Thursday 10 December 2009

Wild horses

A lot has been written about Susan Boyle (précis: 1 - she can sing a bit; 2 - she's plain to look at; 3 - her album is selling like hotcakes because people can't believe that 1 and 2 can possibly go together). I could go on to talk about how Simon Cowell is killing music in the UK, or how Boyle's fragile state and spinster life have in no way prepared her for fame, but I won't - others have already done that. I will say that I'm glad her album is going to make Boyle a tidy sum, because I expect she'll be forgotten in a couple of years. The sun is shining, and she's making hay - good luck to her, I suppose.

The real reason for this post though is to draw attention to The Sundays. Boyle's cover of Wild Horses is getting a lot of radio play, and that's fine, but back in 1992 The Sundays covered it too... and their version is so much better. Unscrupulous downloaders may luxuriate in the unique voice of Harriet Wheeler and layered guitars of Dave Gavurin here.

Britain really does have talent - it's just that you're unlikely to find it on anything Cowell is involved with. Sorry to break it to you like that.