Sony
Review by Alphonse Leong
Okay, so most of the money from sales of this CD
is going to worthy causes that Princess Diana supported. And,
okay, the artists probably mean well and deserve to be commended,
but, God, there's a lot of
schmaltz
on this thing! The only songs
that are worth listening to are the ones that have some kind of
life beyond an association with the Diana tragedy. And those are
few: R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts", Neil Finn's remake of
"Don't Dream It's Over," Diana Ross's recording of "Missing
You" (released in 1984 after Marvin Gaye's death, and one
of Lionel Ritchie's better compositions), and Simply Red's "Stars."
The rest are mostly clumsily sentimental pieces that don't make
the mourning process any easier. No offence to Eric Clapton, but
even his "Tears in Heaven," though genuinely emotive,
is a bit cloying.
The best way to really enjoy this CD? Don't open
it. Hang it up on the wall; it has a particularly nice cover photo
of Diana that really captured her innocence and fragile beauty.