Easy listening meets pop/rock hits; crack open the CD case for Hits Chilled and Stirred, the Essential Collection 1 and that's what you will find. A selection of various unknown artists showcasing their pipes on hit songs like "Clocks" by Coldplay, and"You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette, but with a decidedly lounge music feel to them. As Water Music Records promotes it as "cocktail party anthems", you could quite possibly throw this on during a dinner party and not be bombarded with edgy tunes and progressive sounds that demand listening to.



I wasn't sure where I stood with this CD, as I recall the words to their counterpart chart toppers, but didn't mind the more low-key sound to them either. Sometimes the songs worked, like "Clocks", or "Come Away With Me", which Stephane Le Bellec sings beautifully, but then other times it all went terribly wrong with songs like the Cher classic "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)", and the Morissette mentioned, which simply could not be lounged out.



A lot of this collection's ability to work well depended on what songs were chosen and what voice was added to replace such leaders in music like Madonna, Cher, Prince and Norah Jones who have such distinctive voices. I found the songs that tended to be more upbeat in nature were harder to cross over into that laid back feel, whereas the songs that were slower to begin with tended to add up to a nice compilation.



Clocks

Daughter

Behind The Wheel

Come As You Are

Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)

Learn To Fly

Holding Back The Years

Holiday

Justify My Love

Come Away With Me

You Oughta Know

Everything Zen

Nothing Compares 2 U

Pride (In The Name Of Love)

Trouble

Walking On The Moon

Purple Rain