CraigS - you should get into the 'scenes we'd like to see in Star Trek' thread. I'll agree that Shatner is unique, but splendid album???
The man sort of dramatises his way through everything!

I would agree that it is good to hear different versions of old favourites sometimes but there is still the enjoyment of the familiar, particularly when you go to a singaround - it's nice to be able to join in with choruses, which is diffilt to do when someone's tweeked the tune too much for it to be recognisable. I think that there's a time and a place for everything.

Sometimes it is possible to improve on the original - like Peggy Seager's version of First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, which doesn't come anywhere close to the Roberta Flack version for atmosphere and emotion.