SERVE2: THE HARD ROCK BENEFIT ALBUM

"A satisfying and mostly stellar collection of rare and live tracks from a collection of artists on top form "

review by Mike Bond
 

HARD ROCK INTERNATIONAL
TRACKLISTING
Bruce Springsteen>The Ghost Of Tom Joad (Live In Dublin) KT Tunstall>Heal Over (Live At Gala Music, London) Bob Dylan>The Ballad Of Hollis Brown (Live At Carnegie Hall, 1963) Joss Stone>Big Ol' Game Jackson Browne>Casino Nation (Live From Melbourne, Australia) Citizen Cope (Feat. Alice Smith)>107 Brandi Carlile> The Times They Are a-Changin' (Live From Boston, Bob Dylan Cover) Marc Broussard>Bring It On Home To Me (Sam Cooke Cover) The Hold Steady>Arms And Hearts Dareth Meyod>O.A.R. (Live At Madison Square Garden) Natasha Beddingfield>Lay Down Matt Kearney>Nothing Left To Lose (Acoustic Version) Ghosts>Stay The Night Andrew W.K.>This Is My World


In aid of the Hard Rock Cafe's initiative to fight Hunger and Poverty, SERVE 2: THE HARD ROCK BENEFIT ALBUM is a collection of rare tracks from artists as impressive as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and The Hold Steady.
Of course, as with virtually all compilations, things can tend to be a little hit and miss, the inclusion of the likes of Joss Stone, Citizen Cope and Natasha Beddingfield falling resolutely into the miss category here. Still when you've got Bruce Springsteen opening affairs with a rustic live take on THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD and Bob Dylan submitting a 1963 Carnegie Hall rendition of THE BALLAD OF HOLLIS BROWN, you can forgive SERVE 2: THE HARD ROCK BENEFIT ALBUM just about anything.
Other highlights include Ghosts spirited indie rocker STAY THE NIGHT and The Hold Steady's slow burning bar room blues, ARMS AND HEARTS, a song worth the asking price alone. KT Tunstall delivers a surprisingly heartfelt and satisfying performance with HEAL OVER, a track recorded live and acoustically in London whilst Andrew W.K. is on typically over the top and spirited form with the melodramatic Queen meets Cheap Trick bluster of THIS IS MY WORLD.
A satisfying and mostly stellar collection of rare and live tracks from a collection of artists on top form, SERVE 2: THE HARD ROCK BENEFIT ALBUM is a record that deserves and demands your immediate attention.

BIOGRAPHY
SERVE2: The Hard Rock Benefit Album
A historic collection of rare tracks from your favorite artists (i.e. Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Joss Stone, KT Tunstall, The Hold Steady, Natasha Bedingfield and more...) who support Artists Against Hunger & Poverty, a division of World Hunger Year (WHY). The songs, whether "new" or "classic," "studio" or "live", "electric" or "acoustic," resonate with the common idea of serving others.
You can check out every track on SERVE2, along with information about WHY and Hard Rock's efforts, at our special SERVE2 Virtual CD site. And for a limited time, you can download HELLOGOODBYE's new track "Baby It's Fact" (Live from New York, NY) for free. Click here for details.
Purchase the SERVE2 CD and help Hard Rock and these amazing artists use their philanthropic efforts to fight hunger and poverty around the world - a song at a time. Net proceeds from the sale of the Serve2 CD support WHY.
And why stop there? Hard Rock has additional product offerings that support WHY. Check out the first edition of The Serve CD, the Bruce Springsteen Signature Series Tee and Pin for the complete package!

LINKS

Review date: December 2007