Peter Lipa: Beatles In Blue(s)

A few artists successfully record quality versions of songs by the Fab Four, but it's a rare and risky proposition. Proof is listening to vocalist Peter Lipa attempt a heartfelt set of jazz interpretations that unfortunately are more parody than praiseworthy, but nowhere near as amusing as Captain Kirk's.

Beatles In Blue(s) features Lipa, promoted as "the most important person in Slovak jazz," singing 16 songs in a wide range of jazz and blues settings. It is without question one of the worst albums I have heard during the past year, made all the more painful because Lipa, unlike Shatner, who's got every right to expect ridicule for stepping into a recording studio, is a longtime performer apparently attempting a serious project. You want to laugh, but doing so feels as wrong as snickering at a senile stage actor who can't remember his lines.

Almost nothing about this train wreck works. Lipa's singing frequently feels off-key and forced to fit the various song structures. None of the numerous guest performers contribute anything likely to enhance their resumes. And many of the arrangements are too lackluster and muddled to even hold the attention of a living room or office full of people inclined to treat them as fodder.

Just a random sampling of the interpretations: "And I Love Her" is a Latin ballad with a flute and soprano sax backing, "I Want To Be Your Man" has sort of a gospel/blue vocal backing, and "Got To Get You Into My Life" is—of all things—sort of slow hip-hop. The best, artistically speaking, may be "With A Little Help From My Friends" at the end of the album, a straight-ahead quartet interpretation where Lipa's off-kilter vocals are at least a reasonable fit for the setting (one could think of it as a bit of scat indulgence if it weren't for the other songs).

The best aspect of the album may be Lipa including a number of lesser-known Beatles songs, offering exposure to the uninitiated and a less jarring experience if they're not familiar with the original as a point of reference. Still, most of the songs will be known to most listeners and few are likely to find pleasant memories surfacing.

The Beatles were controversial in their day and one can only hope there's enough devotees hearing artistic merit in Lipa's interpretations that he finds solace in opinions different than those expressed here. But a better bet is to give him a mulligan on this and focus on his Slavic recordings, where he sounds far more at home.