Customer Reviews

We Are The World: U.S.A For Africa

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First of all: DON'T buy this CD just for the title song (Unless you need it for a special project) AND, don't buy it to help starving people in Africa. That boat sailed a long time back. For some reason, this CD has been Out Of Print for ages, so the proceeds will go to the reseller who has to charge a MINT for it because of its scarcity. So, WHY BUY IT? Bruce Springsteen, Steve Perry, Chicago, Tina Turner, Huey Lewis, Kenny Rogers, The Pointer Sisters and Prince. If you're a fan of any of those artists: the extra songs unique to the collection are among the best they've done. They're all superstars trying to one up each other. So, they're great. Each song could have been (and should have been) a hit single. Bruce Springsteen's first official (non seasonal) live release with the E Street Band "Trapped" is a great take on a Jimmy Cliff song. I can't get the tune out of my head. Steve Perry's contribution blows away his solo hit as well as most Journey tunes. Tina Turner, Kenny Rogers, Huey Lewis & The News and The Pointer Sisters were all hot at the time too, and their tracks show it, too. We Are The World is a triumph of Quincy Jones and and an apparently still on top of his game, Michael Jackson, trying to squeeze the kitchen sink into one song. They did it, and it has worn out its welcome for most listeners, but all in all, this is a great collection anyway because We Are The Hits you haven't heard.

Sure, this CD represents an important milestone in popular musicians' social activism - and the title track is a very significant (if not artistically very interesting) song in that it was a very early example of that kind of superstar grouping, coming fast on the heels of the British Band-Aid group.

But beyond all that, I highly recommend this CD to any Springsteen fans - his intense live cover of Jimmy Cliff's "Trapped" is well worth the entire CD's purchase price. And how can you go wrong when some of the proceeds go to charity?

OK, we all know the title track. It was a great project, what a wonderful collaberation, rock event of the 80's, blah, blah, blah. LISTEN TO THE REST OF IT!!!!! The producers of this album were idiots not to release every other song on here as singles. Would have made enough money to stamp out hunger on three continents. Steve Perry's "If Only For the Moment Girl" could have (and should have) been Side 1 Track 1 on Journey's Raised on Radio or on one of his own solo projects. How that song never found its way on the radio is beyond me. Oh, and by the way Boss fans, "Trapped" rocks, but then you probably knew that. I almost got Canuck season tix and bought stock in Molson when I heard "Tears are not Enough" by Hoseheads against Hunger (or Northern Lights or Canada for Africa or whatever their name is). Just listen to the rest of it. And if your friends will think you're a geek for getting this CD now, don't worry about it. You are. But hey, you're feeding a kid somewhere, right? Just get the CD. I won't tell anyone.

Boy are there some terrific artists in here! I haven't heard the whole CD yet, but some of the names are...oh, something! Wonderful Tina Turner, the indomitable Pointer Sisters & the lovely, talented Steve Perry are just a few great voices here. My fave is the "We Are the World" song. I heard that song on Y2K eve & that song is soooo touching! Even though Micheal Jackson, Lionel Richie, & Tina Turner headed up this swell project, it was great hearing other voices. I loved shy, sensitive Steve Perry's input "...we're savin' our own lives..." How true! We really need to stamp out world hunger! It's awful that so many people are still going hungry today, even in the United States! It's heartwarming that these artist cared enough to try to do something about it.

It's a total shame that this CD entitled We Are The World: U.S.A For Africa is out of print; I hope they'll bring it back soon. Unfortunately, the importance of helping poor people in Africa who may also be HIV positive is still timely. This album gives us excellent music from great artists recorded back in the day; and the quality of the sound is excellent. The artwork is very nicely done as well.

Of course, the title track, "We Are The World," is the main attraction on this album although that's not to say the other songs are poorly done. "We Are The World" starts with a great musical flourish and individual artists including Cyndi Lauper, Michael Jackson and others sing a few bars individually; then they all come in on the chorus. That's the point where this song takes off like a jet! The lyrics are both catchy and upbeat and you won't forget this number if you've never heard it before. "If Only For The Moment, Girl" is performed by Steve Perry; the guitar and the keyboards work great for this tune and how's about the arrangement for that horn? Steve sings perfectly about how he wants to be alone with the woman he loves. In addition, The Pointer Sisters perform "Just A Little Closer." "Just A Little Closer" has great musical effects and The Pointer Sisters harmonize well. The percussion helps to mark the beat and this number is quite good for dancing even these days!

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band turn in a solid performance when they do "Trapped." This live track features some great horn and percussion; and Bruce never sounded better. The band rocks as Bruce sings of how he wants to be out of a bad relationship with his woman--just as he wishes the underprivileged in Africa could be free of their serious troubles. Northern Lights, a group composed of several artists including Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Oscar Peterson, does a great job on "Tears Are Not Enough" and listen for Price & The Revolution doing more than their best on "4 The Tears In Your Eyes." "4 The Tears In Your Eyes" uses minor keys to make this ballad a strong one and Prince sings of how "the meek shall inherit the earth."

Chicago's "Good For Nothing" rocks although at the same time it retains a slightly laid-back flavor to it; despite the fact that this is another catchy song it's certainly not the happiest one I've ever heard. Tina Turner also weighs in with her number entitled "Total Control." "Total Control" features Tina singing at her very best; she makes this number powerful. When she sings "I'd Sell My Soul For Total Control" she probably refers not just to her own personal past experiences but also to what the underprivileged in Africa must be thinking.

Kenny Rogers' "Little More Love" is about the importance of love and loving one's fellow man; and the album ends strong with Huey Lewis & The News performing on a live cut of "Trouble In Paradise." This tune rocks and Huey and his crew do this one up right!

Overall, We Are The World: U.S.A For Africa is a "must-have" CD for people who like rock and people who can relate to the social issues that made this album happen. I highly recommend this album.

The title track says it all. Each voice is beautifully done in that track. Michael jackson, Kenny Rogers, Cyndi Larper, and much much more all demostrate that the human race is the same. We just need to listen with our hearts. Listen to the sample. Then buy the music. You will be helping the children and yourself. LISTEN TO IT!

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this album on CD. Like many others, I owned this historic album on vinyl back in the 80s. The "We are the world" single was penned by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson to raise money (and awareness) about the famine in Ethiopia. It featured a who's who in music; from Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, through Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

Besides containing the megahit "We are the world", the album contained nine other original songs recorded specially for the project. Prince had apparently contributed a guitar solo for the "We are the world" single which Quincy Jones felt didn't fit in the song, and so he contributed the song "4 the tears in your eyes", a Pop/Funk ditty heavily steeped in Biblical imagery which wouldn't have sounded out of place on his "Around the world in a day" album.

Other standouts include the lovely sax-filled ballad "If only for the moment girl" (Steve perry), the synth dance number "Just a little closer" (Pointer Sisters), a live rocky remake of Jimmy Cliff's "Trapped" (Bruce Springsteen), the synth/Rock "Good for nothing" (Chicago), the horn filled live recording "Trouble in paradise" (Huey Lewis & The News), and the blistering rock ballad "Total control" by Tina Turner, (my favouriote on the album).

The other two songs are "A little more love" (Kenny Rogers, an ok country-ish song) and the "We are the world" clone "Tears are not enough" by Canadian stars going by the name Northern Lights, the latter the lone clunker on the album, in my opinion.

Of course we all know the "We are the world" single hit #1 and is to date one of the biggest selling singles ever. The album also hit #1 in the US and sold 3 million copies. As I stated earlier, I'm glad it's also available on CD (albeit hard to find).

This CD is getting very difficult to find...it should be in everyone's music collection. MP3's just cannot compare to the equisite full sound on this CD. Your ears and soul will thank you for getting this one.

I was disappointed as this is not the original song I remember.If someone knows how to get the original copy ,please let me know

If you want to see what it was all about back when, this is for you! Great video, great vocal stars!