Red, Hot & Blue

A tribute album of Cole Porter tunes as performed by some of the best musicians to come out of the 1980s. David Byrne of the Talking Heads, the Pogues, Tom Waits, U2, The Fine Young Cannibals, Annie Lennox, Jimmy Somerville of Bronski Beat, The Thompson Twins, Sinead O'Connor. There are three fantastic reasons to purchase this album: 1) It's 20 Cole Porter standards, 2) The album was produced in 1990 to benefit AIDS research, 3) The incomparable lineup of the musicians, mentioned above, plus Neneh Cherry, the Neville Brothers, Debbie Harry of Blondie and Iggy Pop, KD Lang, Erasure, Jody Watley, Aztec Camera and more.Any one of these three reasons should be reason enough to buy this album, and if you score with all three on your list, then you will be overwhelmingly pleased. If you are simply a Cole Porter fan, have never heard of these bands and don't care to support AIDS research, then you will likely be unhappy with this album. But if you are even a fan of just one or two of these artists, the rest of the album will surprise and seduce you.Perhaps the best track on the whole album is The Neville Brothers' "In the Still of the Night." Simply enchanting. David Byrne shines with the best of the best work from the Talking Heads era, African drumming and rhythms, on "Don't Fence Me In." Kirsty MacColl sings with the Pogues in a medley of "Miss Otis Regrets" and "Just One of Those Things," and for this long-time Pogues fan, it was surprising to find this musically rich track a full decade after the Pogues had split up. Wish I had known about this album in 1990 rather than finding it in 2004. Tom Waits takes some heat with other reviewers with his cover of "It's All Right With Me," but those reviewers obviously wouldn't like ANY Tom Waits tunes. I think it's a fantastic layer to this already rich hued album, and Waits fills his portion with gusto and relish. It is truly the tune I love to listen to the most, partly because it follows Byrne's cut and mostly because it just sucks me into another world, that Tom Waits World, and repeatedly sucks the breath out of me. I especially love the part where it seems like the song is over and then Waits comes back in for a reprise, doubly so after reading how much is pisses off some of the other reviewers. :-)Neneh Cherry offers a prologue to the album that melds directly into her cover of "I've Got You Under My Skin" and the Fine Young Cannibals wail into "Love For Sale" with Roland Gift's voice nearly being mistaken for a muted trumpet. How did he do that? Iggy Pop and Debby Harry have too much fun with "Well Did You Evah" and until I looked at the credits I actually thought it was John Doe and Exene Cervenka from X. They should have been asked to contribute to this album. And Screamin' Jay Hawkins, he has a cut of "I Love Paris" that while is a bit more traditional than Les Negresses Vertes' version which is pure fun, Hawkins covering another Porter tune would have added more layers of spice to this CD. The Thompson Twins and Erasure shine with two songs I would never expect to hear from them, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and "Too Darn Hot," respectively. U2, Annie Lennox, KD Lang, Jody Watley, Sinead O'Connor and Aztec Camera all provide the solid stability of their talents to flesh out the core of the album, with the color added by the previously mentioned artists. The two tracks that could easily be lost and replaced by better artists are Salif Keita with "Begin the Beguine" and the Jungle Brothers with "I Get a Kick."Purchase this album. It's a great tribute to Cole Porter and an even better contribution to supporting AIDS research. Get it to honor rare work of these excellent artists. All thumbs up! Five stars and more!

Bought this as a cassette tape when it first came out, back when I was raising money by attending the AIDS Dancethon every year in San Francisco and trying to let the adults know this was a serious disease and we needed money for a cure! I bought this mostly for Track 17 and play it over and over in my car. "Down in the Depths" (on the 90th Floor) is my favorite Cole Porter song, next to Miss Otis Regrets. And Lisa Stansfield can SING!!

It's not that this whole album is great. But Cole Porter is great, the cause was great, and a few standout cuts are well worth the price. Namely, Sinead's cover of You Do Something To Me, Annie Lennox's Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye, and one of my all-time favorite U2 songs (even though it's a cover, obviously), Night And Day. In fact, I specifically bought this for the U2 track because it wasn't included in the Complete U2 Collection. Yeah, yeah, there was a VERSION of this song in that collection, a remix that doesn't come close to the original. So, I had no choice but to buy this CD all over again. Totally worth it.

Cole Porter is one of my favorites. I must have 25 versions of Night and Day (several by Frank Sinatra). K.D. Lang's So in Love is the best recording of it. K.D.'s voice is spectacular and the way she phrases the lyrics, well, it is worth the price of the disc just to hear her. Then we come Lisa StansfIeld and her Down in the Depths. This too should not be missed. When I love the music I tell everyone buy, buy buy!!! I love sharing this music.

It's great to revisit R,H &B after more than 20yrs ago when I had it on cassette. I bought it for a friend in Australia who had never heard it before, despite his interest in Cole Porter and many of the artists who contributed to it. Surprised it wasn't on iTunes, but delighted to find it on Amazon. Fave tracks still Debbie Harry & Iggy Pop - well did u evah? And Kirsty McColl's version of Miss Otis Regrets... but really I like them all and still think these renditions of Porter's classics are definitive for a generation.

One of my favorite CDS. Love the creative interpretation of Cole Porter classics. Sadly, I think it's time for a digital copy as my CDs have all met a sad demise. Love KD Lang's version of "So In Love" and the fun "Don't Fence Me In" as well as the "Miss Otis Regrets/It Was Just One of Those Things" mix. Honestly, there isn't a song that I slip on this album.

Well for the most oart I enjoyed listening to this CD but it's not a favorite. Some songs I really liked and some I didn't like at all.

Have been looking for this album on CD for a while! Great!

Cercavo questo CD con la copertina originale del 1990. Poiché in un’altra recensione ho letto che la copertina era stata aggiornata e non corrispondeva a quella mostrata da Amazon, temevo di ricevere anche io la cover aggiornata (alternativa?). Per fortuna ho ricevuto il CD con la bellissima cover originale in stile pop art su foto di Cole Porter! La amo! L’album è davvero bellissimo, su tutte: I’ve got you under my skin di Neneh Cherry.Fatevi un regalo: acquistatelo!

I originally bought it all those years ago when it was first released as a charity fundraising album and loved it but I bought it on tape, now I mostly listen to my mp3 player so bought the CD version so I can rip it to mp3 and listen again to these beautiful and beautifully arranged songs oncen again

Something jogged my memory about this (in 2021, remembered from the AIDS campaign in the 90s). Some variable interpretations, but some brilliant ones - Debbie Harry & Iggy Pop Well Did You Eva; Annie Lennox Ev'ry Time You Say Goodbye; K D Lang So In Love; Erasure Too Darned Hot; Fine Young Cannibals Love For Sale). Not for Cole Porter/Great American Songbook purists. Personal favourite David Byrne Don't Fence Me In.

To be honest - I remember the video of the song by Lisa Stansfield back in the early nineties - part of a programme on TV back then if memory serves.This CD is good in patches - Annie Lennox -" Evr'y time we say goodbye" -David Byrne -" Don't Fence Me In" Iggy Pop and Deborah Harry "Well Did You Evah",Jody Watley - "After You Who" kd lang "So in Love", U2 - "Night and Day" and Lisa Stansfield - "Down In The Depths" are particular highlights - but Salif Keita sounded toe-curlingly flat to both our ears - (had a friend over when I played it).

Si vous n'avez pas ce CD....alors vous passez a côté d'un album superbe de reprises des Chansons de Cole PORTER!!!Vous ne connaissez pas Cole PORTER ? et bien au U.S , c'est comme ne pas connaître la statue de la liberté...!Cole PORTER a écrit et composé, certainement les plus belles chansons dans les années 40 et 50;ces chansons sont des Standards du répertoire musical U.S comme "Night and Day"....c'est comme si vous ne connaissiez pas la mer de Charles TRENET ou l'Hymne à l'Amour de PIAF !!Dans cette album vous retrouver une pleaïde de STARS de la chansons U.S,Anglaises,Française...de U2 a Annie Lennox, les négresses Vertes, Iggy POP,Debby HARRY,Tom WAITS,Neneh CHERRY...et bien d'autres encore qui ont tous repris et réarangées de façon très moderne et créative..la version de l'"intouchable" Night and day par U2 est une des plus belles reprises de ce standard de la culture U.S....alors achetez le vite pour votre plaisir cet Album est de 1990 en plein dans les années SIDA...les bénéfices de la vente de cet album iront aux malades....et oui les jeunes,le SIDA existe toujours,alors faites l'amour en écoutant Cole PORTER et des capotes...!!