VA - The Original Whisper, Acoustic Anthology (A Butterboy Compilation) (6 x CDs)

ACOUSTIC ROCK

VA - The Original Whisper, Acoustic Anthology (A Butterboy Compilation) (6 x CDs)

What happens when rock anthems, indie classics, and alternative treasures are stripped back to their marrow; when distortion gives way to wood and wire, and studio polish makes room for breath, creak, and soul? The Original Whisper answers with quiet power.

This compilation gathers One Hundred and Twenty acoustic renditions performed by the original artists themselves. Far from mere unplugged novelties, these versions act as sonic memoirs, intimate reinventions that reconnect each song to its emotional source. Whether it’s Def Leppard’s electrified landmark like “Pour Some Sugar On Me” pulsing with strings and vulnerability, Coldplay’s “Yellow” laid bare in a BBC session, or Nick Cave’s “The Mercy Seat” reduced to a hushed confessional, every track is a rediscovery.

What binds these performances isn’t genre but intent. Artists like R.E.M., Paul Young, and Jet revisit their compositions not to recreate, but to re-feel. 

There are rare demos, radio sessions, and stripped-down live cuts, from Lou Reed, John Lennon, Frank Zappa with Shuggie Otis and Jimi Hendrix, that grant us front-row seats to their songwriting soul. This sonic journey spread through five decades flows like a whispered conversation between artist and listener through the intimate thread of acoustic storytelling. It's not about chart positions or fanfare, it’s about resonance, the crisp slide of fingers on strings, the cracks in voices, the pauses that say as much as the lyrics.

What makes this compilation quietly electrifying is its sense of rediscovery, not just of songs, but of the artists behind them. These versions peel back the armor, revealing the pulse beneath the production. The voice falters just slightly, the guitar breathes between chords, and suddenly a familiar anthem becomes an intimate admission. For listeners, it's like stepping into the rehearsal room rather than the stadium, each track laced with a kind of unguarded immediacy that's rarely captured on tape. This isn’t nostalgia, its memory made audible.

Perfect for twilight drives, Sunday mornings, or moments when loudness gets in the way of meaning, The Original Whisper reminds us that even the most anthemic songs begin as a voice and a feeling. This is music reborn not retouched but revealed. (B)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar on Me 5:26 2023

02 Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know 4:39 2013

03 Wonder Stuff - Maybe 3:36 2000

04 Terry Hall - Love to See You Again 4:04 1997

05 Jet - Look What You've Done 3:55 2004

06 Foreigner - Feels Like the First Time 3:11 2011

07 Immaculate Fools - Immaculate Fools 2:33 1985

08 Richard Ashcroft - Bitter Sweet Symphony 9:07 1997

09 Liam Gallagher - Cast No Shadow 4:40 2000

10 Nirvana - All Apologies 3:25 1994

11 Richard Clapton - Blue Bay Blues 5:01 2006

12 Glenn Shorrock - Cool Change 4:29 2007

13 U2 - A Man and A Woman 4:27 2005

14 Paul Young - Wherever I Lay My Hat 3:42 1994

15 Yardbirds - White Summer 3:54 1967

16 Tommy Bolin - Wild Dogs 4:48 2013

17 Blue Aeroplanes - World View Blue 1:56 1990

18 Ash - Race The Night 4:01 2024

19 Dream Academy - The Party 3:33 2024

20 Frank Zappa and Shuggie Otis - Rare Acoustic Jam, 1970 (Frank Zappa & Shuggie Otis live in studio) 8:31 1970

CD2

21 John Lennon - Watching The Wheels (Demo) 3:03 2004

22 Julian Lennon - Saltwater 3:24 1991

23 Church - Under The Milky Way 4:05 1991

24 Cult - Heart of Soul 4:32 1992

25 Paul McCartney - Every Night 3:18 2002

26 Golden Earring - Going to The Run 4:01 1997

27 Coral - Sandhills 3:16 2010

28 Del Amitri - I Won't Take the Blame 3:40 1992

29 Verve Pipe - The Freshman 4:29 1997

30 Ian McCulloch - Proud to Fall 4:44 1992

31 Wolfmother - Sundial 3:53 2009

32 Shins - Simple Song 4:00 2012

33 Manic Street Preachers - Send Away The Tigers 2:29 2007

34 Bon Jovi - Its My Life 3:44 2003

35 Lilac Time - If the Stars Shine Tonight 4:18 1989

36 Alarm - Howling Wind 4:18 2018

37 Cotton Mather - Private Ruth 2:30 2012

38 Alice Cooper - Teenage Lament '74 3:06 2024

39 Savage Garden - I Want You 2:48 2000

40 3 Doors Down - Here Without You 3:53 2004

CD3

41 Terry Hall - Ballad of A Landlord 3:48 1997

42 Simple Minds - Waterfront 5:15 2016

43 Church - Antenna 3:46 1988

44 Blind Melon - No Rain 4:37 1993

45 INXS - Never Tear Us Apart 2:33 1988

46 R.E.M. - Losing My Religion 4:24 2002

47 Nirvana - Opinion 1:35 1990

48 Muse - Muscle Museum 4:46 1999

49 Colin Hay - Down Under 3:33 2003

50 Beach Boys - Sufer Girl 2:20 2012

51 Liquorsmiths - Monster in Me 2:42 2015

52 Billy Bragg - Like Soldiers Do 3:42 2008

53 Train - Meet Virginia 4:03 2002

54 Bap Kennedy - Jimmy Sanchez 4:43 2013

55 Def Leppard - Two Steps Behind 4:16 1993

56 Editors - Nothing 5:32 2013

57 Jebediah - Harpoon 4:29 2005

58 Blur - Beetlebum 4:33 2012

59 Seven Mary Three - Cumbersome 3:55 1995

60 Supergrass - Caught By The Fuzz 3:00 1994

CD4

61 Moody Blues - Nights in White Satin 3:08 1991

62 Jethro Tull - Life is A Long Song 3:32 2002

63 John Mellencamp - Pink Houses 3:44 1984

64 Simple Minds - Promised You A Miracle 4:34 2016

65 Paul Kelly - Somewhere in The City 3:12 2001

66 Colin Hay - Overkill 3:47 2003

67 Duran Duran - Ordinary World 5:08 1993

68 Guns N' Roses - November Rain 5:00 1986

69 Heart - Dog & Butterfly 4:57 2012

70 Collective Soul - She Said 4:43 2005

71 Electrafixion - Sister Pain 4:14 1996

72 Voice of The Beehive - Perfect Place 3:30 2025

73 Black Stone Cherry - Peace is Free 3:58 2025

74 Ted Hawkins - Watch Your Step 2:15 1982

75 Magic Numbers - Take a Chance 4:08 2006

76 Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train Comin' 3:05 1973

77 Jimmy Barnes - Working Class Man 4:00 1993

78 Ocean Colour Scene - The Day We Caught The Train 3:22 1996

79 Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus 3:27 1989

80 Codeine - Pea 3:34 2012

CD5

81 Beautiful South - Perfect 10 2:51 1998

82 Crowded House - Weather With You 2:59 1992

83 Prefab Sprout - When Love Breaks Down 4:22 2007

84 Terry Hall - Misty Water 3:56 1997

85 Nada Surf - Waiting for Something 3:37 2012

86 Prince - Welcome to The Dawn 2:08 1998

87 Chris Cornell - Black Hole Sun 4:16 1994

88 Shawn Mullins - Lullaby 5:05 1999

89 Toby Lightman - Real Love 2:54 2021

90 John Farnham - You're the Voice 3:58 2011

91 Pete Townsend - Won't Get Fooled Again 5:04 1979

92 Cranberries - Zombie 4:01 2017

93 Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat 3:45 1990

94 Elton John - Candle in The Wind 3:53 2003

95 Lou Reed - Perfect Day (Demo) 3:21 1971

96 Tasmin Archer - Sleeping Satellite 3:20 1992

97 Sophie B. Hawkins - Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover 4:40 1998

98 Move - Flowers in The Rain 2:34 2017

99 Rolling Stones - Wild Horses 5:47 1971

100 Bob Dylan - Desolation Row 8:00 1995

CD6

101 Beach Boys - In My Room 2:15 2012

102 Cyndi Lauper - True Colors 4:10 2005

103 Birdy - Wings 3:42 2013

104 Evan and Jaron - Crazy for This Girl 3:19 2000

105 10cc - I'm Not in Love 3:30 1995

106 Amy Winehouse - Valerie 3:52 2007

107 Coldplay - Yellow 4:16 2000

108 R.E.M. - Gardening at Night 3:53 2014

109 Vance Joy - Fire and the Flood 3:42 2016

110 Anastacia - Cowboys & Kisses 3:59 2001

111 Seal - Crazy 4:05 1990

112 Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget About Me) 5:14 2016

113 Biffy Clyro - Mountains 3:47 2008

114 Goo Goo Dolls - Iris 5:19 1995

115 Alanis Morissette - Hand in My Pocket 4:30 2005

116 Gabrielle - Rise 3:53 1999

117 Duffy - Mercy 3:34 2008

118 Cribs - I've Tried Everything 3:10 2022

119 La's - There She Goes 2:31 1991

120 Talking Heads - Psycho Killer 4:17 1977

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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