Artist: Various

Title: Songs For Japan

Label: Interscope

Music and good works have historically gone hand in hand for many great causes, and Songs for Japan is certainly no exception.       Featuring a slew of bold-faced names including U2, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adele, Bruno Mars and countless others, the record labels and music publishers have waived the usual royalties so the Japanese Red Cross can receive maximum funding for the rebuilding efforts after the recent earthquake and Pacific tsunami.

And while 37 songs for $10 is a fantastic bargain, especially in light of what you're supporting, loyal Top-40 fans are likely to have the bulk of the CD's contents already on their iPods. Instead of featuring deeper cuts of these artists' albums, the track list skews toward fairly recent radio hits including Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," Katy Perry's "Firework," Justin Bieber's "Pray" and Lady Antebellum's "I Run to You," for starters.

In fact, the only slightly left-of-center choices are Michael Buble's "Hold On," Sade's "By Your Side," Bon Jovi's "What Do You Got" and John Lennon's "Imagine," a particularly curious selection since I'm thinking that "imagining there's no heaven" isn't exactly the encouragement people are probably looking for in a time like this.

Really, if time wasn't an option, it would've been far more satisfying to hear a few of these artists' leftover B-sides or at least an alternate take—even if it was just acoustic— on these family tracks.

First consider the possibilities for a moment, won't you? What if the younger artists covered the more classic fare like Bob Dylan's "Shelter From the Storm," U2's "Walk On," Bruce Springsteen's "Human Touch" and REM's "Man on the Moon?" Now that could've been seriously cool.

But when there's a need like this, it's ultimately not worth quibbling over small details. If anything, people can view the music as simply a bonus for giving 10 bucks to what's certainly a worthy cause.

*This Review First Published 4/13/2011