Charidee albums are always a touchy subject, and when they've got haughty motormouth DJ Ray D'Arcy at their helm, they're doubly so. Several years ago, D'Arcy launched the 'Even Better Than the Real Thing' series in aid of Barretstown Childrens' Camp - and thanks to quirky acoustic covers of pop songs by the likes of Glen Hansard, Jack L, The Divine Comedy and erm.. Mickey Joe Harte, its three volumes were a roaring success. Now, after a three-year break, the series is back with a twist, as the title may hint: this time, a gathering of musicians beloved by the Irish public unite to cover some of the best-known disco songs from the '70s.
Tackling beefed-up, studio-glossed modern pop songs and feeding them through an acoustic guitar is one thing; but taking the basic elements of disco songs - the glitz, glamour, pomp and sass that make them great - and giving them the same treatment is another thing, and it's because of this that most of 'Even Better Than the Disco Thing' really doesn't work.
It's not for lack of effort, although it's clear by the demo-like recorded quality that most of these tracks were recorded hurriedly. The new wave of Irish musicians - among them Jape, Fred, Cathy Davey, Duke Special and Lisa Hannigan - all make a fair fist of their respective efforts, while American blues troubadour Eric Bibb lends his deep husky voice to Abba's 'Dancing Queen' to delightful effect.
Other surprisingly well-done numbers include Brian Kennedy's delicate take on 'Never Can Say Goodbye', Jape's squidgy, twangy electro version of Donna Summer's 'Hot Stuff', and Republic of Loose's faithful cover of 'Jive Talkin''. All criticism of the innards aside, however, the charity element must be borne in mind - and as compilations of that persuasion go, this could be a lot worse.
