Madonna,
R.E.M.,
Live, and
Hootie & the Blowfish are among the artists who tackle Athens, GA, singer/songwriter
Chesnutt's music on this volume for Sweet Relief, the foundation
Victoria Williams established to assist ailing musicians such as herself and
Chesnutt, who is paraplegic. Although the hard grunge "Sponge," contributed by hometown friends
R.E.M., makes perfect sense, other contributions meet with questionable results. "Guilty by Association" by
Madonna and her brother-in-law
Joe Henry turns a dark ballad into a semi-orchestrated piece.
Nanci Griffith and
Darius Rucker's "Gravity of the Situation" is bland. But fans of quirky singer
Mary Margaret O'Hara will be enthralled by her spare "Florida," and the
Chesnutt/Williams collaboration "God Is Good" closes the set on a hope-filled note; it's the best of the 14 tracks.
–
Denise Sullivan, Rovi