Various Artists - Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter

Cole Porter did not die of AIDS, but he is generally acknowledged to have been at least bisexual, which seems to be the justification for assembling an AIDS charity album in which contemporary artists perform songs he wrote in the 1920s, '30s, '40s, and '50s. Producer/creators Leigh Blake and John Carlin (along with Steve Lillywhite, credited as supervising musical producer, who produced several of the individual tracks) appear to have suggested to the artists that they simply take Porter's lead sheets and come up with arrangements and recordings in their own individual styles. Leading off the album, Neneh Cherry demonstrates how far that can be from traditional approaches to Porter's music. Her "I've Got U Under My Skin" begins with a rap about AIDS over a hip-hop arrangement, and it never uses much more of Porter's original music and lyrics than the title phrase. No wonder the album booklet makes a point of printing Porter's words to the songs as written, since in some cases that's the only place they can be found. Cherry's effort and the Jungle Brothers' similar take on "I Get a Kick Out of You" (here called "I Get a Kick") prove to be the most radical reinterpretations. And there are tracks in which the artists have taken the opposite tack, going for re-creations of styles from decades past. Sinéad O'Connor is accompanied by the Malcolm Griffiths Orchestra in a swinging performance of "You Do Something to Me" that Porter would have found familiar, and Lisa Stansfield also takes a retro approach in a horn-filled arrangement of "Down in the Depths," while Jody Watley's "After You, Who?" sounds like something a '50s nightclub singer might do, complete with strings. But most of the time, the artists just sound like themselves. Tom Waits' falsetto treatment of "It's All Right with Me" wouldn't sound out of place on his Swordfishtrombones album, for example, and David Byrne's "Don't Fence Me In," with its Latin percussion, could be on his Rei Momo. Sometimes, the artists' familiar styles play into emotional statements of the Porter lyrics, such as with Annie Lennox's torchy "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" and k.d. lang's moody "So in Love." Other times, especially in the cases of some of the dance-pop artists, the song-as-written is largely subsumed to the arrangement; Jimmy Somerville's "From This Moment On" at one point forgets it's based on a Porter song and borrows from Donna Summer's "I Feel Love." And then there are a few artists who clearly just wanted to have some fun, in particular the teaming of Debbie Harry and Iggy Pop on "Well, Did You Evah?," a song that previously provided comic opportunities to Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. Like most various-artists albums and most tribute albums, this one is wildly uneven; like most charity albums, it's in the service of a good cause. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Name Credits Aaron Neville ?, Vocals Abraham Sirinix Percussion, Clarinet, Vocals (Background) Afrika Bambaataa Producer, Mixing Alannah Currie Vocals Alannah Gurrie Vocals André Cymone Producer Andre Soulies Engineer Andy Bill Arranger, Producer Andy Cox Guitar, Producer, Mixing Andy Morris Brass, Producer Annie Lennox Performer, Vocals Annie Sarabia Vocals (Background) Art Neville Saxophone, Keyboards, Vocals Aztec Camera Performer Ben Mink Guitar, Producer Biff Dawes Engineer Bill Allen Second Engineer, Assistant Engineer Bill Jackson Engineer Bobby Brooks Engineer Booga Bear Mixing, Producer Brenda Dunlap Vocals (Background), Production Coordination Brian New Mixing Caixa Vocals (Background) Charles Neville Vocals, Saxophone, Sax (Alto), Percussion Charlie Negrita Vibraphone, Vocals (Background), Surdo Chris Bandy Assistant, Assistant Engineer Chris Birkett Vocal Recording, Engineer Chris Dickie Engineer Chris Stein Engineer, Guitar, Synthesizer, Producer Chucho Merchán Bass Clive Producer, Mixing Connie Grauer Keyboards Cyril Neville Vocals, Percussion, Drums Danny Duncan Assistant Engineer David Byrne Producer, Arranger, Vocals, Guitar, Performer David Farrell Engineer David Piltch Bass David Steele Keyboards, Bass, Mixing, Producer Debbie Harry Vocals, Performer Dr. Paul Barrett Producer, Keyboards Edward Shearmur Piano Eoghan McCarron Engineer Erasure Performer Eric Calvi Producer, Engineer Eric Struthers Guitar F. Richard Pappas Executive Producer Fabrice Castelot Engineer, Guitar Fine Young Cannibals Performer Frank Gargiulo Design Frank Tontoh Drums Gaby le Magnifique Bongos Gary Sanctuary Keyboards Gato Negro Vocals (Background) Graeme Hamilton Trumpet, Piano Greg Cohen Producer, Bass, Percussion Guy Pratt Guitar (Bass) Helene Silverman Art Direction Hélio Schiavo Vocals (Background), Caixa Helno Vocals Ian Bryan Engineer Ian Devaney Brass, Producer Iggy Pop Performer, Vocals, Guitar James Fearnley Accordion Jean Pierre Alcouffe Brass, Executive Producer Jim Goatley Engineer Jimmy Macdonell Accordion Jimmy Somerville Vocals, Performer Jody Watley Vocals, Piano, Performer Joe Gruvtek Seta Engineer John Azelvandre Assistant Engineer John Carlin Liner Notes, Producer John Clayton Bass John Mitchell J. Director, Conductor Johnny Dollar Producer Joroz Guitar, Vocals (Background) Jose Sena Nego Gato Vocals (Background), Gritos, Vocals, Surdo Jungle Brothers Performer k.d. lang Producer, Vocals, Performer Karl Madert Engineer Keith Fernley Mixing, Engineer, Producer Kélétigui Diabaté Balafon Kenny Kosek Fiddle Kevin Whitehead Drums Kim Zick Drums Kirsty MacColl Performer, Vocals Lee Curle Assistant Engineer, Assistant, Mixing Assistant Les Négresses Vertes Performer Lisa Stansfield Vocals, Performer, Producer Lucien Vocals (Background) Marc Ramaer Engineer, Assistant Engineer, Second Engineer Mark E. Nevin ?, Lap Steel Guitar, Guitar Mark Wallis Engineer Martin Parry Drums Mathieu Canavese Accordion, Vocals (Background), ? Max Garcia Assistant Engineer Mazinho Marques Vocals (Background), Tamborim, Tambourine Mel Gaynor Drums Mike G. ? Neneh Cherry Producer, Performer Neville Brothers Performer Nick Playtes Piano Nick Plytas Piano Nick Prout Engineer Nigel Godrich Assistant Engineer Noel Eccles Conga Patrick Frémeaux Engineer, Coordination Paul O Bass Paul Powell Bass Phil Savage Engineer Portinho Drums, Vocals (Background) Portinho Tamnorim Vocals (Background), Drums Randy Waldman Piano Reinaldo Fernandes ?, Vocals (Background), Repique Robert Musso Mixing Robert Power Engineer Roddy Frame Producer, Vocals, Guitar Roland Gift Vocals, Producer Salif Keita Performer, Translation, Vocals Sammy B. ? Sandy Palmer Grassi Second Engineer, Assistant Engineer, Vocals (Background) Santo Chillemi Producer, Piano, Arranger Saxa Saxophone, Percussion Seku Tonge Tamborim, Tambourine, Vocals (Background), Whistle (Instrument), Whistle (Human), Vocals Shane MacGowan Vocals Simon Van Zwanenberg Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant Sinéad O'Connor Performer, Vocals Sodi Mixing, Producer Souleymanne Doumbia Percussion Stephen Gibson Trumpet Steve Lillywhite ?, Executive Producer, Producer, Mixing, Supervising Producer Steve Sacks Tamborim, Vocals (Background) Teddy Borowiecki Accordion The Browns Vocals (Background) The Edge Producer, Guitar The Pogues Performer Thompson Twins Performer Timbao Vocals (Background) Tom Bailey Vocals, Producer, Mixing Tom Waits Performer, Producer, Chamberlin, Vocals, Percussion Tony Hall Guitar, Bass Tony Mola ?, Repique, Vocals (Background), Timbaus U2 Performer Vince Clarke Arranger, Producer Vinnie Colaiuta Drums Willie Green Drums, Bass Zeze Drums