Search - Nick Cave & Shane Macgowan :: What a Wounderful World

A nice treat for Cave fans

Bill R. Moore | Oklahoma, USA | 04/14/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This mini-EP features oft-scorned mournful vocalists Nick Cave and Shane MacGowan crooning to their heart's content on a Louis Armstrong standard and covers of each other's songs. An inexpensive delight at the time of release, this disc is now a hard-to-find collector's item. For fans of both artists, Cave in particular, it is worth seeking out. One would be hard-pressed to find a more ironic choice to sing the title track than Nick Cave. He does a predictably wonderful job. His sad croon infuses the classic with a sense of irony and subtle humor to go along with its already-present beauty. His take on MacGowan's Rainy Night In Soho is excellent; Cave's version is great and deserved more attention than it received. MacGowan's stark, nakedly emotional take on the Cave ballad Lucy features a prominent display of his idosyncratic vocals. His vocal prowess is by no means conventionally arresting, but his tender, honest, and heartfelt performance lends the song an immediancy that was not present in the Cave original -- buried, as it was, in strings -- and also puts the wistful lyric out front, always a plus on a Cave-written track. A nice, perhaps unexpected treat for Cave fans; MacGowan fans should check it out as well."