Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams

OMG! Very nice combination of artists. Soul Asylum, Pearl Jam,...!!! When I was listening this album I could almost feel that mug and trees atmospheer from Louisiana!! I love that album.

This disc was released as a benefit for "Victoria Williams", but I feel like I've benefited from it myself as well. Her songs are all good, but the group of musicians covering them is even better. "Pearl Jam" probably got the most people to buy this, however I like the songs done by "Soul Asylum", "Evan Dando", "Waterboys", and "Lucinda Williams" just as much. "The Jayhawks" and "Matthew Sweet" do a good job too. Basically it's just a really good bunch of music. Also, there's currently 121 used copies on here for sale, so it shouldn't be too hard to come by.

Summer of Drugs/Soul Asylum
Probably the darkest song Victoria has ever recorded. Soul Asylum does a good job. Almost as good as the original.

Main Road/Lucinda Williams
Victoria's version is kind of hard to crack, somewhat overproduced. Lucinda does a great job finding the "song" and bringing it into sharp relief. One of the CDs highlights.

Crazy Mary/Pearl Jam
Not a Pearl Jam fan, but this is the definitive version of Crazy Mary. I sure don't miss the Van Dyke Parks string arrangement that bothers me on the original. Eddie Vedder sounds awesome.

Merry Go Round/Buffalo Tom
A delightful, punky version of the original.

Weeds/Michael Penn
Penn does an admirable job. Instrumentation/arrangement is tops, but this is one of those songs that only Victoria can really bring to life.

Animal Wild/Shudder to Think
Indie guitar rock version of one of Vic's lesser-songs sounds like it was written just for them.

Tarbelly and Featherfoot/Lou Reed
I know Lou Reed is a big Victoria fan, but this sounds like a reject from Songs for Drella. Doesn't come close to capturing the wonder of this classic Victoria song.

Opelousas/Maria McKee
McKee sure has a big voice and this is a big production. An interpretation that doesn't stray to far from the original

This Moment/Matthew Sweet
Too bad this has yet to appear on a Victoria studio album. Very nice.

Frying Pan/Evan Dando
Another Victoria classic. I had the fortune of hearing Vic's version first. Some songs just shouldn't be slowed down.

Lights/Jayhawks
Another Victoria song that is kind of hard to grasp. But the Jayhawks turn it into a memorable, twangy treat. Another highlight. The best cut on the CD.

Why Look At The Moon/Waterboys
Fluffy, jaunty, entertaining version, played like an Irish jig or something by the Waterboys.

Big Fish/Giant Sand
Unrecognizable in the hands of Howe and friends. Not very listenable either. For much better Giant Sand/Victoria collaborations, check out Ramp, by Giant Sand.

Holy Spirit/Michelle Shocked
Shocked's dramatic bellowing doesn't really do this song justice. She tries hard. It's okay, I guess.

Sweet Relief is proof that the best of intentions don't necessarily guarantee a great CD.

The first and foremost goal of this CD was to raise money for musician for Victoria Williams, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and had no medical insurance.

The CD's songs are written by Williams and covered by some of the hottest "alternative" bands of the 90s. How disappointing, then, that the disc's inspired performances are the exception rather than the rule.

Things start out promising enough with Soul Asylum's acid-tongued performance on "Summer of Drugs", which arguably features some of Williams' best lyrics:

"Sister got bit by a copperhead snake in the woods behind the house/Nobody was home so I grabbed her foot and I sucked that poison out/Sister got better in a month or two when the swelling it went down/But I'd started out my teenage years with that poison in my mouth."

Equally outstanding performances are logged by Michael Penn on "Weeds", Pearl Jam on "Crazy Mary" and the Waterboys on the bouncy "Why Look at the Moon", but the rest of the 10 songs are merely fine to passable.

As a Williams fan, it's also worth asking why there isn't a song included by Williams herself, especially since she has a wealth of overlooked music and has continued to tour and record since her diagnosis and this CD's release.

Think about it: if more people bought her original recordings, her relief might be even sweeter.

Williams' songs are idiosyncratic, to say the least, which means that some of the artists here fail to connect with the material. Check out Lou Reed and Giant Sand's ponderous selections for the ugly details. However, there are some fine things, too, not the least of which is Maria McKee's barn-burning title track, the only cover to actually improve upon the original. Elsewhere, Lucinda Williams brings the right amount of laconic yearning to "Main Road," Pearl jam does a bang-up job of "Crazy Mary" and Michelle Shocked proves herself a top-flight gospel singer on "Holy Spirit." Those who find Willaims' material loopy, self-conscious and/or rambling will find nothing here to change their minds, but its all for a good cause, and there's plenty to enjoy.