NENEH CHERRY THE VERSIONS
EMI
★★★
Tribute albums are a tricky beast, dependent on the willingness of artists to maintain a song’s original spirit while interpreting it in a manner justifying their interference, as well as on fans’ eagerness to hear something reminding them how great the object of their devotions is without copying, diminishing or eclipsing its inspiration. Let’s face it, too: it’s not often one picks a cover over an original, especially when the talent you’re celebrating is an icon like Neneh Cherry and her first three classic studio albums. The Versions’ biggest contributors underline these issues. It opens with Robyn’s slowed down Buffalo Stance, still instantly recognisable thanks to that playful keyboard riff with the crucial rap delivered by another lady with Swedish roots, Mapei.