Given their status as arguably the most influential band ever, it’s surprising how few truly memorable Beatles covers there have been. Bowie, Led Zep and the Stones have all had terrific versions of their songs done by other artists, but Macca and co have perhaps been under-served in this department.
This deplorable state of affairs has decidedly not been remedied by The Art Of McCartney. Featuring acts like Billy Joel, Jamie Cullum, Harry Connick Jr and Barry Gibb, this 36-track, two-disc collection is aimed squarely at the AOR market, and there is a notable lack of daring and originality in the artists’ approach to the material.
The aforementioned Joel sets the tone with a straightforward take on ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’, and there are similarly unfussy renditions of other tracks from throughout McCartney’s career, covering his output with Wings and his solo efforts, as well as his work with the Fab Four. Though most of the tracks rarely rise above the level of an accomplished covers band, there is the occasional diamond in the rough – Brian Wilson performs some lovely, Beach Boys-style harmonies on ‘Wanderlust’, and Willie Nelson does a fine, stripped-down rendition of ‘Yesterday’.
Otherwise, it’s slim pickings, and at times the lack of adventure is downright perplexing. One would expect The Cure to take pleasure in revamping ‘Hello Goodbye’ or Alice Cooper to gleefully deconstruct ‘Eleanor Rigby’, but both tracks are delivered as if verbatim. Likewise, Roger Daltrey belts out ‘Helter Skelter’ with gusto, but it’s hardly an improvement on the ferocious howl with which McCartney delivered the original.
Following on from The Flaming Lips’ equally inessential take on Sgt Pepper, this has undoubtedly been a bad month for Beatles covers.
OUT NOW.