iiiIn 1988, Guns N' Roses released the legendary track Sweet Child O'Mine. Now, 20 years later, we have Sweet Children O'Mine, Japanese artist Shione Yukawa's homage to rock and pop icons of recent decades.
The album consists of eight tracks remade and sung in English. Remakes being a dime a dozen these days, an entire album devoted to "retouching" old classics can seem unoriginal. But overall, Yukawa injects enough of her unique voice to make it worth listening.
Yukawa mixes mellow vocals with her own folkish flavour. Her 'engrish' accent comes through, but in a pleasant, kawaii (Japanese for cute) sort of way.
The first song, Don't Look Back in Anger, breaks into a short number towards the end reminiscent of a marching band, a nice twist to the original by English rock band Oasis.
The almost-title track is a slower rendition of the Guns N' Roses classic. Her squeaky voice in this song resembles that of Axl Rose, the lead singer of the band.
Other tracks include Bobby McFerrin's Don't Worry, Be Happy, and the Jackson 5 standard I Want You Back.
If you want an alternative to pop classics, Yukawa's unique style will be welcome. If nothing else, the album introduces young listeners to classic hits.