It’s hard to pin down a standout from Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy — a collection of covers lovingly rendered by an all-star cast of Mark Mulcahy admirers — because they are, after all, the songs of Mark Mulcahy, the prodigious songwriter behind Miracle Legion and Polaris. That said most things Thom Yorke stand out, and his rendition of “All For The Best” is no exception. Yorke put a glitchy post-Eraser spin on Mucahy’s world-weary tune with the help of the occasional guitar, live bits of percussion, and the vocals of his little brother Andy. (Hearing the two harmonize on “watch my brother cutting grass outside, sitting on a porch he told me it’s a long way to go before we can rest, but it’s all for the best” is worth the listen alone.) The track’s video will have its off-line premiere at the Mulcahy benefit show at Music Hall Of Williamsburg this Saturday (as for the album, proceeds go to Mark so he can carry on writing these gems while supporting his children in the wake of his wife Melissa’s passing), but you can view it on-line today. There are no Yorkes, instead we’re walking with a modern couple in a shady then surreal Lewis Carroll world, stalked by a hobo Cheshire Cat and walking through disembodied doors to you’ll-have-to-watch-to-find-out.

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When we posted the tracklist and background information for Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy, we hadn’t heard anybody’s contributions. As we said then, the compilation’s 21-track lineup is impressive, the reason behind it — the sudden death of Mulcahy’s wife Melissa (pictured), leaving him to raise his three-year old twins alone — heartbreaking. Now, going beyond the names next to the contributions, we can report that the opening track, Thom Yorke’s percussive, electro-tinged cover of Miracle Legion’s “All For The Best,” is also impressive. He didn’t mail it in, making it his own, while retaining the spirit of the original. As a result, fans of Radiohead, Miracle Legion, and Mulcahy should equally enjoy.

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The compilation has an impressive lineup, but the circumstances around it are heartbreaking: Almost a year after his wife Melissa died suddenly, 21 artists have contributed exclusive tracks to Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy to help the former Miracle Legion front man continue making music while he raises his three-year old twin daughters. If you don’t remember that classic longstanding New Haven (and, early on, Rough Trade-associated) rock band, you might recall Mulcahy from his other group Polaris, who served as the house band on The Adventures of Pete & Pete. Since then, he’s released three solo albums under his own name — the last full-length was 2005′s In Pursuit Of Your Happiness. Anyhow, even if he’s new to you, he’s clearly written a number of songs that mean something to a number of people, as you’ll see via the collection’s tracklist.

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