Various Artists: Live Earth - The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

In addition to the imminent threat of global climate change, this CD-DVD collection from July's Al Gore-spearheaded concerts brings attention to another problem: Most musicians under thirty have no idea how to rock a stadium. "We are here on a momentous day for the people of our generation," Keane frontman Tom Chaplin yells — and then his band limps into a forlorn little ballad called "Bedshaped." Corinne Bailey Rae and John Legend snooze through the thematically appropriate "Mercy Mercy Me"; Damien Rice and David Gray create a supercollider of dullness with "Que Sera, Sera"; and James Blunt makes the mistake of singing a song that's not "Beautiful." Only Linkin Park rise to the occasion, offering a furious version of one of their best songs, "Bleed It Out." In comparison to the kids' limpness, the dusty anthems on display —Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way," Chris Cornell's "Black Hole Sun," even Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive" — end up feeling as hot as a climate-displaced polar bear.