Dark Was The Night - Various Artists

Rating - 8.1

Back in December when the track list for the Dark Was the Night compilation was released, it read more like a “who’s who” of indie rock. From the well established (Yo La Tengo, The New Pornographers) to relative new-comers (Bon Iver, The National), the artists comprising this collection generated the type of tidal wave buzz that is precisely desired when trying to raise money and awareness for HIV and AIDS.

The key to this sprawling collection (2 CDs or 3 Vinyls) is its impeccable sequencing and strength of material. Kicking off the collection with the vibrant Dirty Projectors/David Byrne collaboration “Knotty Pine” is exciting, and it settles nicely into the hush and whisper of the subsequent tracks. The eerie title track performed by the Kronos Quartet leads effortlessly into Antony Dessner’s chilling interpretation of traditional folk song “I Was Young When I Left Home.” Then there’s that mysteriously short Iron & Wine song “Stolen Houses (Die)” with Sam Beam’s tongue-in-cheek “Our mother’s mothers saw in black and white/But all that’s over now” connecting with a Grizzly Bear & Feist duet before ending the first disc with an uncharacteristly epic and glitchy Sufjan Steven’s song.

The only moments that seem to fail are those which remind the listener that what they are listening is in fact a compilation, recorded at different times, with different intentions by very different people. My Brightest Diamond’s take on “Feeling Good”, a great soul song recently destroyed by Michael Bublé, feels way too mainstream following Yeasayer’s chorusless “Tightrope”, and similarly Cat Powers tired take on “Amazing Grace” (I swear she has released more covers than originals) sounds lost between Riceboy Sleeps and Andrew Bird. Originals by My Morning Jacket and Arcade Fire we’re seemingly left off of their most recent albums for good reason, as both lack any trace of originality.

But quibbles aside, the bottom line of a fundraising compilation is that listeners get good music while donating to a good cause. With Dark Was the Night listeners actually get some of the finest music released this year, and with it a new standard for what a charity compilation can be.