Album Review

Cherry Ghost – People Help the People

• 12th Jul 2007

What do Judy Garland and Bolton have in common? The Wanderers? (what kind of name is that for a football team anyway?) The answer lies in Cherry Ghost’s new single; ‘People Help the People’.

Perhaps it’s this reviewer’s strange leanings (never mind the court case) but should there be a remake of The Wizard of Oz, this should surely count as a decent contender for the Scarecrow’s theme.

Get to the chorus and you’ll see what I mean.

Sounding suspiciously a lot like Athlete, Cherry Ghost do their best to keep heads above water, and for the most part succeed.

After a lumbering start in the verse, ‘The People Help the People’ really takes off in the chorus. This smacks of a song written for a festival audience. It translates well, but is one of the all time great contenders for most-misheard-lyrics-of-all-time – (most original interpretations to my email address).

Having (somehow) endured the preachy environmental and politically friendly messages of Live Earth, I was left feeling that this should have been the anthem for The Cause, rather than the inane put-on rockiness of Madonna’s purpose-written diatribe.

Sorry for the cynicism, but I hardly think that by using energy saving light bulbs I can make any more of a difference than the pop princess in her mega-mansion. She probably uses more electricity heating her loo seat than I will in a lifetime.

Don’t preach to us! We are the converted,

Perhaps this track should have been dedicated to the hypocrites who offset their carbon footprints (the size of mammoths) by getting us commoners to buy energy saving light bulbs.

Which, incidentally, leads me to a valid question of why wasn’t the concert held in China or India, or (god forbid the US) where global emissions are at an all time high? But I digress.

I wish great things for this single, because it is a heartfelt, honest and sincere sentiment (seriously lacking in today’s music), and in its simplicity just beautiful – flawed but beautiful.

One to add to your collection.

Oh, and if anyone asks you, your CD player doesn not emit more emissions than the PA system used at Wembley or the jet aircraft used to bring to the stars to the venue.

The organisers say if the event turned one person greener it would be a success. Hard to argue with that, only it would take thousands of people to offset the damage caused by the Jet Set.

Do the honourable thing and buy this single. The sentiment alone is worth it.