Britain is no stranger to the hastily assembled compilation album; why, the country’s Best… Albums Ever! series alone has entrants that honor air guitar, barbecues, and girl power. But the compilation Time To Say Goodbye kind of takes things to a new level. The two-disc set–which, the chart-watching site Popjustice notes, came out shortly after the death of British reality-TV star Jade Goody captivated the country and put it in a “wallowing, boo-hoo… mood”–is so chock-full of sad songs, one almost hopes that Big Fun is hidden in there as a secret bonus track. Not to mention that it has a cover that inadvertently recalls Whipped Cream And Other Delights, no doubt to entice people who might be a little turned off by the crazily depressive nature of an album that sequences “Over The Rainbow” back-to-back with “Candle In The Wind.”
Before we get into the tracklisting, here’s the official line on the album:
Time to Say Goodbye is a double album packed full of 40 timeless classics for moments of reflection. This stunning compilation features all-time classics including “Con Te Partiro (Time To Say Goodbye)”, “Over The Rainbow”, ‘Angel”, “Hallelujah”, “Amazing Grace” and many more. Time to Say Goodbye is the ultimate collection of songs for relaxing to.
When you say “relaxing,” press-release writer, do you mean relaxing… forever? Perhaps!
Disc 1:
1. Time to Say Goodbye / Con Te Partiro – Andrea Bocelli
2. Over the Rainbow – Eva Cassidy
3. Candle in the Wind – Elton John
4. I’ll Stand By You – Girls Aloud
5. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go – Madeleine Peyroux
6. Hallelujah – Katherine Jenkins
7. Amazing Grace – Faryl Smith
8. You Are So Beautiful – Donny Osmond
9. You’ll Never Walk Alone – Lesley Garrett
10. I’ll Be There – Jackson 5
11. Send In the Clowns – All Angels
12. Abide With Me – Fron Male Voice Choir
13. All By Myself – Only Men Aloud!
14. Something Inside So Strong – Michael Ball
15. The Rose – Aled Jones
16. Fields of Gold – Triniti
17. You’re Beautiful – Marc Dillon
18. Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word – City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
19. Both Sides Now – Hayley Westenra
20. Feeling Good – Nina Simone
Disc 2:
1. You Raise Me Up – Secret Garden
2. Angel – Sarah McLachlan
3. Cry Me a River – Diana Krall
4. When You Say Nothing At All – Ronan Keating
5. What a Difference a Day Made – Jamie Cullum
6. Angels Flying Too Close to the Ground – Beth Rowley
7. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – Bryn Terfel
8. Every Time We Say Goodbye – Gwyneth Herbert
9. Nessun Dorma! – Russell Watson
10. Somewhere – Connie Fisher
11. Moon River – Andrea Ross
12. Home – Shane Hampsheir
13. Going Home – Will Martin
14. Who Wants to Live Forever – Jonathan Ansell
15. He Was a Friend of Mine – Pete du Pon
16. God Only Knows – Blake
17. Come Away With Me – Melissa Elliotte
18. Old Man – Lizz Wright
19. Tears in Heaven – The Choirboys
20. What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
Perhaps most depressing about this compilation–even moreso than the fact that it’s currently the No. 43 album on the entire Amazon site–is the fact that the version of “You’re Beautiful” included within isn’t the James Blunt original, but a soundalike cover that’s appeared on another quickie compilation.
Time To Say Goodbye [Amazon via Popjustice]
Nessun Dorma? Really?
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