Leonard Cohen’s tune gets another run out, with mixed results.

The tune Hallelujah is almost as synonymous in modern musical hierarchy as Stairway… or Freebird, with the Jeff Buckley cover that (arguably) gave the song its notoriety giving it a prominence for mainstream artists to see it as an easy cover – or for some artists to be accidentally put in the firing line for identically sounding song titles (see Paramore).

Gone are the instruments in this acapella version by Blake, the Internet sensations that formed over Facebook (but probably ignored each others’ Zombie requests), who have now become ambassadors for the War Widows Association of Great Britain and are using the song to raise awareness of this vital organisation.

It’s a similar move to Tori White, who fronted the campaign for the Royal British Legion on Remembrance Day last year, and it’s hard to begrudge anyone who releases a single to help out those in need. The song itself is incredibly frustrating, as the final version committed to record is an impressive feat, but there’s something nagging that just stops it from being unbeatable.

The vocal range of the quartet is never in doubt, as they give the cover song a feel of incredible spirituality and faith, whilst their tenor voices still provide an edge that is often heard at major sporting occasions.

Incidentally, this is one of Blake’s major drawbacks. It’s nearly impossible to hear past the voices that are suited for Swing Low, and in places it’s possible to envisage the quartet breaking off into a medley. Another major drawback is the orchestral version that has been recorded.

Where the acapella version provides an attention-grabbing vibe, the orchestral version provides all the joy of another Robson and Jerome album whilst hitting all of the ‘G4 rip-off’ targets.

As the stripped down version shows, why bother cheapening these guys talent when their voices show that they’re all the instrumentation they need?