The Fredösphere

Here's a story with a twist:  an Israeli garbage man takes a couple weeks off from work every year to perform on the great organs of Europe.

Petra Haden's cover of The Who Sells Out is now sold on amazon:

Fans of both Petra Haden and classic Who will want to hear this CD. It's a chance to hear Pete Townshend's songs stripped down to their essence (although Petra does an excellent job of re-creating the full band sound through vocal tricks). The songs hold up to the a cappella treatment very well. The most fascinating aspect of this new Sells Out is all the changes Ms. Haden takes her voice through -- (for ex.) sounding siren-like on "Odorono" (a bit like Kate Bush!) and then like a teenage boy on the very next song ("Tattoo").

However:

For all you people who don't get out much, this album may seem chic and "concept' to you but lemme tell you something... collegiate A cappella groups have been doing what she just did for decades and have been doing it BETTER... I was in a couple groups during my collegiate years and we could've blown the pants off her. If you want some REAL a cappella music I suggest you check out the BOCA series from the mainely a cappella catalog (unless amazon has it). Boca stands for Best of College A Cappella and let me tell you IT IS. This petra girl needs to get her head on straight cause he vocals are mediocre and the mix is terrible. This CD isn't worth the plastic its pressed on.

I guess that's what you call "mixed reviews."  What's my opinion, based only on Amazon's crude sound file excerpts?  Some a cappella music that covers -- or is inspired by -- instrumental music dazzles me.  This happens if the singers achieve the same level of precision as instrumentalists.  (I hate to admit it, but it's true; very few singers sing pitch precisely.  Leading a cappella singers is like conducting an ensemble of slide-whistlers.)  Take 6, the Swingle Singers, and The Nylons are just three examples of high-precision a cappella groups.  That kind of precision is not present in Hayden's album.  This is an amateurish job.  Having found that the concept has caught the public's attention, she should really go back and re-record the whole thing.