Sad-Song-Stuffed British Compilation Album Provides Most Compelling Excuse For “Death By Audio” Yet

Britain is no stranger to the hastily assembled compilation album; why, the country’s Best… Albums Ever! series alone has entrants that honor air guitar, barbecues, and girl power. But the compilation Time To Say Goodbye kind of takes things to a new level. The two-disc set–which, the chart-watching site Popjustice notes, came out shortly after the death of British reality-TV star Jade Goody captivated the country and put it in a “wallowing, boo-hoo… mood”–is so chock-full of sad songs, one almost hopes that Big Fun is hidden in there as a secret bonus track. Not to mention that it has a cover that inadvertently recalls Whipped Cream And Other Delights, no doubt to entice people who might be a little turned off by the crazily depressive nature of an album that sequences “Over The Rainbow” back-to-back with “Candle In The Wind.” Before we get into the tracklisting, here’s the official line on the album:

Time to Say Goodbye is a double album packed full of 40 timeless classics for moments of reflection. This stunning compilation features all-time classics including “Con Te Partiro (Time To Say Goodbye)”, “Over The Rainbow”, ‘Angel”, “Hallelujah”, “Amazing Grace” and many more. Time to Say Goodbye is the ultimate collection of songs for relaxing to.

When you say “relaxing,” press-release writer, do you mean relaxing… forever? Perhaps! Disc 1: 1. Time to Say Goodbye / Con Te Partiro – Andrea Bocelli 2. Over the Rainbow – Eva Cassidy 3. Candle in the Wind – Elton John 4. I’ll Stand By You – Girls Aloud 5. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go – Madeleine Peyroux 6. Hallelujah – Katherine Jenkins 7. Amazing Grace – Faryl Smith 8. You Are So Beautiful – Donny Osmond 9. You’ll Never Walk Alone – Lesley Garrett 10. I’ll Be There – Jackson 5 11. Send In the Clowns – All Angels 12. Abide With Me – Fron Male Voice Choir 13. All By Myself – Only Men Aloud! 14. Something Inside So Strong – Michael Ball 15. The Rose – Aled Jones 16. Fields of Gold – Triniti 17. You’re Beautiful – Marc Dillon 18. Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word – City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 19. Both Sides Now – Hayley Westenra 20. Feeling Good – Nina Simone Disc 2: 1. You Raise Me Up – Secret Garden 2. Angel – Sarah McLachlan 3. Cry Me a River – Diana Krall 4. When You Say Nothing At All – Ronan Keating 5. What a Difference a Day Made – Jamie Cullum 6. Angels Flying Too Close to the Ground – Beth Rowley 7. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – Bryn Terfel 8. Every Time We Say Goodbye – Gwyneth Herbert 9. Nessun Dorma! – Russell Watson 10. Somewhere – Connie Fisher 11. Moon River – Andrea Ross 12. Home – Shane Hampsheir 13. Going Home – Will Martin 14. Who Wants to Live Forever – Jonathan Ansell 15. He Was a Friend of Mine – Pete du Pon 16. God Only Knows – Blake 17. Come Away With Me – Melissa Elliotte 18. Old Man – Lizz Wright 19. Tears in Heaven – The Choirboys 20. What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong Perhaps most depressing about this compilation–even moreso than the fact that it’s currently the No. 43 album on the entire Amazon site–is the fact that the version of “You’re Beautiful” included within isn’t the James Blunt original, but a soundalike cover that’s appeared on another quickie compilation. Time To Say Goodbye [Amazon via Popjustice]