In 1986 The Bridge School was founded, in a bid to create a school and learning environment suitable for the teaching of children with complex communication needs. In 1986 the first Bridge School Benefit was organised; however unlike other school fundraising drives this benefit was a bit different. It was organised by music legend Neil Young and featured a few of his fellow colleagues.

25 years on and The Bridge School has evolved. The school found a permanent home, had graduations, increased their intake and spread their message around the world. Beyond these successes, there have been 25 years worth of Bridge School Benefit concerts. The release of this double album forms part of a celebration of 25 years of hard work and fantastic performances. On offer are a wide variety of artists, from old to new, crossing genres and borders. There are few other places you can find the likes of Fleet Foxes on the same record as Metallica or The Who.

One of the problems with compilations of this kind is that you are never going to please everyone. Someone who likes The Dave Matthews Band is not necessarily going to appreciate the likes of No Doubt or Sheryl Crow. However, I found myself appreciating the majority of the tracks, even the offering from Dave Matthews (I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan).

For me there are numerous highlights. Whilst it’s not a particularly new track (or new version) to me, the albums opening salvo, an acoustic ‘Born in the USA’ from Bruce Spingsteen is a delight, pulling the track away from the overt fist pumping of the original album version and bringing it back to its roots. Somewhat surprisingly I found myself loving No Doubt’s offering, an acoustic version ‘The Magic’s in the Makeup’; with Gwen Stefani’s vocal performance being the main draw card. But they are only the tip of the iceberg, there are a myriad of fantastic performances on the compilation. Given the quality on show you can imagine how hard it must have been to whittle down 25 years worth of performances to just 25 songs.

There are a few slightly obvious inclusions on the compilation, unsurprisingly Neil Young makes an appearance, once with his band Crazy Horse for an atmospheric rendition of ‘Love and Only Love’ and then once more with R.E.M on the track ‘Country Feedback’. He also turns up with past band mates Crosby, Stills and Nash for ‘Déjà Vu’. Other music legends make appearances, including a joyful rendition of ‘Get Back’ from Paul McCartney.

This compilation is well worth a look, not only does it benefit a great cause, it’s also packed full with great performances from a huge variety of musicians from old to new, from legends of decades past to the darlings of the critical community. There is arguably something for everyone, and for those that think they have heard all these songs before, this compilation offers up new interpretations and collaborations that are worth checking out.

8.5/10