The versions

"It's hard to ask contributors for irreverence on an album celebrating one of the most fascinating pop talents of recent decades. But the cumulative effect of four very respectful covers in a row from Jamila Woods, Tyson, Sudan Archives, and Seinabo Sey - each perfectly satisfying in their own right - makes you wish for the same Neneh Cherry who once rapped about "Chocolates, bananas, doughnuts, and salami/Ain't gonna fit coz you're full of baloney" (on "Heart") to break down the studio door and seed some anarchy. Full of baloney The Versions isn't. But its muted - and sometimes rather predictable - approach only occasionally gets close to capturing the erratic wonder of Neneh Cherry in full flight, a truly singular star who operates above and beyond the demands of playlist pop and, it appears, major-label tribute albums".

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"Generally (...), The Versions gets better the further away it moves from Cherry's big hits. Her daughter Tyson's take on Sassy is great, a gentle update of its Gang Starr-boosted jazzy hip-hop. The obvious highlight is Sudan Archives' Heart, the one track that improves on Cherry's own version ... Sudan Archives turns the song inside out: the rhythm is reduced to the thud of a bass drum and handclaps, her west African-influenced violin playing soars, backing vocals swoop in and out ... You would struggle to describe The Versions as anything other than a mixed bag. The weird thing is that it somehow works as a tribute to Neneh Cherry regardless of the contributions' quality: the good tracks emphasise what a fantastic songwriter she is, and the less successful ones make you feel her absence and underline her uniqueness as a performer. Either way, you leave it thinking - quite rightly - that its subject is amazing".

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"Og så til en hyldest. En vellykket én af slagsen. Mens vi venter på endnu et album fra den svenske popsanger Neneh Cherry, som endnu ikke har udsendt et lunkent værk i løbet af sin mere end 30 år lange karriere, har kollegerne fortolket udvalgte numre fra hendes bagkatalog. Ud stikker Robyns på én gang respektfulde og innovative version af gennembrudshittet 'Buffalo Stance'".

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"This new collection of Cherry-endorsed covers, remixes and duets by mostly younger artists works best when it diverts furthest from the originals, like Anohni's hauntingly soulful torch-song take on "Woman", or Seinabo Sey's dynamic Afro-jazz reworking of "Kisses On The Wind". By contarst, Robyn's "Buffalo Stance" and Sia's "Manchild" feel like superfluous, reverential, sanitised homages. That said, hearing jamila Woods cooing "you're like maggots in my brain" in her smoochy R&B reboot of "Kootchi" is a rare joy".