MattA75's Full Review: America: A Tribute to Heroes
Just 10 days after the terrorist attacks on America of September 11, 2001, entertainment's biggest stars gathered for a telethon that featured somber musical performances and amazing stories of heroism told by some of the biggest actors in the world. It was titled America: A Tribute to Heroes, and it grossed millions upon millions of dollars for the victims and their families. About two months after it aired, a 2 CD set of the musical performances was released.
There was no live audience, just the artists on a lit stage singing their hearts out, hoping to bring a bit of brightness to people in this country who so desparately needed it. For the most part, the performances took on a somber tone, which is understandable, given the lack of a live audience to feed off from. But there were a couple of spots where things really seemed to just scream positive inspiration.
The first was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' performance of I Won't Back Down, which seemed to convey what every American felt after watching those two huge towers collapse: we were going to stand together, and we sure as hell weren't going to back down.
Another standout was U2's performance of Peace On Earth/Walk On, which just completely resonated with everyone I think. Bono sounds sad but hopeful, which is the same thing that made Petty's performance so damn good.
Interestingly enough, the first disc actually has a Faith Hill song that I don't mind at all, although I'm pretty sure it's a cover. There Will Come a Day has this great gospel feel to it, with the dramatic piano intro and the great backup singing.
The same cannot be said for the most overplayed ballad to come out of this tragedy, Enrique Iglesias'Hero. It's such a bad, terrible ballad, overwrought with pretentiousness, that it's not even the best song called Hero on this set. Mariah Carey gets the nod for that, with quite possibly the best ballad of her career, and one of the stronger performances of the second disc.
Neil Young makes two appearances, first with his cover of John Lennon'sImagine, which sounds pretty damn good considering it's Neil Young (I'm not a big Neil fan at all), and then, he helps out by playing accordian on Eddie Vedder's tribute to deceased friends, Long Road.
After the annoying Dixie Chicks, the second disc has a string of impressive songs and performances, from Dave Matthews performance of Everyday straight through to a positively awe inspiring and gorgeous performance of Livin on a Prayer by Bon Jovi. In the middle is a cover of one of my all time favorite Bob Marley tunes, Redemption Song, done by Wyclef Jean. I've always liked how good Wyclef sounds when he covers Marley: he has that voice, that little something that Marley had when he sings his songs, a certain emotional thread that winds through his voice. It's just gorgeous, period.
The major problem I have with these discs is the fact that Celine Dion performed God Bless America. I think it's great that Celine wanted to help out this cause, wanted to perform and appear for the first time since her self-imposed hiatus. But why did she have to perform the song about America? Why couldn't she have done one of her ballads (Because You Loved Me would have been PERFECT for this event, and that's the only time you'll see me say that a Celine Dion song is good, so write it down), rather than singing a song that an American should have sang?
The ending America the Beautiful by Willie Nelson is really well done, except for the fact that Mariah feels the need to throw in these high notes out of nowhere. You know, the high pitched wails she does, they just get thrown in towards the end and you just want to find her and smack her for doing that.
Despite it's flaws, this two disc set has much more good than bad. The songs are all near perfect, and most importantly, they gave us a bit of a sense of hope and even sunshine on an otherwise cloudy time. Together with the 2 disc Concert for New York City set, this helps paint a magical musical picture of the worst Anti-American act in this country's history.
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