From Iceland — DAVÍÐ SMÁRI: YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

Published July 8, 2005

What do you do when you come in second on Icelandic Idol: you cover every great pop singer’s most cherished song. Davíð Smári takes the Edge off of U2’s One, annhialates Lou Reed’s Perfect Day and dares to challenge Van Morrison with a cover of Moondance; he even takes on Hendrix’s Little Feat. That he fails in every case is of no importance: nobody could cover these tunes successfully. That he dared record them makes this album an impressive cultural relic. If you don’t take music too seriously, this is worth a laugh. And if you are a student of music, you may be impressed by how good Davíð Smári’s voice is, but how much remains curiously lacking.

Worth three beers for its audacity. Costs four beers.