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From the opening notes of Eleanor Rigby, which combines the beat and bass line of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean with the melody and lyrics of the Beatles original, I knew that this covers album was going to be either awful or a work of twisted genius. Sadly, it's just awful. I will give Leo his due, he can still sing very well, but the arrangements, the instrumentation on the album, the production... they're all utterly dire. I don't know, perhaps it's the feel he was going for, but he sounds as if he's being backed by musicians from an eighties UB40 tribute act. Deciding to record this album was a mistake, releasing this album was a mistake, buying this album was... well, I think you know where I'm going with this.
Along with Eleanor Rigby (which he ruins twice), there are so many abominations on this album: Revolution, Get Back, A Day In The Life, Girl, A Hard Day's Night, Magical Mystery Tour, Julia, Can't Buy Me Love, Norwegian Wood, Here Comes The Sun, Only A Northern Song, Yesterday, I Feel Fine, Nowhere Man, Hey Jude; each and every brutalised song goes painfully by and you're sat, patiently, tears in your eyes, desperately resisting the urge to wedge cheese in your ears to make the torture stop, waiting for something that vaguely resembles an enjoyable piece of music, but it simply never comes. If I'm being kind, I'd say the nearest he gets to a decent and interesting cover is Across The Universe, but quite honestly it's really not worth putting up with the sheer avalanche of pure bilge for tracks that are only half decent.
Full disclosure: I bought this album primarily as a Beatles fan, rather than a fan of Mr. Sayer, and somebody who enjoys listening to and collecting different interpretations of the Beatles catalogue. I've heard hundreds of covers, but seldom have I heard such a badly conceived or executed collection of Fab Four tunes. Tackling songs that are now firm modern standards takes a little bravery but, unfortunately, doing it in such a jarring way is more folly than bravado. The sacred cow hasn't just been slaughtered, it's been made into low quality burgers topped with sugary, vinegar-laced ketchup.
I rarely write negative reviews because, generally, what's the point? You only end up upsetting fans of the artist and, in the end, it comes down to personal opinion. However, in the case of Leo Sayer's Northern Songs, people need to be warned about this album, especially Beatles fans. It stinks the place out. I'm not sure what die-hard Leo Sayer fans are going to make of this album (if indeed such people exist), but hopefully even they will be able to see this as the complete turkey it is. To surmise, this is probably the worst album I've heard for quite a few years and it's quite amazing how anybody can take these wonderful songs and produce something quite as awful.
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Recensioni clienti
Le recensioni migliori da altri paesi
Andy Sweeney
Stinks the place out. Almost without any redeeming qualities.
Recensito nel Regno Unito il 21 febbraio 2022
Tim Cooper
Not as good as Leo normal songs
Recensito nel Regno Unito il 14 marzo 2022
Dennis Stephan
Interesting interpretations but not necessarily better
Recensito negli Stati Uniti il 20 giugno 2022