Various Artists - Sunday Morning (Album)
Sunday morning is that calm time before the storm- otherwise known as the depressive reminder that you need to go back to work come Monday. In this “serenity now” phase you might be recovering from a big night out or vehemently wishing you’d had a slightly quieter one. So without further adieu, here is Sunday Morning a compilation by Universal Music containing a bunch of their acts (and a few others added for good measure) to provide a soundtrack to your very own lazy Sunday.
Thirty-eight songs are offered, many of which are big power ballads with other tracks filling in the mellow and sweet contingent. However, after a while I found my patience was tested from the copious use of choirs and music sounding like it was delivered from across the ocean breeze. I don’t consider myself a bitter, grumpy old women (grumpy yes, but not quite “bitter”) but I admit I did find at one point that I wanted to break the infernal ukulele into smithereens and either pour a cocktail on someone or at the very least push them off a jetty. But then I remembered that if I wanted some rockier numbers I should just go and listen to the Eels’ Saturday Morning and be done with it. After all, the tracks here are all about thoughtful contemplation and introspection. In short, save the last dance for the former part of the weekend to avoid tears.
Things begin well enough with a six-minute orchestral feast of treats from Elbow and One Day Like This. It is such a colourful song, I could see the artiste dolled to the nines and throwing paint around during proceedings.
Some of the other acts on the line-up however, seemed to be doing reasonable impersonations of other artists, with The Verve sounding reminiscent of Powderfinger and Air doing a José González [pictured]-style ballad in Left Bank. But fear not, because our favourite Sweden-via-Argentina folk singer appears in his actual work on Down The Line.
The legends award goes to The Velvet Underground and Nico for their offering, a song that shares its title with this compilation. It is a gem- it sounds like one part a dancing ballerina in a jewellery box and the remainder a mix of art rock from the sixties allowing you to float away into a sea of green…and pink and purple…
Coldplay and Snow Patrol in comparison show just how tedious today’s stars are with their typically overblown ballads. The former also includes the requisite voice of Chris Martin- one so annoying to this writer that it is best we move on.
Angus and Julia Stone steer this ship back on course and get the mood down pat perfectly with the very apt, Wasted. Meanwhile, Beth Rowley does a cover of Bob Dylan’s I Shall Be Released and sounds like a somewhat deeper Joni Mitchell but still pleasant.
Thank goodness for Radiohead and their song, No Surprises because after all this cute folk-pop sent from angelic choirmasters on clouds I needed a hefty dose of melancholic cynicism (because let’s face it, some Sundays are like that.)
On the second disc I found myself really enjoying Death Cab For Cutie’s wonderfully atmospheric and seamless fusion of guitars, piano and the like on I Will Possess Your Heart. After that, all I can say is take it boys- it’s all yours.
For those liking more mainstream pop songs there is Donavon Frankenreiter doing some Jack Johnson/Jason Mraz-style pop in Life, Love & Laughter. Or if you prefer the ladies singing, then there’s KT Tunstall’s Suddenly I See or Colbie Caillat’s Bubbly. Or if you like things from a bunch of elder gents then there’s some easy listening courtesy of Commodores’ Easy (you know that song, that’s why I’m easy.)
Finally, the Aussies are represented with John Butler’s sublime tome- Losing You and The Cat Empire give us the ballad with strings known as Panama.
In all, Sunday Morning is a quiet collection of sublime songs and others that are far less pleasing on the ears. The constant repetition of water themes and big chorus lines of choirs can get a little tedious and make you want to snooze. But I suppose if you can’t have a good lie-in on the weekend then no compilation (no matter how good) is going to compensate for the travesty known as waking early on your day off.
