Artists United for Africa In The Name of Love
Released: January 27, 2004 Origination Year: 2004 Time: 57:15 Tracks: 13 Produced by: Lynn A Nichols Style: Studio Format: CD Enhancement: None Website: www.inthenameoflovecd.com

Benefit collections and artist tribute albums are tough nuts to crack. Both request the contributing artists to keep the cause first in mind, or expect same artists to not go too far a field from the music they're paying homage to. "In The Name Of Love - Artists United For Africa" is both in one and manages to be an enjoyable musical experience as well.

The starting point is, as the collection's title alludes to, the music of U2 as interpreted by some of Contemporary Christian Music's most popular performers. If that sounds like an odd combination, you haven't been reading the lyric sheets to such U2 albums as "War", "October", even the breakthrough "The Joshua Tree" and most recent "All That You Can't Leave Behind". Having navigated the choppy waters between the spiritual and the secular, Bono and The Edge have provided ample material for Sixpence None The Richer, Jars Of Clay and D.C. Talk's Toby McKeehan and Michael Tait (noticeably absent: third member Kevin Max Smith, who has an eerily Bono-like voice). Some of the cuts work surprisingly well and some don't.

Kicking off the disc with a crunchy, nu-metal punch, Pillar gives the track "Sunday Bloody Sunday" a different but equally necessary ferocity. Where the original recalls raw-nerve street fighting marches, this one has bursts of metallic crunch and violence. It's good but lacks certain longevity. Also good, but lacking, is Sanctus Real's version of "Beautiful Day", heard here as emo power rocker. Nothing bad about the adaptation, nothing bad about the original material, but as with Pillar's reimagining, it stops being a clever idea after a few listens and simply becomes an example of the chosen musical genre. The R&B / Hip Hop combination of Grits featuring vocalist Jadyn Maria is yet another very interesting take that cleaves a bit too close to a musical archetype.

Let this not diminish their contributions as, what I've said before, this is not the forum for overt experimentation. Let's just say that I probably would expect their individual CDs to sound close to what is presented here. The shocker for me is "Love Is Blindness", performed by Sixpence None The Richer. This band has covered effectively before, noting The La's "There She Goes" and Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over", but Leigh Nash's usually sunny delivery hardly seems suited for such a dark, slightly philosophical song. But it works, and marvelously well. Some credit must go to producer Steve Hindalong of The Choir, adept at blending the bright with the shadowy, but the delivery is all in Leigh's hands.

Another set of standouts; Tobymac (Toby McKeehan) and Tait (Michael Tait) keep "Mysterious Ways" and "One" close to their initial form but do so with confidence and style.

The most remarkable thing about the compilation is that it is enjoyable all the way through. Nothing comes off as a clunker, no one embarrasses them self and the credit for that goes to executive producer Lynn A. Nichols. After having been an A&R man for several Christian music companies (a creepy contradiction in terms, but that's my bugaboo) and a member of two late, sadly lamented groups Chagall Guevara and Passafist, Nichols knows both sides of the music biz and has chosen wisely and suitably. If there is a knock I can raise against "In The Name Of Love", it is the most obvious one; that I will probably find myself listening to the U2 originals more than this collection. However, as an extension of the band's discography, the set will not be shunned or ignored as I have found myself doing to other discs of this type.

The true goal of the disc is not to praise U2 but to raise money. A portion of the proceeds from the album's sales goes to the World Vision charity to help fight AIDS in Africa, in Zambia to be specific, through education and health support. Imagine a life where the AIDS epidemic is not simply at your doorstep but in your own home and you get an idea of the urgency of the matter. It is not speculation. Children are living with dying parents. Because of a lack of fundamental education to stem the spread of the disease, other children will be born with the HIV virus. With medical support for those already suffering, and with solid facts on how AIDS is contracted, spread, and how both can be diminished, the situation can be changed.

All the contributors to the project have brought forth their best efforts, presented a concept to entice purchasers to follow through and I support such endeavors. Should you, however, decide this disc is not for you, consider a visit to one or all of the following web addresses and see how you can participate in these vital efforts.

www.inthenameoflovecd.com/whyafrica will give you a more detailed look at the situation and show exactly how profits from "In The Name Of Love" will be used in this cause.

www.bloodwatermission.org is a foundation started by band Jars Of Clay. Funds will also go to The Living Hope Center, an AIDS medical center in Cape Town, Africa on behalf of Blood:Water Mission.

If you are a fan of U2, you'll appreciate the work presented in this release. Yes, it suffers from the pitfalls that are endemic of an album of this sort, but it still remains quite enjoyable. More important, the cause this CD represents is an urgent one and asks the listener to walk in the auspicious footsteps of those recalled in the song "Pride (In The Name Of Love)". For that alone, the purchase is worth your consideration.

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