"Red Hot & Blue" Review

by Michael Warner .
"Red Hot & Blue" is one of the late

charity-oriented compilation albums to
reach music stores. Billed as "a tribute to
Cole Porter to benefit AIDS research and
relief," it contains modern renditions of 21
Porter tunes performed by an eclectic array
of today's pop stars, running the gamut
from rock to country to rap to international.
It's a notable effort which in most cases
successfully couples classical popular
music with contemporary popular musi-
cians.

As a fundraiser for AIDS, this modern
interpretation of Cole Porter's music is an
appropriate choice. A closeted homosex-
ual, Porter's "voice" first started to be heard
in the late-1920's, a time when America
was struggling to cast off the repressive
remnants of the Victorian era. Porter's wit
and cynicism helped to debunk the mores
of the time. His simple yet sophisticated
lyrics speak of love and romance (often-
times of the forbidden sort) and of heart-
ache and pain. His songs speak on a very

personal and emotional level without
seeming saccharine or banal. Considering
this nation's apathy and its leaders‘ lack of
responsiveness to the AIDS crisis, lines
like "use your mentality, wake up to real-
ity" carry a doubly important message.

The album opens with a very modern
rap rendition of "I've Got You Under My
Skin," in which Neneh Cherry rewrites the
lyrics to deal directly with drug abuse and
AIDS. For the most part the emphasis then
shifts back to Porter's lyrics. The Neville
Brothers on "In the Still of the Night,"
Sinead O'Connor's tentative "You Do
Something to Me," k.d.lang's"So in Love,"
and Annie Lennox's haunting "Ev'ry Time
We Say Goodbye" are expressive and emo-
tionally intense songs. Jody Wat.ley's per-
formance of "After You, Who?" and Aztec
Camera's rendition of "Do ILove You" are
also touchingly beautiful.

Along the way there are also some very
contemporary sounding and creative rendi-
tions of "Night and Day" by U2, "Too Darn
Hot" by Erasure, as well as The Fine Young

Cannibals on "Love for Sale" and Jimmy
Somerville's "From This Moment On." On
the fighter side there are touches of humor
to be found in Iggy Pop and Debbie Harry's
reinterpretation of "Well Did You Evah?,"
"Miss Otis Regrets/Just One of Those
Things" by Kirsty MacColl and the Pogues
and David Byme's "Don't Fence Me In."

As with any praiseworthy project, all
is not perfect. Salif Keita's vocals and The
Jungle Brothers’ rap do not do justice to the
pieces they perform. Tom Waits‘ destruc-
tion of "It's All Right With Me" leaves one
wondering whether he really had to work at
sounding like that! Even these are not total
failures as the music behind the vocals is
worth listening to.

"Red Hot & Blue" is an all-star produc-
tion. While it's a tribute to Cole Porter's
genius, it's also a good value in entertain-
ment. Whether a fan of more classic popu-
lar music or the most up—to-date pop fa-
natic, there's sure to be something on this
recording to please. It's good music for a
good cause — a sure-fire combination.

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