lovable?