Various Artists - Keep Calm and Salute the Beatles 
Purple Pyramid
https://cleorecs.com/store/shop/keep-calm-and-salute-the-beatles-cd/

Rating: B+

The Beatles continue to touch lives and inspire others all of these years down the road.  Not only are we, the common man and woman, moved by these four darlings from Liverpool, so are others artists, musicians and singers.  Purple Pyramid Records knows this, so they put together a very heartwarming and emotional tribute to the band that features 16 cherished Beatles classics... all performed acoustically.

The Beatles reach is wide as the artists appearing on this compilation are as diverse as the late Jack Bruce on "Eleanor Rigby," to KC from KC and the Sunshine Band on the disc’s strongest tribute "Let It Be," to Martha Davis on "Nowhere Man" to Leo Sayer on "Hey Jude."  The albums producer, Billy Sherwood, even jumps on-board for a touching rendition of the classic tune "Something."  Ann Wilson of Heart starts the album off with an absolutely fabulous version of "Across the Universe."  The coolest of the cool comes out when Asia's John Wetton croons out the song "Penny Lane."  Elsewhere, Judy Collins, Todd Rundgren and even Helen Reddy perform Beatles classics.  Each tune is performed with class, and the reverence for the original is evident in each performance.

Many of these 'tribute' albums are nothing but a bit of fun thrown together for a few bucks and smiles, but this one is different.  The acoustic format is interesting and the diverse performers all mesh together to show that true music is bigger than any one person.  This one is a winner.

Track Listing:

1. Ann Wilson - "Across the Universe"
2. John Wetton - "Penny Lane"
3. Jack Bruce - "Eleanor Rigby"
4. Liz Madden - "Blackbird"
5. Andrew Gold - "Norwegian Wood"
6. Todd Rundgren - "You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away"
7. Helen Reddy - "All You Need Is Love"
8. Judy Collins - "I’ll Follow the Sun"
9. Howard Jones - "And I Love Her"
10. Felix Cavaliere - "Ticket To Ride"
11. KC of KC and the Sunshine Band - "Let It Be"
12. David Clayton-Thomas - "Yesterday"
13. Martha Davis - "Nowhere Man"
14. Stephen Bishop - "All I've Got to Do"
15. Billy Sherwood - "Something"
16. Leo Sayer - "Hey Jude"

By Jeb Wright