Muruch

I’ve been a fan of Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan since long before her Lilith Fair days, stumbling upon her second album Solace in the early 1990s and shortly after devouring 1993’s Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. Though her recent releases haven’t captivated me so intensely, my fondness for her elegant voice hasn’t diminished over the years. Sarah released the first volume of Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff in 1996, and now gives us this second collection of soundtrack work, previously unreleased as well as live tracks, and collaborations with guests Cyndi Lauper, Bryan Adams, DMC, Emmylou Harris, The Perishers, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, DJ Tiësto, and Delerium.

The album opens with “Ordinary Miracle”, culled from the Charlotte’s Web soundtrack. Though I prefer Fisher’s cover, McLachlan’s version is also lovely. Cyndi Lauper then joins McLachlan on the pretty acoustic duet of “Time After Time” that they recorded for Lauper’s The Body Acoustic.

Though I personally think that Holly Cole recorded the definitive cover of Joni Mitchell’s “River” on her 1997 album Dear Dark Heart, McLachlan successfully captures the soft melancholy of the original. Allison Crowe’s interpretation is good, too.

Bryan Adams guests on the Gretchen Peters tune “Don’t Let Go”, Emmylou Harris sings on the Lilith Fair edition of “Angel”, and The Perishers appear on the live recording “Pills”. The disc also includes McLachlan’s plucky rendition of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” from the I Am Sam soundtrack, the sweet “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2, and “The Rainbow Connection” from For The Kids.

I favor the original version of Delerium’s “Silence” from the Brokedown Palace soundtrack over this “In Search Of Sunrise” remix by DJ Tiësto. But I rarely like remixes. Also present are Sarah’s covers of the traditional “Prayer of St. Francis” and “Unchained Melody”.

Far more interesting than any of the above are Sarah’s a cappella cover of Paul Simon’s “Homeless” with Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the marvelously bizarre transformation of Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s In The Cradle” into the rap-rock song “Just Like Me” with rapper DMC.

I was not granted permission to share an mp3, but you can hear samples at the links below.

Sarah McLachlan Official Site

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Cyndi Lauper’s The Body Acoustic features new acoustic arrangements of 12 of her songs, with several being transformed into duets with Ani DiFranco, Sarah McLachlan, Shaggy, Jeff Beck, and Vivian Green among others.

The album opens with a new clap beat and string arrangement on “Money Changes Everything”, with Lauper’s raspy voice being joined by Taking Back Sunday’s Adam Lazzara. Shaggy’s reggae vocal style seems an odd match for the quasi bluegrass arrangement on “All Through The Night”, but it strangely works.

Sarah McLachlan lends her voice to an only slightly altered “Time After Time” and “Water’s Edge”. Jeff Beck pops up on “Above The Clouds”, while Vivian Green slides in on “I’ll Be Your River”. Green sticks around for a trio with Cyndi and Ani Difranco on “Sisters Of Avalon”.

Lauper goes it alone on four of the album’s tracks, including the moody dulcimer and piano take of “She Bop” and “True Colours”. And the album closes with a brassy ska duet of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” with Puffy Ami Yumi.

Cyndi Lauper Official Site
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