Audio Sacrilege or the New “We Are the World” Release

USA for Africa The original “We Are the World” written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson and produced in 1985 by Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones is arguably one of the greatest songs of the 80's or even of all time if for no other reason than the fact that it eloquently brought together the biggest talents in music history from across genres who harmonized in a beautiful musical masterpiece. Now, twenty-five years later and months after the death of the indisputable King of Pop Michael Jackson, the song has been rerecorded in what can only be described as audio sacrilege- an all out assault on music lovers every where and an offense to the original artistry of the song.

This current remake, which aired at the beginning of the 2010 Olympics, has been done as a charity rally to raise money for the people of Haiti suffering from the devastating after effects of the monumental earthquake that recently rocked their nation. And while I certainly applaud such efforts, and encourage anyone who can to donate and help in anyway that they can to bring aid to these people, those valiant efforts are not enough to make me overlook the complete mutilation of this moving classic. A song that once oozed with pride and art has been remade into a cultural void lacking in any real musical talent.

Not only do many of the rather forgettable names associated with this new abomination pale in comparison to the true talents of their predecessors, their voices fail to find any sense of harmony or flow that made the iconic original song such as a triumph in the first place. Instead of sounding like a beautiful harmonized creation, it sounded more like a choppy collection of noises pieced together from leftovers of a cutting room floor. There is no sense of cohesion in this new version and most of the artists, a term that I use very loosely for some of the participants, seem to be performing in some sort of mental isolation and that lack of continuity comes through all too clearly in the disjointed clash. The new video and song lack the heart and soul of the original which gave it a life of its own. While I wish them well in the task of humanitarian aid, when it comes to musical accomplishment this new version of “We Are the World” is a resounding failure.

The original “We Are the World” by USA for Africa featured over 47 musical giants including Dionne Warwick, Kenny Rogers, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Lionel Richie, Billy Joel, and many many others and was orchestrated to raise funds for humanitarian aid in Africa and won a number of awards including three Grammy's; a success that this recent, poorly done follow-up is not worthy of.

For those of you who may not remember the original "We Are the World", be sure to enjoy the video.