The week Come Together was slated to originally air live from Radio City in New York, was the same week the tragic terrorist attacks fell upon our nation. The night was pushed back, yet not cancelled, since its purpose only seemed all the more significant after the attacks of September 11th. Since Lennon often spoke of changing the world through song and coming together despite our differences, that is exactly what the tribute set out to do- only slightly changing its initial focus to address and honor those who died and those who continue to live in the wake of 9/1/01.

Various artists performed fifteen of Lennon's songs to honor the memory of the incomparable musician. Amongst the musical tributes there were memorable images and spoken word intros, some of which came from footage of the man himself. To hear Lennon talk about the likes of peace, government and religion even now left me with goose bumps. Although most of the material was from well over two decades ago, its message remained as timely as ever.

When it came to covering Lennon's words and music, there seemed to be two schools of thought. On one hand you had musicians who felt that it was their duty to take the works of Lennon and mimic that as closely as possible. On the other hand, you had musicians who felt that in every good cover tune there is some originality injected to give the song a slightly personal spin. Some feel that if you are not going to change the song at all, why bother covering it? Neither camp is wrong, but both are important to understand when watching different musicians and their renditions unfold.

The show opened with Yolanda Adams and Billy Preston's near gospel rendition of "Imagine." I was surprised to hear this song as the show opener, let alone in the matter in which it was performed. Next up was Dave Matthews with one of my personal favorite Lennon tunes, "In My Life." Both of these performances took the approach of trying to make the song a little different instead of staying true to the originals.

Then came Stone Temple Pilots nearly identical to the original version of "Revolution." If the audience was any factor in determining the greats of the evening, Stone Temple Pilots would have been one of the favorites, since they got the first standing ovation, and understandably so. This was quickly followed by Alanis Morisette's "Dear Prudence," which proved to be a confusing inclusion at best. Out of all the many songs Lennon wrote, one would think something like "Dear Prudence" would have not made the cut. Alanis made the lesser-known song her own however, and those who weren't familiar with the tune, were left with a hollow feeling when attempting to recall the legend of Lennon.

The eclectic mix of Rufus Wainwright, Moby, and John's son, Sean on "Across the Universe," was the first trio cover of the evening. Anyone familiar with Rufus Wainwright's music knows that he has a unique yet steady vocal styling that managed to drown out the other musicians on both this song and "This Boy," a cover he was part of with Sean and Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, later in the evening. "Across the Universe" as done a few years ago by Fiona Apple was a much quieter and haunting tribute and it was a shame that was not the one featured in the special. When the group got together (minus Moby) later on to perform "This Boy" the results were similar. Sean Lennon did get a solo on the latter inclusion however which only had the viewers wishing he had done both songs solo all along.

Cyndi Lauper took her portion of the program to the park-- a fitting location to sing "Strawberry Fields Forever." Both Lauper and Natalie Merchant doing "Nowhere Man," delivered performances that remained truer to the man than some of the men involved in the production. "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" was performed by Latin star Marc Anthony, with not a trace of the Latin boom in his rendition. A clip also provided a bit of trivia on this tune from Lennon himself who anecdotally dispelled the myth the song was ever about drug use.

There was also special attention paid to John's relationship with his mother as illustrated through two of the songs included, "Mother" as done by Shelby Lynne and "Julia" as done by Sean Lennon. Unfortunately, a few of Lennon's greats like "Instant Karma" as done by Nelly Furtado with Dave Stewart and "Jealous Guy" as done by Lou Reed, stripped the soul of the originals and instead the left over were barely recognizable.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening was host Kevin Spacey taking center stage to not only emcee, but to perform as he belted out "Mind Games." While it was definitely weird to see Spacey's businessman persona sing his heart out, he managed to wow and win the crowd over, which justified his earning a standing ovation as well. That was followed by up and coming musician Craig David's rendition of "Come Together." A unique take, David managed to make the tune more R&B while still staying true to original and was probably the most successful at marrying the two cover tune philosophies.

Finally, Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono ended the evening thanking both the crowd and working class heroes of America. I was amazed at the fact that her English was still so shaky, but yet her message was not. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to New York City relief organizations such as The American Red Cross and the September 11th fund.

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