Review: Violent Femmes - Crazy

Label: The Secret of Life Records

Released: June 24, 2008

The Violent Femmes return the favor to Gnarls Barkley (who covered "Gone Daddy Gone" on 2006's St Elsewhere) with this EP containing a cover of "Crazy." The trouble with Gnarls Barkley's offering was that it left the song entirely too intact. It sounds fine, but simply does too little to be truly interesting. "Crazy," on the other hand, gets a much larger injection of the Femmes wildly imperfect version of American roots music.

Gordon Gano's voice leaves an indelible mark on everything he touches and this is no exception. The a cappella version (which is really just the vocal track, not a vocal-only arrangement as I had vainly hoped) shows Gano's weaknesses as a vocalist, but as always, those weaknesses are strengths within the Femmes.

The loose sloppiness of the Femmes is certainly a departure from the technically superior Gnarls Barkley version, but even here it would have been nice had they taken it a bit further and really gone out on a limb to create something that has greater standalone value. Nonetheless, theirs is a version worth hearing and the "you cover my song, I'll cover yours" relationship makes this a great novelty (as does the limited edition, beautiful baby blue vinyl!).

Oh yeah, don't be put off if you don't have a turntable, because the fine folks at the label throw in a CD as well.

Ratings
Satriani: 6/10
Zappa: 7/10
Dylan: 8/10
Aretha: 7/10
Overall: 7/10

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If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Review: Queensryche - Take Cover

Label: Rhino

Released: November 13, 2007

A cover here and there isn't a bad thing and often playing covers helps a band know itself. But there's a big difference between the occasional cover that pops up on an album or a live set and releasing a whole album of someone else's songs. This trend, similar to the current trend of Hollywood remakes, made me fear for the creative future of rock n roll until I realized that the bands making these albums are generally those whose creative force have either never been strong or are so far in the past that they may just as well not have existed. While most who can take honest stock of Queensryche today would argue that they are the latter, I tend to think of them as a band who was, despite a good deal of technical prowess, not all that interesting in the first place.

Needless to say, I didn't expect Take Cover to be very compelling and it wasn't. The covers on this album range from uninteresting to unlistenable. Of all the tracks, I suspected a band as emotionally crippled as Queensryche had the best shot at success with the deliberate coldness of Pink Floyd's "Welcome to the Machine." Instead of allowing their weaknesses to work as a strength, they feebly attempt to make it emotional. Of course, they fail, but success wouldn't have been much better. It's as if they never understood the song in the first place.

When I saw "For What It's Worth" on the track list, I was surprised, but Queensryche did kind of fancy themselves social commentators. Unlike Buffalo Springfield though, they failed to recognize that love is a big part of social protest and their cover doesn't have a drop of it. In most cases, I'm pleased when a band tries to add their own flair to the interpretation, but there's one caveat: the change has to work. This one doesn't. A band with all the political import of the Candyskins was able to move me more with their lite jangle pop version.

They go on to rob "For the Love of Money" of its groove (it's sad when you're outdone by the Bullet Boys), "Innuendo" of its power (Geoff Tate is a sad excuse for Freddie Mercury and he's closer than any of his band mates are to their counterparts in Queen), "Synchronicity II" of its urgency (did they read that one right off of the sheet music?) and "Red Rain" of its poignancy (I didn't think it was possible not to be moved by that song). I don't think I can even bring myself to talk about their misdeeds on "Bullet the Blue Sky," but it certainly would have been bad enough without extending it past 10 minutes. Were they being serious with that one or was it supposed to be funny? Even though I couldn't bring myself to laugh, I hope comedy was their goal.

The bottom line is that a good cover should do more than just a reinterpret the music. It should show an understanding and, more importantly, a love for the song. Either Queensryche doesn't love the songs on Take Cover or they are completely incapable of conveying their love. Either way, this album is a failure even among all the failures that make up this sad new convention practiced by bands that are desperately trying to show their relevance.

Rating: 1/10

Cool cover of Pink Floyd's "Bike"

I found this link in a comment over at Imagine Echoes. A band called Mason Proper covered Pink Floyd's cult classic "Bike." Whether you love or hate the cover, it does do everything that a cover should. It's true enough to the original that the song is recognizable, yet the band clearly stamps it as their own. You can download the mp3 here.

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Review: Various Artists - Mystic Radio Presents Covers

Label: Mystic Records

Released: 1985

Punk covers albums are a dime a dozen these days, but back in 1985 this album was a pretty good novelty. Twenty mostly fine efforts were committed to vinyl under the tag line, "Our favorite bands mutilate your favorite songs." How true that was.

Some of the covers are typical choices and some are more obscure. Some of the bands are still remembered and others largely forgotten. There are a few real oddities like Governemnt Issue covering the Seeds' "Wild Blood," Stukas Over Bedrock turning Pink Floyd's "Careful With That Axe Eugene" really crazy and Love Canal's wild ride doing the Eyes' "Don't Talk." A few others don't really matter. Scared Straight would have done well to do something other than just speed up "Born to Be Wild" and Don't No chose "Earache My Eye" which probably can't be anything but generic. But for every one of these misses, there are several that the bands really nail. The Idiot Pills rip through the Runaways classic "Cherry Bomb." Acid Head not only turn "Love Child" from Motown to punk rock, but also finish it off by tacking on the end of "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" just for good measure. The Membranes keep some of the funkiness of "Super Freak" while infusing it with plenty of punk energy. Ill Repute tear "Taking Care of Business" to shreds. NOFX doesn't abandon Black Sabbath entirely to put their signature on "Iron Man." Even SWA's "100 Bottles of Beer" and Plainwrap's version of the Disney song "It's a Small World" are a lot of fun.

This good time comp from Mystic Records may not be essential, but it's a precursor to what has now become an exhausted punk trend. Not only did it come first, it's also much better than any other collection of punk covers I've heard to this day.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Bryan Ferry - Dylanesque

Label: Virgin

Released: June 26, 2007

One would think that an accomplished artist who dedicates an entire album to covering another single artist must be both enamored and well-versed in his or her subject. An all-Dylan Bryan Ferry release might sound a bit odd considering that Dylan speaks to our hearts in warm, organic imperfections while Ferry speaks in cold, precise formulas. Still, it at least piques some interest. How will someone like Ferry put himself into Dylan's songs without stripping them of Dylan? How will Ferry show his love and understanding of these songs?

From the opener, "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," it becomes clear that Ferry isn't up to the challenge. He fails to capture anything remotely reminiscent of Bob Dylan. Even the short studio time (the album was recorded in a week) doesn't loosen things up. He largely takes the music as it would appear in a songbook and plays it in his own adult pop style. It has no life, no passion, no point. When Ferry takes on the 60s protest anthem "The Times They Are A-Changin'," he shows only that the times have indeed changed, but not for the better. There is no sense of anything other than status quo in a song that should, with little effort, drip with revolutionary spirit. But even in these fragile times, Ferry can't muster anything that would stir anyone's pot on a social level (although I must say it stirs my pot a bit that he expects anyone to pay money for this album).

Dylanesque also includes two Dylan songs that were successfully covered by others, a bad choice for Ferry when he's already struggling to create credible covers for himself. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a far cry from Dylan's original and Guns n Roses 1991 cover. As if that weren't sad enough, he also chooses "All Along the Watchtower." While it isn't as bad as a lot of the album, it strives more for Hendrix's definitive version than Dylan's. Even with guitar help from Robin Trower, Ferry's is an utter failure next to Hendrix.

Only once over the course of 11 tracks does Ferry come anywhere close to pulling off what he's attempted. "Positively 4th Street" is a fine, though non-essential, track where Ferry hasn't removed all semblance of Dylan's soul. It certainly doesn't make the album worth buying, but instead raises the question as to why the whole album couldn't have at least hit this mediocre bar.

One would think that Bryan Ferry must be both enamored and well-versed in Bob Dylan's work to have even attempted Dylanesque, but it doesn't take long to start wondering why Ferry would bother, because he surely neither loves nor knows Bob Dylan.

Rating: 2/10

Like a cover...but different

Sometimes two people collaborate on a song and record it with their respective bands. Usually, one is far more successful than the other. These don't qualify as covers since the songwriters are the performers in both cases. They're just collaborations that were recorded apart rather than together. Off the top of my head, I can think of three:

"China Girl" by David Bowie and Iggy Pop

Like the rest of Iggy Pop's The Idiot, "China Girl" was co-written with David Bowie. While Bowie's version on 1983's Let's Dance is far better known, Iggy's was released six years earlier. Iggy's version has more raw energy and conveys a bit more madness, but has a vibraphone part that's a little out of place. Bowie's version taps into the Asian angle and his voice is superior, but it's a bit slick and the production is somewhat dated. Both version are very good and my preference would probably change with my mood.

"Our Lips are Sealed" by Jane Wiedlin and Terry Hall

This was a hit off of the Go-Gos 1981 album, Beauty and the Beat, but didn't make Fun Boy Three's self-titled debut the next year. Instead, FB3 included it on 1983's Waiting. The well-known Go-Gos version is an upbeat pop song with bit of edge that they retained from their early days in the LA punk scene. FB3 on the other hand turned this into a melancholy affair (with backing vocals from Wiedlin for contrast). I prefer the Go-Gos version, because I really love their first album, but FB3 certainly made a worthwhile recording of it as well. It works out well that the two versions are so different.

"Because the Night" by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith

Patti Smith's version on 1978's Easter is better known, but Springsteen only recorded this for the Live 1975-1985 box set. Smith isn't my favorite singer and I still view her as a bit overrated. However, her version is passionate and compelling. Springsteen's version is more raw (obviously since it's live). His voice isn't that great anyway, but he also manages to convey passion. Still, it may be best that he left the song in Smith's hands to record the definitive version.

Can you think of any other songs where the songwriters recorded separate versions?

Covers

Metal Mark had a post about covers and Jeff had one about tribute albums, so I thought I'd get in on the act and post a list of some of my favorite covers.

• Slayer - "In-a-gadda-da-vida" - Slayer does an amazing job with this Iron Butterfly classic. They trim it down to a manageable length and turn it from trippy to brutal. This is probably my favorite cover of all time.


• Clash - "Pressure Drop" - The Clash often did reggae better than many reggae artists. Here they take reggae and turn it into punk by adding an edge, not just speed.


• Revolting Cocks - "Do You Think I'm Sexy" - The Revolting Cocks take Rod Stewart at his most shallow and turn it into a hard, dark song that makes me feel dirty.


• Devo - "Satisfaction" - I think "Satisfaction" is one of the worst songs ever recorded, but I really like how Devo capitalize on how cold the song really is.


• Fu Manchu - "Freedom of Choice" - This is the opposite of Devo's cover above. Fu Manchu takes the cold precision of Devo and turns it into a heavy, sludgely stoner tune.


• Blue Cheer - "Summertime Blues" - It's amazing how much a song can change over a little more than a decade. Blue Cheer takes this old Eddie Cochran rock n roller and turn up the amps!


• Dynamite Hack - "Boyz N the Hood" - Dynamite Hack was a terrible band, but they certainly nailed this cover by turning the definitive gangsta song into a sappy ballad.


• Wilson Pickett - "Hey Jude" - You'd think it'd be tough to cover a song like "Hey Jude," but Pickett's impassioned vocals and some great horns breathe an entirely different energy into this one.


• SOD - "Diamonds and Rust" - Okay, this one isn't really a cover per se, but it sure is funny!


• Evan Dando - "Skulls" - I always thought the Misfits' version was funny, because it's so melodic and the content is so nasty. Evan Dando's sacharine sweet voice adds a lot to that same effect.


• Black Flag - "Louie Louie" - This one has been covered a million times and not all of them are as happy as the Beach Boys or the Troggs, but none are as angry as Black Flag's. The additional verse changes everything.


• Mark Arm - "Masters of War" - Mark Arm gives more edge to a song whose lyrics were always harsh.


• Jimi Hendrix - "All Along the Watchtower" - It must be a great cover when it's the definitive version. This is actually one of my favorite Hendrix songs.


• Johnny Cash - "Hurt" - I never fully believe Trent Reznor. Sometimes it just seems like he's negative for the sake of being negative. Johnny Cash never suffers from this problem. His version of "Hurt" takes a well-written song and adds honesty.


• Realm - "Eleanor Rigby" - Realm was a decent though forgotten thrash band from the late 80s, but they do a great version of "Eleanor Rigby." It loses a lot of the melancholia of the original, but manages to add a different energy that makes it more interesting than simply speeding it up.


• Prong - "(Get a) Grip (on Yourself)" - I was skeptical when I first heard that Prong covered this one, but hearing it made me realize that it was the perfect song for them.


• Fear Factory - "Cars" - Fear Factory proves just how good a band they are by taking on this Gary Numan tune. It retains the cold hook of the original, but makes it heavy. This makes it so clear that they understood the song and is anohter of my all-time favorite covers.


• Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "Sweet Emotion" - The Bosstones take on Aerosmith's best song, ramp up the energy and throw in some horns!


• Yo La Tengo - "Nuclear War" - How do you improve a Sun Ra classic? Add children swearing.


• Soundgarden - "One Minute of Silence" - The idea of recording a minute of silence can only work...twice. Soundgarden's cover is almost as brilliant a novelty as John Lennon's original.


• Nouvelle Vague - "Too Drunk to Fuck" - The only way a Bossa Nova cover of the Dead Kennedys could work is if it's done by a band who understands both.


• Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Higher Ground" - The Chili Peppers pull this off with more funk than Stevie Wonder.


• Communards - "Don't Leave Me This Way" - You don't have to like dance music to love this one. If this doesn't get you fired up, check your pulse, you might be dead.


• DOA - "Takin' Care of Business" - Anarcho-punks DOA not only ramp up the energy, but add a little politics as well.


• Tim Version - "1916" - Motorhead failed to give this song a genuine, gritty, everyman appeal, but the Tim Version fixes that.


• Jane's Addiction/Ice-T - "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey" - The dueling vocals add a new dimension to this Sly and the Family Stone classic.


• Joss Stone - "Some Kind of Wonderful" - I never thought this was a great song, but Joss Stone can breathe life into anything with her rich, sensuous vocals.

Those are some of my favorite covers. What are some of your favorites?

Cover: Leviathan - My War

Black metal is not at all my thing, but I somehow stumbled upon Leviathan on Myspace. When I saw they had a song called "My War," I figured I'd at least check to see if it was the Black Flag classic. Sure enough, it was. Now, Black Flag is probably in my top ten of all time and "My War" has particular sentimental value for me (I nominated it for my class song in high school!), so it's probably a tough one to do justice to in my eyes, but I doubt Leviathan could justice to much of anything. They robbed the song of all its real anger and replaced it with a sense of "look at me, I'm crazy" that seems to permeate their whole image. I was annoyed, not scared. What crap.