Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now

Various Artists (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 22, 2005)
• Original Release Date: November 22, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Concord Records
• ASIN: B000BVD46A
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #103,588 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A magnificent 2-CD multi-artist benefit album to aid the Gulf Coast victims devastated by recent hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

This special compilation contains new, previously unreleased material by some of the most popular artists from all genres of music as well as classic recordings from New Orleans natives Louis Armstrong and Dr. John. Coldplay, Norah Jones, Wyclef Jean, John Mayer, James Brown, Aaron Neville, Bonnie Raitt, R. Kelly, Barbra Streisand and Elton John are just a few of the many remarkable artists appearing on this release.

RIAA will donate 100% of its net proceeds from the sale of this CD – at least $15 – in equal parts to the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and MusiCares Hurricane Relief 2005, for their hurricane relief efforts. For more information, please call/email: American Red Cross at 1-800-797-8022/[e-mail]; Habitat for Humanity at 1-800-HABITAT/[e-mail]; MusiCares at 1-877-626-2748/[e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A mixed bag, November 26, 2005

By	William Merrill "eclecticist" (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

(3 & 1/2 stars) With 2 CDs and 35 songs, it was inevitable that there would be some good and bad aspects of a benefit collection such as Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now. Overall, it's a decent enough effort and one that certainly goes toward a worthy cause.

Among the many good songs on this collection, I especially like Coldplay's live version of "Fix You," with thousands of Dutch people singing along with every word. (The song is only slightly marred by the farewell words sung by Chris Martin at the end, as the song was apparently the last number in the show.) I also enjoyed the songs by BB King and Bonnie Raitt. Then there are agreeable songs by people I would not ordinarily expect to get into given my tastes, including the songs by "Diddy" and Barbara Streisand. A great orchestral arrangement on the latter tune. I also like the fact that there is a New Orleans music theme to the collection, including many real N.O. musicians spread throughout the whole thing.

Unfortunately there is one huge glaring problem that does detract from this album being quite as good as it could have been. It's the three sickly-sweet all-star songs, "Heart of America," "Tears In Heaven," and the title track. These slick, schmaltzy productions carry on the very unfortunate tradition of songs like "We Are The World" and primarily the awful "That's What Friends Are For." Basically they succeed at "Hollywood-izing" the songs, removing any genuine emotion and replacing it with extreme blandness & artificiality. [There is one other all-star track that I did not include in the above list of shame because it IS authentic, Dr. John's "Goin Back to New Orleans," made with a big group of N.O. names.]

Here are a couple of other aspects of Come Together Now that are worth noting. With such a wide and diverse roster of artists contributing songs, it should be no surprise that there are some very JARRING and abrupt transitions between songs, such as switching from Coldplay to Clint Black! Sometimes these artist combos produced some interesting mixtures of names, with an Elton John song right after DOCTOR John (both "Johns" are stage names of course) and the unrelated Angie Stone and Joss Stone singing on the same cut. (The family Stone, I guess...)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing CD and a LOT of bang for the dollar..., December 21, 2005

By	R. Kyle (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This CD is mistakenly listed as a single CD. It is, in fact, a 2 CD set. The second CD track list includes such venerables as Bonnie Raitt, James Brown, Barbara Streisand, the Winans, etc. There's a lot of truly inspiring music on this CD. Start with Raitt's "I will not be broken" and end with B. Kelly's "Let your light shine." This is a truly generous offering for music lovers and one I think would make a valuable addition to any collection.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A forever gem, February 25, 2006

By	Cold Shott "Cold Shott" (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This is a great example what a benefit/relief effort is all about; people from all loctions focused on one goal. Many genres of musical talent helping one key national crisis. A personal friend and favorite in the Arizona Music Scene is the great Jerry Lawson who teams with his new a capella venture, "Talk Of The Town" and the magnificent Rod Stewart on Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready".