CD CHOICE: VARIOUS Dark Was the Night 4AD**** Charity and pop records have a bad rap. An endless parade of acts who believe they can change the world with a song means we run the other way when musos start rattling a bucket and singing a song. After all, some of us still have nightmares about We Are the World. But there are some who realise that fundraising albums don't have to ignore quality control.

Since 1989, John Carlin's Red Hot organisation has put together some 20 albums (including Red Hot & Blueand Red Hot & Country) to raise funds for and awareness about their various Aids campaigns. This time, they've turned to the indie rock community for a hand – in particular The National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner, who produced the album and persuaded a couple of dozen acts to contribute a tune.

While some inevitably fall back on the "here's one we made earlier" opt-out rather than recording a brand new tune (Arcade Fire's Leninhas been in their canon since the Russian Revolution) others use the album to spark new ideas.

New York band Dirty Projectors drew David Byrne into the studio, and their Knotty Pinehas a mesmerising sense of purpose. Elsewhere, such household names (as long as yours is a Pitchfork- reading household) as Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, Iron Wine, The National, Feist, The New Pornographers, The Decemberists, Conor Oberst, Andrew Bird and Kevin Drew play to their strengths.

But it is the acts who use the album to try out different lines that really stand out. Jose Gonzalez collaborates with The Books on a wonderful reworking of Nick Drake's Cello Song; Antony teams up with Bryce Dessner for a lovely reading of Bob Dylan's I Was Young When I Left Home; and, best of all, Sufjan Stevens heads for outer-space with Blood, which attempts to revisit his entire career in 10 mindblowing minutes. www.darkwasthenight.com

Download tracks:Sufjan Stevens, Blood; Dirty Projectors David Byrne, Knotty Pine; The Books Jose Gonzalez, Cello Song