Various Artists - The Lennon & McCartney Songbook

There are quite a few collections of Beatles covers floating around, and while this new Kiwi contribution has some inspired choices, it leans heavily towards straightforward 1960s and 70s covers (including two by Cliff Richard).

Some are familiar (Joe Cocker's With A Little Help From My Friends), and there are also songs that John and Paul gave to others (From A Window, A World Without Love).

Ella Fitzgerald's swinging version of Can't Buy Me Love and Aretha Franklin's first-person Eleanor Rigby tower above the pack, but the most interesting tracks are Sergio Mendez's bossa nova rendition of The Fool on the Hill and Bobby McFerrin's human beatbox take on Drive My Car.

There are no novelty cuts bar Peter Sellers' A Hard Day's Night, which is a pity – I'm sure we could have withstood William Shatner's Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds. F

or that matter, were the people who compiled this aware of the existence of, for example, Billy Bragg's splendid She's Leaving Home? Siouxsie and the Banshees' Dear Prudence? Bad Brains' Day Tripper, or even Come Together by the Smokin' Mojo Filters (Sir Macca teaming up with Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller)?

And there must be a better version of Yesterday than Matt Munro's.

Best tracks: Can't Buy Me Love (Ella Fitzgerald), Here, There and Everywhere (Emmylou Harris).

- © Fairfax NZ News