Ray D'Arcy must be a very persuasive man. For the last couple of years he's been bringing Irish singer-songwriters into his studio to perform cover versions of (mostly) contemporary pop songs, the results of which have proved so popular that a second volume of them has now been released. There's certainly a great novelty value in hearing, say, Glen Hansard do Britney Spears or Jack L take on Kylie Minogue. Unfortunately too many of them sound more like comedy records than anything else, meaning you'll probably enjoy them a couple of times but won't want to hear them more often than that. On the other hand, some of the more serious tracks such as Juliet Turner's heartfelt version of 'A Winter's Tale' are so good, they actually make the album's title sound completely accurate. The sales proceeds all go to the National Children's Hospital, so if any record deserves the benefit of the doubt, it's this one.
