Reviews of "Rave On"

Rave On is the newly released Buddy Holly tribute album that features Paul's raucous cover of "It's So Easy." Below are two takes on it.

From New York Daily News:
Two oldsters do wonders by bringing in surprising references to their own pasts.

Softie Paul McCartney stretches himself by reviving his distorted voice from "Birthday" for "It's So Easy," while rocking the track with far more Jerry Lee Lewis madness than Buddy Holly reserve. He even channels Wolfman Jack in a wild spoken coda.

Lou Reed goes even further with "Peggy Sue," bringing back the violins from "Heroin" to add grit and abstraction to a formerly innocent ditty.

From Pitchfork:
The departures from the originals are generally more entertaining than the straight readings. Lou Reed, an under-appreciated humorist, sings "Peggy Sue" with the aimless intensity of a very drunk person grinding through karaoke. "It's So Easy"-- a song Holly originally sang with a gee-whiz kind of tone-- is turned into a noisy blues about how hard it is to control yourself when you're horny. Happily, comfortingly, it is sung by Paul McCartney, the only Beatle funny enough to write a song about his sheepdog