We're A Happy Family: A Tribute to The Ramones

1) Havana Affair- Red Hot Chilli Peppers 2) Blitzkrieg Bop- Rob Zombie 3) I Believe in Miracles- Eddie Vedder & Zeke 4) 53rd and 3rd- Metallica 5) Beat on the Brat- U2 6) Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio?- Kiss 7) The KKK Took my Baby Away- Marilyn Manson 8) I Just Wanna Have Something to Do- Garbage 9) Outsider- Green Day 10) Something to Believe in 11) Sheena is a Punk Rocker- Rancid 12) I Just Wanna be Your Boyfriend- Peter Yorn 13) I Wanna be Sedated- The Offspring 14) Here Today, Gone Tomorrow- Rooney 15) Return of Jackie & Judy- Tom Waits [BONUS TRACKS] 16) Daytime Dilemma (Dangers of Love)- Eddie Vedder & Zeke 17) Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World- John Frusciante 

So debatably The Ramones started the punk rock genre of music. Now that I’ve started with that ‘important’ yet hackneyed opening sentence stating The Ramones importance I can talk about how much I like them. True I don’t listen to them much anymore but The Ramones really were a great band. Unique, catchy, DIY and most importantly fun as hell. And obviously completely deserving of a tribute album. But deserving of this one?

Well on the whole I’d say yes. To start with it’s filled with big named artists. Of course that’s no sign of artistic merit but hell it’s enough to give the album some relevance. However aside from that it’s fairly decent. Johnny Ramone in all his humbleness supervised it and smartly told the bands involved to do their own thing with it, because who wants to listen to a bunch of Ramones tributes that sounds like The Ramones?

So on the one hand this gives the album quite a bit of diversity. This is immediately evident with the first song which is a cover of Havana Affair by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I’m really not a fan of RHCP but this is a pretty solid cover. They go for a reggaeish tempo though it's really more laidback rock music. The guitar playing is laconic and clean but a nice crunchy riff shows up at some points. Anthony Kiedis’ vocals don’t do anything for me and the keyboard tone is pretty cheesy but hey Johnny Ramone liked it enough to put it as the first song.

On the other hand this can be a tad hindrancesome. So to get to the most negative portion of the review this, um, ‘originality’ really backfires with two tracks. I’m talking specifically about Rob Zombie’s cover of Blitzkrieg Bop and Marilyn Manson’s cover of The KKK Took my Baby Away. They appear to do their own thing with it until you remember the unoriginality of making bad music. That was cheap but I stand by it. Also I swear I went into this with an open mind, I didn’t set out to hate these. I was optimistic! Anyway in trying to put my thoughts on the Zombie song in a more concrete manner I realised maybe it would be wiser to give the visceral reaction from my notes:

“Hey it’s the Ramones most iconic song and the guy who directed the Halloween remake! So far it’s pretty unrecognisable. It barely sounds like the original riff. Oh Christ this is awful. Tuneless shouty vocals trying to sound glammy, generic hard rock guitar playing and an overall hilarious ‘tough' guy vibe. Ersatz shit. THIS IS FUCKING AWFUL. I think the guitar solo wandered over from a hair metal tribute album. Sluggish tempo, football hooligan asshole shouting the title, y’know, The Ramones! Really unpleasant and funny. Like watching a clown get run over." 

Fortunately Manson’s cover is awful in a more conventional way. Manson, having a reputation for doing serious music figures this is the best approach for covering The Ramones. Look, I’m all for artists trying to put their own visions on things, Christ I think it’s the best recipe for the potentially great tribute albums out there, but in doing so Manson completely misses the essence of The Ramones. Punk! Pop! He has slightly orchestral backing going on, plodding solemn piano playing and the vocals kind of stangle whispered in an attempt to sound…sexy? Ironically the original song- which was upbeat powerpop- manages to sound a lot more emotional due to the contrast between Joey’s tone and the happy music. It feels more honest. This feels contrived and dull.

Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam fame and a band called Zeke do two covers, one a bonus track. They're both pretty good! Especially I Believe in Miracles. The backing music is bright and catchy, the vocals are passionate and...um...why does there always have to be a second description with me? Anyway the song is basically a mixture of hard and alternative rock but it's punkish enough. Oh and there's a Kiss cover. It's good but I can't help quoting what I said to Franco when listening to it: 

"Y'know re-listening to this Kiss cover it feels almost cruel. The Ramones- a band that strived for success whilst debatably creating a new genre of music and finding no success- being covered by Kiss, a band that done nothing new, were blatant about their love of money and became filthy fucking rich" 

Ideology aside the cover is nice but pretty obnoxious. 

I've always considered- and I know I'm not alone in this- Metallica the U2 of the metal world, so it's fitting that their covers are right next to each other. Metallica cover 53^rd and 3^rd. They manage to do it pretty well in the music department, which doesn't stray too far from the original- maybe a bit heavier and less street tough- but still punkish. The problem is with the vocals, James Hetfield doesn’t make any attempt to adjust to this, sounding like he should be singing over Metallica’s typically cluttered heavy proggish metal. It's not terrible but he does sound a bit silly. Same problem with U2 really. The band actually does a somewhat convincing punk impression but Bono still sounds like he’s singing Where The Streets Have no Name. They’re both enjoyable and worthwhile covers though.

You couldn't do a Ramones tribute album without some punk band though! Of course this results in songs that sound much closer to the original versions but there's nothing particularly wrong with this. The bands I'm referring to are Green Day, Rancid and The Offspring. I would call them the Pop Punk bands except I’ve never heard Rancid described that way. This might actually make sense as their cover of Sheena is a Punk Rocker really doesn't work for me. They miss the fun of the song, it sounds unpleasant and self-serious. They’re still playing Pop Punk but with none of the levity, so it creates a potentially interesting juxtaposition, though fails. I know Rancid are Clash enthusiasts but you can’t treat The Ramones that way, which is what is seems like they’re attempting. It just seems rushed and paradoxically bombastic. The Offspring- a much more maligned band- for this reason in my opinion do a better cover (of I Wanna be Sedated), because they don’t take it so seriously and play it with the right amount of fun, so you end up feeling they greatly enjoyed playing it. It’s still not exactly a great cover and I’ve already forgotten it (their version) but it’s a nice experience while it’s on. Green Day do Outsider which I still remember! It’s a really good cover. Pretty similar to the original but much more teenagery.

I feel pretty safe in calling Tom Waits cover of Return of Jack & Judy. He takes a good but somewhat gimmicky Ramones song and does it as a Tom Waits song. Tom Waits is awesome! Bumpy percussion, bluesy growly singing, distorted meaty guitar playing and an overall rollicking and unstable atmosphere. Another great cover- and one which I didn’t initially appreciate- is Rooney’s version of Here Today, Gone Tomorrow. The singer is earnestly emotional, there’s punky rhythm guitar playing, lead guitar that sounds like it could have come from a particularly moody new wave album. The song manages to build up these great moments of catharsis but in a sweet pining way which makes it more heartfelt. It’s great bit of melancholic powerpop.

The album ends with a John Frusciante cover of Today your Love, Tomorrow the World. I've not heard any of the guys solo albums but I find this cover quite enjoyable. It's lo-fi acoustic guitar based music which sounds pretty eerie whilst retaining that patented Ramones melody. At the risk of appearing hipsterish I'm going to say I like this cover. 

So, although the album definitely has its low points and generally unmemorable points when I think about it in aggregate I’d definitely recommend it. It works stunningly well as whole and there’s even a few individually great songs to enhance it. Unfortunately it’s not on Spotify but buy (ordownload) it and you’ll have a good hours’ worth of mixed entertainment.

Woofers & Tweeters Ensemble- Beatle Barkers

1) I Want To Hold Your Hand 2) Love Me Do 3) Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da 4) We Can Work It Out 5) I Saw Her Standing There 6) I Feel Fine 7) Can't Buy Me Love 8) All My Loving 9) Day Tripper 10) She Loves You 11) A Hard Day's Night 12) Paperback Writer 

Franco 

“When I bought Pet Sounds, I expected GOD DAMN PET SOUNDS NOT THIS BAROQUE POP SHIT”

If you think about it, there’s a good chance that someone who bought that highly acclaimed Beach Boy’s album had actually hoped for it be a collection of pet Sounds, and in turn, was disappointed by the results of the actual album.

Well, no fear, because this Beatles tribute album with actual pet sounds on it should provide closure to their needs

Like, I’m serious. The main melody of each song is replaced with dogs barking, sheep baaing, chickens clucking, cats meowing, so on and so forth. Sounds like a crazy idea, but does it work?

…

BUT DOES IT WORK?

This is probably the stupidest album I’ve ever heard in my life. The first two minutes of the album, I was crying of laughter. By the end, I was crying in despair. Why…why would anyone make this? What was the end goal? Like seriously, someone actually put thought and effort into this, and actually wanted it to be released to the world. Why? As a joke? Just for the fun of it? I don’t know. I really don’t know. And it’s gotten into my head. The only reason I listened to this all the way was to check my endurance, but alas I don’t feel too good after listening to it.

I mean, even with animal noises being the style of this album, it still sucks. There is no timing in this album, and it sounds like they are just randomly pressing buttons on a keyboard.

Oh god. Why am I still reviewing this? My head hurts. I feel sick. All that I feel is guilt. Why did I listen to this? Why did I think this would be a good idea to review?

Man…

The problem with this album is that…oh geez, how am I supposed to review this? I mean, all that this album comprises of is the backing tracks to Beatle songs, with there being animal sounds piled on top, somewhat arranged to the form the melody. That’s it. That’s all there is. For 2 minutes, it’s hilarious and amusing, for 29 minutes, it’s the equivalent of having a hammer hit on your head repeatedly, over and over and over again. If that’s the type of music you like, then this should be 10/10. If not, then that’s one way to know that you aren’t insane.

Anyways, I don’t know what else to say. I’m done.

Jonathan

I’m writing this review before finishing the album. That should tell you what type of album it is. It’s the Beatles with dog sounds for 29 minutes. Not just dogs! Sheep, chickens, cats! Maybe they’re trying to make some statement on how animals started the music and we pesky humans stole it. Maybe they’re just nuts. Franco just pointed out someone put thought and effort into this.

Man…………….

Anyway The Beatles with dogs and other animals doing the vocals! Sounds hilarious. No it doesn’t you fuckhead this is the sound of insanity. This is one of the most painful things I’ve ever heard. The backing tracks sound dull and synthesized in places. The ‘vocals’ are definitely synthesized. They try to make them follow the vocal melodies but it sounds like a cacophony of cacophonies of animals. If ever a good case for abattoirs was made it was here. I want to eat a dog.

Every copy of this album should be hunted down and destroyed.

I used to love The Beatles. Now I love nothing.

For every album there should be a cover album like this, to remind us why we like music. 

I mean I thought it would be good for a laugh, worth listening once. This isn’t a review it’s a warning. STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM THIS ALBUM. 

Listen to this album!: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yo-XqDzGuY

The Reggae Tribute To Pink Floyd

1) Us and Them - Hurtin' Buckaroos 2) Take Up Thy Stethoscope & Walk - JMJ Band 3) Echoes - Hurtin' Buckaroos 4) Careful With That Axe, Eugene - JMJ Band 5) Run Like Hell - Glimmerglass Reggae Ensemble 6) Mother - Stu 7) Interstellar Overdrive - JMJ Band 8) Hey You - Hurtin' Buckaroos 9) Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2 - Stu 10) Pink Skazmer - Joe Ferry

Pink Floyd and reggae…not exactly a match made in a heaven, right? I mean, Pink Floyd are depressing, pessimistic, and really dark at times, while reggae is upbeat, catchy, and quite often optimistic and fun to listen to. So you would think that a tribute album combing the two would just crash right into The Wall of Failure (no pun intended). However, this record does…somewhat prove otherwise, in that the end results are quite pleasant and cohesive, though nothing really more.

What’s most interesting about this album is that they actually succeed at making Floyd’s music actually sound happy. I guess, when it came down to it, part of Pink Floyd's widespread appeal was their fairly comfortable and melodic music on top of their depressing and thought provoking lyrics. Not only that, but their music was smooth, polished, and highly well produced, with not a single bit of rawness to be found in their 1973-1994 period. So, as a result, there is a reason why so many “smooth jazz” and “chill-out” tributes to Pink Floyd’s music exist, because their music WAS smooth and chill to begin with, and since those two adjective seem to describe the music of reggae pretty well, making Floyd’s music into the genre is not entirely as far-reached as it may seem.

Enough of that, let’s get on to the album. Is it any good? Well, it’s not entirely bland, and even though multiple artists collaborate on this album, it still nevertheless feels like one collective whole, while each song does sound different from the last. The overall approach, I would say, is nothing at all like Pink Floyd. In this tribute album, that dark weight Floyd often carried around with them is brighten up by like 80 percent, to the point where it becomes seriously lightweight music, with the sound being filled with saxophones and horn sections, clean electric guitars, funky organs, and those clunky reggae rhythm guitars. Basically, this results in the music sounding like it's from the tropics of the Caribbean, or the shores of the California coast. Or from a night club at Las Vegas. Or maybe somewhere in Atlantic City,

Luckily, it's not quite a utter failure, because there is a bit of creativity to this. First off, I should make a point that the guitars on this album are delicious, and probably are what make the album halfway decent. If there is one element of Floyd that is kept intact on this album, it’s the Gilmour-esque guitar playing that fits in very beautifully. The Glimmerglass Reggae Ensemble's rendition of Run Like Hell, for example, would be horrible if the wonderful lead guitar was not taking the spotlight for the lead melody. I mean, it’s still not very good as a whole, since they slow it down and rearrange it to the point where it ceases to be anything above decent background music, but it’s so stimulating to here that wondrous, screeching, yet melodic and sensational guitar playing.

What absolutely does not work here are the two numbers by a group called “Stu”. First off, upon of examination of their career outside of this tribute album, Jonathan noted that they were not even reggae to begin with, but rather alternative rock, so there is little reason they should even be here. Second off, their renditions of Mother and Another Brick In The Wall are horrible. For Mother, they seem to kinda go for a straightforward cover, but they make it upbeat and clunky, and as a result, it just doesn't sound like they put much care or thought into the cover at all. As for Another Brick In The Wall, it also sounds more or less straightforward, with the addition of a trumpet section, but it sounds like it they just recorded the whole piece in one take, and called it a day. Plus, a pet peeve of mine: Guys, the lyrics are “LEAVE THEM KIDS ALONE”, not “LEAVE THOSE KIDS ALONE”. Aaahh, it’s a little nitpick, but it just irritates me so much.

Aside from those two misfires, the majority on here is pretty good. I think the JMJ Band's version of "Take Thy Stethoscope And Walk" is pretty weak, but it's short, and there are some cool effects and a tasty solo, so it's all cool. There's also have perfectly decent upbeat instrumental reggae renditions of "Us And Them" and "Interstellar Overdrive", respectively by The Hurtin' Buckeroos and, again, The JMJ Band, neither of them really "jams" as they follow the melody pretty strictly, but again, have very nice organ and guitar solos, and are very pleasant to listen to, so I ain't complaining.

I think, though, the real taker for my favorite track is the Hurtin' Buckeroos rendition of Echoes. Hell no, it does at all compare to the gargantuan 20 minute masterpiece that is the original track, but condensed into a three minute pop song, I like it quite a bit, as the slow melodic sections seem to make for a pretty great reggae tune. Not only that, but just like on all the other tracks, the guitars on this rendition are extremely scrumptious, and just overall I feel only positive emotions towards this cover.

The Hurtin' Buckaroos appear for a third time with a version of Hey You, which is probably the worst song on here that's not covered by Stu. Basically, my hatred towards this cover is rooted in the fact that it sounds way too happy and "Jamaican" than it ever needed to be, and despite there being some sweet guitar playing to savage it, it's really not worth listening to. Maybe The Wall just wasn't an album made for reggae.

Finally, there are two other songs left on this album, a rendition of Careful With That Ax Engine, preformed by JMJ Band, and an original composition entitled Pink Skazmer, preformed by Joe Ferry. These pieces are interesting in that 1) Careful With That Ax Eugene is turned from a dark, spine-chilling, twisted instrumental into a laid-back, easy-listening, relaxing reggae jam, and 2) Pink Skamzer literally sounds NOTHING AT ALL like Pink Floyd, and instead sounds like generic saxophone driven reggae music. Neither of these tracks are particularly bad, and I quite enjoy Careful With That Ax Eugene, but I still find it amusing how far away these two songs are of Floyd's sound.

So, anyways, overall, I would say that this is a decent, but really unnecessary album for anyone's music collection (of course, we are still searching for a tribute album that would be essential for anyone to buy). For the most part, the album succeeds in make lightweight reggae music out of Pink Floyd’s pessimistic music, and although this style does not at all resemble Floyd, and it's not great all the way through, but it’s still a fairly pleasant listen nonetheless. I would say that if you want a really relaxing album to listen to while sunbathing and sipping martinis, or have always wondered what Pink Floyd and Reggae mixed together would sound like, then hey hey hey this album should do the trick.

Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur

1) Instant Karma- U2 2) #9 Dream- R.E.M. 3) Mother- Christina Aguilera feat. Bigelf 4) Give Peace A Chance- Aerosmith feat. Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars 5) Cold Turkey- Lenny Kravitz 6) Whatever Gets You Thru the Night- Los Lonely Boys 7) I'm Losing You- Corinne Bailey Rae 8) Gimme Some Truth- Jakob Dylan feat. Dhani Harrison 9) Oh, My Love- Jackson Browne 10) Imagine- Avril Lavigne 11) Nobody Told Me- Big & Rich 11) Jealous Guy- Youssou N'Dour 13) Working Class Hero- Green Day 14) Power to the People- The Black Eyed Peas 15) Imagine- Jack Johnson 16) Beautiful Boy- Ben Harper 17) Isolation- Snow Patrol 18) Watching the Wheels- Matisyahu 19) Grow Old with Me- The Postal Service 20) Gimme Some Truth- Jaguares 21) (Just Like) Starting Over- The Flaming Lips 22) God- Jack's Mannequin feat. Mick Fleetwood 23) Real Love- Regina Spektor 

John Lennon was a very good songwriter, we feel we can begin the review with this relatively non-controversial statement. Still there’s been a bit of a backlash against John. Not so much for his music as his personality. This definitely isn’t wrong, for ages John was celebrated as an example of a pure human being whereas in reality he was a wife beater who once bet a guy up for insinuating he might be gay (due to a holiday with Beatles manager Brian Epstein). However we think it’s also fair to say that rather than being un unrepentant asshole or a beautiful human being the truth might lie somewhere in between. This is best exemplified through the fact that throughout his life John dedicated himself to various causes. Well now with this rather lovely tribute album he’s doing it from beyond the grave, as- through what can hopefully be ascertained through the title- the money this album makes goes towards helping relief for the crisis in Darfur.

Anyway enough rambling and on with the review!

1.       U2- Instant Karma

Jonathan: The album gets off to a very good start with this. I’ve never heard U2 sound this casual before, it almost sounds tossed off. This works in its favour though, it sounds like they could have recorded this in the studio live in one take based on their love of John Lennon and The Beatles. Bono’s singing isn’t even that smug and The Edge plays the riff in a really laidback and melodic way. The whole song is catchy and fun. 7/10

Franco: Ayyy, I gotta agree with Mr. Jonathan on this one! He mentioned to me that this actually sounds more in line with their material on Boy than anything else they’ve recently done before, in that it lacks pretension and preachiness. It just sounds like the men chilling back and having some fun, and yet they still maintain the bounciness and catchiness of the original song. Maybe they should do a cover album…on the second thought, maybe not. 7/10

2.       R.E.M.- #9 Dream

Jonathan: Hooray! R.E.M. According to the Allmusic review Bill Berry came back for this. Hooray! Anyway this is really good, it captures the dreamy quality of the song without being as ethereal, though there are some spacy guitar lines and synths. Michael’s vocals are similarly great, he sings it with the perfect amount of feeling in that inimitable Michael Stipe way. It really manages to retain the essence of John Lennon whilst sounding R.E.Mish so it’s the closest we’ll get to a John Lennon/R.E.M. collaboration. 9/10

Franco: I love R.E.M, and lord oh lord, do they do a fine and dandy cover of this awesome track. Like, it feels like a successful mixture of the twingy college rock of their early period, and the spacey alternative rock of their later period. And like Jonathan said, they not only add their own distinct element, but they also keep true to the heart of the song, so it’s just as great as the original! Honestly, every element that R.E.M. adds to this piece falls in place perfectly, to the point where I feel they were meant to cover this song from the beginning of their career. 10/10

3.       Christina Aguilera featuring Bigelf- Mother

Jonathan: The drumming is really prominent in this and the fact that there’s no other vocalist makes it likely that Bigelf is the drummer. If you think I’m looking it up for conformation you’re fucking wrong. Okay I looked it up and apparently they’re a band. Whatever. Anyway this is a pretty good cover. The music is solid and Christina gives a good soulful vocal performance. The problem is that the original song is one of the most cathartic songs ever written and when you think of it whilst listening to this it becomes a bit disappointing. Aguilera actually does manage to sing it with conviction but it’s still not particularly emotional. Especially the end screaming which kind of sounds like generic R&B wailing. Still it’s enjoyable enough. 6/10

Franco: Hmm…Jonathan more or less summed up my exact thoughts of the song as well. I mean, Christina doesn’t really RUIN the song, but she does FAR FAR FAR FAR from improve. And yes, what irked me the most was the lack of the passion during the “Momma don’t goooo!” part. When John sang it, he was screaming it at the top of his lungs. When Christina sings it, it just doesn’t sound emotional at all. She just sounds like she is doing it as natural and normal as possible. I mean, to be fair, if she had tried to scream it…oh god, it would probably be worse. However, I just longed for more out of this. Still, it was decent enough. 5/10

4.       Aerosmith feauturing Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars- Give Peace a Chance

Jonathan: If you allow me to use a trite simile so far this album has been like a family reunion, one that’s been going surprisingly well. Then your grandfather shows up. Who’s a convicted child molester. I’m not saying Aerosmith are child molesters but I am saying this is an awful cover. It doesn’t sound like a nauseating power ballad but an evil cod reggae piece. It tries to be goofy but it lacks self-awareness so it’s the equivalent to watching a prop comic flail around and turning to your friends in discomfort, knowing the comic probably goes home, reads Samuel Beckett and cries himself to sleep. Anyway 1/10.

Franco: Oh Jonathan…you’ll hate me for this. This is growing on me. Before, I was quick to jump aboard the hate train, but listening to again, it’s kinda fun. I mean, it’s not good per se, but it’s a silly reggae romp. I mean, the original song was silly as well wasn’t it? With that being said, I totally understand Jonathan’s comments, because it feels annoying in a way that’s equivalent to someone constantly poking your face, even after you’ve told them to stop a million times. So yeah, to refer back to Jonathan’s simile, I would say this is more like the annoying little cousin, who you know is immature and doesn’t know any better, but at the same time you just want him to shut the fuck up. 4/10

5.       Lenny Kravitz- Cold Turkey- This is better than Aersosmith in that it’s actually listenable and doesn’t inspire paedophile comparisons but it still doesn’t change the fact that Lenny Kravitz has turned a previously harrowing song about heroin addiction into a funk fuck song. Goddamnit this song isn’t supposed to be sexy. It’s still kind of catchy and though it retains the melody of the song Kravitz still turns it into a song he’d have written. I assume. 4/10 because there’s some cool synth playing that I like.

Franco: Oh god this sounds like porn music. Like, I think my problem with this is that it sounds like Lenny Kravitz is trying to make this sound sexy, but ya know…it’s a song about heroin addiction. Either way, even if he wasn’t actually trying to make it sensual, it still sounds like bland funk trite. Ahh, I hate this. 1/10

6.       Los Lonely Boys- Whatever Gets you Thru the Night

Jonathan: I actually like this a lot more since the first time I listened to it. It’s another kind of funk song but obviously it works a lot better. The vocals are infectious and lovely. There’s some really nice lead and rhythm guitar playing. The rhythm playing is scratchy and the lead playing is full sounding and passionate. It’s a lot of fun. It’s still not particularly great or anything but it makes me want to dance so well done. 6/10

Franco: Ha. What do you know? Jonathan said this grew on him, while I am going to say that this grew off me. It’s not as bad as Kravitz cover, but it’s still REALLY bland. Like, I just don’t feel anything out of this. It just sounds kinda like funk, but it also feels like southern, country music as well. Whatever. I mean, it doesn’t really offend me, so I can’t be too harsh on it, but still, plastic soul, man, plastic soul. 3/10

7.       Corinne Bailey Rae- I’m Losing You

Jonathan: This one sounds like it was recorded live but I’m not sure if that’s some goofy effect to make it ‘authentic’. This is a really good cover though. It’s primarily based on sexy electric piano playing and sultry, emotional vocalising. It actually manages to convey the urgency of the original whilst being considerably looser. Mainly due to the amazing vocal performance which is full of conviction whilst still sounding like an R&B vocal performance, though more Motown than contemporary.  Admittedly due to the sparse instrumentation it can sound monotonous at times but if you give yourself into it it’s damn hypnotic. 8/10

Franco: I like this better than the first time I heard this. I mean, this girl can not only sing, but she can put PASSION in her voice. And yeah, all that there is to this song is an electric piano and her piano, although a tambourine drops in during the instrumental break, but never the less the sparseness brings more emphasis on her voice and how she presents the song. If this had performed by someone with less vocal resonance, it probably wouldn’t have been very good at all, but luckily Corinne does have that talent, so this turns out to pretty alright. Still, I really do wish for more to happen in the arrangement. Blame it on my ADHD. 7/10

8.       Jakob Dylan featuring Dhani Harrison- Gimme Some Truth

Jonathan: Hey everybody it’s Bob Dylan’s son with guitar playing from George Harrison’s son! Now that I’ve put them in their place by reminding them of their more talented parents I can compliment them on what a good performance they do here. Dhani’s guitar playing sounds Like George’s with more distortion and grit while Jakob sounds like his dad except a bit more gruff and low. Like a cross between Highway 61 Dylan and Time out of Mind Dylan. Ah enough references to their fathers, they’re both great musicians in their own right and they play with this song with the anger and frustration of the original and it sounds sincere. I hope I don’t use that word too much, John was famous for his sincerity so the success of these largely depends on how well the cover artists can pull that off. 8/10

Franco: I really like this version. I mean, I’m trying to think of different ways I can describe this, but Jonathan continues to basically sum up my thoughts. GODDAMN IT JONATHAN. Anyways, I can say that although this arrangement is different, the structure remains the same, and the heart of the song is still felt, as it still sounds as sincerely angry as it did in the original. Without a doubt, Jakob Dylan’s singing and Dhani Harrison’s guitar playing do capture the spirit of their fathers, so that makes for quite a heartfelt rendition. 8/10

9.       Jackson Browne- Oh, my Love

Jonathan: This guy sure sounds sincere. A bit too generic singersongwritery as well. Still I like this cover well enough. The piano playing is really nice and Browne is a good vocalist, if a bit tenderly bland. For all his sincerity though it does sound a bit like a performance. Almost like he’s being too sincere. Ah, whatever, this is very mellow and pretty. 7/10

Franco: I just realized how beautiful this song is. Wow…anyways, that aside, I gotta again join the side of Jonathan with this. This guy doesn’t ruin the beauty of this song, but I feel that he doesn’t really add anything to it or make it an interesting cover. Jackson Browne’s voice doesn’t really stand out to me, either. Can’t really say much more, but I’ll give it a lower rating of 6/10

10.   Avril Lavinge- Imagine

Jonathan: This cover doesn’t do anything for me at all. The piano playing sounds like it came from some studio hack and Avril Lavinge- whilst we’re still on the subject- doesn’t sing it with any sincerity at all. It sounds like she heard the song, decided she liked it and then looked up the lyrics and sung it. Without really taking the lyrics into consideration. I’m not saying it’s wrong that she probably doesn’t believe the lyrics, I like them a lot and agree with the general sentiment but they’ve been ridiculed as naïve for a reason. She sounds almost uncomfortable in places though, as if she’s thinking “this guy is fucking nuts”. Stripping away more specific criticisms though I just don’t enjoy listening to it. It just sounds so bland and timid, like a talent show version of the song. However I know Franco feels differently so maybe I’m just being a dick. All the same 3/10

Franco: Call me crazy, but I find this really resonant. I mean, Avril Lavigne does not use a strong vocal approach to this song, but you know, this song shouldn’t have that kind of vocal performance. This should be sung with a tender, soft voice, and while I have a feeling that this was not at all intentional, Avril Lavinge restrained and small-spoken approach to singing this gives it a childlike feeling to it. This is far from the most perfect cover ever to exist, and it’s not like it’s seriously improving the song or anything, but it’s a nice, though maybe untended, touch to the song, and for that, I give it an okay rating of 5/10.

11.   Big & Rich- Nobody Told Me

Jonathan: I don’t care what those assholes at Allmusic say, this is a really fun cover. There’s some crunchy guitars, soulful organ playing and laidback feel good vocals. There’s a fiddle! Pianos! They’re getting loose with it and it has a really live in the studio with a bunch of beer and your friends feel. It’s adorable! It’s rollicking and silly, goddamnit I refuse to feel guilty for loving this. Sure I’m gonna give it 7/10 but in my heart it’s more. 7/10

Franco: Weeeeee I love this! Gosh, this is just SO MUCH FUN! Man, if there is country music that sounds like this, maybe it’s not all that bad. I haven’t heard the original, so I can’t really speak for it, but gee it sounds like everyone was just having the time of their life recording this. I guess it’s more country rock than straightforward country, because this does rawk out pretty hard. But gosh almighty lord from high above, let it be known that this cover is indeed worthwhile of everyone’s attention. Amen. 8/10

12.   Youssou N’Dour- Jealous Guy

Jonathan: Listen I know next to nothing about world music so excuse me if come across as racist when I say this guy has a weird ass voice. Honestly though this cover is completely inscrutable. It’s an enigma, I don’t know how I feel about it. I don’t know whether I love it or hate it or whatever. It’s like the bitterest antitheist seeing God and rather than feeling any of his hate thinking “Hey, it’s God!” That’s this song. ???/10

Franco: I looked up some of Youssou N’Dour other work. He actually sounds pretty normal his own songs. I’m sorry, but…John Lennon probably would have found this hilarious. wat/10

13.   Green Day- Working Class Hero

Jonathan: I know Green Day have their fair share of detractors but I like them and this is a great cover. Listen to the bitterness in Billy Joe Armstrong’s voice! The original song must have really resonated with him because it sounds like he’s waited his whole life to sing this. The rest of the song is great as well, the acoustic guitar sounds intense and there’s some nice fiery electric playing as well. The drums sound angry! Drums always sound angry! The bass playing is fluid and melodic but I don’t really think you’re gonna be paying attention to it when you have everything else going on. 9/10

Franco: Billie Joe Armstrong has been through shit. I can tell by how he sings this. Seriously, he puts more emotion and passion into this than ANYONE else in this tribute album has. This guy has so much angst and anger in him, and while one would think that adding full rock band arrangement underneath the song would ruin it, it actually makes the song sound even more hitting. EVERYTHING IS JUST SO ANGSTY! And they add in a sample of the actual song at the end for good measures 9/10

14.   The Black Eyed Peas- Power to the People

Jonathan: Okay. Don’t judge me for this. This is a kind of alright cover. There’s no embarrassing electropop schlock, it’s pretty faithful. It sounds like they’re having fun doing it. There’s a dumb bit near the end. Apart from that it’s fine. You’re judging me aren’t you? Alright. 5/10

Franco: Hey Jonathan, I like this! You wanted me to like this, so here I am telling you. I like it! Hey, dude, it’s okay to like something! No one is going to judge you (: except if they are DOUCHES. Anyways, this has a really good beat to it, and yes, it sounds like The Peas are unleashing the power of fun onto this song. The last verse is really stupid, it becausally just sounds like someone repeating saying “POWER POWER GIVE THEM POWER POWERPOWERPOWERPOWERPOWERPOWER GIVE THEM POWER” over and over. Whatever. Not bad! 6/10

15.   Jack Johnson- Imagine

Jonathan: This is the second and last cover of Imagine on this. I don’t like it! Okay in Glasgow there’s lots of buskers who play earnest white guy acoustic pop with bland hookless guitar playing and bland gritless over emoted singing. This sounds like that with a better melody and lyrics. But it still sucks. 3/10

Franco: Awww, Jonathan, y u so mean. It’s not THAT bad. It’s a sweet, simple, tender acoustic ballad, and nothing really else. I mean, I live in Seattle, so maybe I don’t see this too often, but I can think of worse ways they could have covered it (imagine if they did a power ballad version of this song). Regardless, I agree with Jonathan, it’s pretty bland nonetheless. I mean, come on, add some strings, or some pianos, or maybe some bells or triangles! It sounds way too empty. Among all that, Jack Johnson’s voice is just…not very interesting. I don’t feel any soul in his voice. See, this bare arrangement worked with “I’m Losing You”, because Corinnie’s voice is strong and passionate and really carried along the song well, and when Arvil Lavigne covered this tune, at least I thought her voice sounded small and innocent, which fit in quite well with the song’s lyrics and message. However, Jack Johnson is just bland bland bland BLAND. Sorry dude. You get a 4/10.

16.   Ben Harper- Beautiful Boy

Jonathan: This is a really good cover. Musically it’s really dense. This is a weird comparison but it kind of reminds me of early Arcade Fire but playing laidback pop music rather than dramatic art rock. The guy has a really sweet and emotional voice, comforting as well. There’s something so intimate about this cover, it sounds really personal, like he wrote it himself. It does get somewhat tedious towards the end but whatever it has such a warm and tender atmosphere. 8/10

Franco: Aaahhh, I love this. Like Jonathan said, there is something really warm about this. Layered with different instruments, from accordions to strings to acoustic guitars, the song creates this atmosphere that’s similar to laying down cosily by the fireside in a little cabin, feeling safe and cushioned from the rest of world outside. 8/10

17.   Snow Patrol- Isolation- Semi-decent cover. The melody is neat. The problem is they make it sound like a Snow Patrol song. Okay they don’t completely fuck it up and there’s some nice icy synths. Still it seems like they’re attempting an alone in the woods vibe and I appreciate the effort but it doesn’t quite succeed. Also Gary Whateverthefuck has a boring voice. Still I’d be lying if the haunted echoey piano playing that shows up in the middle wasn’t effective. 6/10

Franco: When I first heard this version, I dug it, but now I really don’t like it. I’ve been trying not to compare these versions to the original too much, but I can’t help it, I just can’t get into what they’ve done to the song, turning it from sad and emphatic to scary and “chilling”. I mean, I could see this working, but nothing interesting happens, either in the music, or the presentation of Gary Ihavenofuckingideas voice. It doesn’t make me feel scared or disturbed, but it doesn’t make me feel good either. I’m guessing that’s a sign that I didn’t like it. 3/10, because it’s not the worse musical idea to exist.

18.   Matisyahu- Watching the Wheels

Jonathan: This is a kind of cool dubbish cover of the song. Lots of quirky sound effects and I white guy singing in a Jamaican accent! It’s not entirely successful, I’m not a big fan of the singing, but it’s fun and the instrumentation is eclectic and quirky. Probably would work well in a montage of rich white guys acting like assholes. The ending of the song is really good though, it’s what originally sold me on it. It kind of builds up to a crescendo before powering down again and letting the guys voice be immersed in the sound effects and instruments. 6/10

Franco: Well, I gave a glowing review to “The Electronic Tribute To The Doors”, and this reminisces the style of that album, so you can guess that I am pretty happy, though not burning with enthusiasm. It’s done in a dub-influenced style quite that’s loaded with different special effects, and although they really don’t seem that necessary, I like them nonetheless. I guess the best way to describe this piece is that it’s like if the guy from Sublime never died and they continued making interesting music for the rest of their career. like the special effects of this song, although they don’t really seem necessary. Overall, I will give this 6/10

19.   The Postal Service- Grow Old With Me

Jonathan: Here’s an example of a song I like less than the first time I listened to it. It just sounds so precious. There’s some nice synth playing that reminds me of IDM but the vocals are shrill and annoying. It sounds like he’s going for a lost little boy thing. I hope he’s never found. Still the instrumentation makes it listenable enough so it’s not a complete failure. 5/10

Franco: Aahh Postal Service. They are similar to Owl City except they aren’t bad. Anyways, yeah, like Jonathan, I can’t say I am too huge with this. I LOVE the electronic sounds on this, and I actually do like the lead singers voice, but…I just don’t feel like it fits the song. It feels too weird. I feel like an acoustic cover would be better suited, rather than an IDM-type cover. Still, cool enough I guess. 5/10

20.   Jaguares- Gimme Some Truth

Jonathan: Ah this is completely unnecessary. The earlier cover of this was brilliant and these guys kind of sound like a hair metal band trying to make it as an alt rock band. Later Bon Jovi basically. The Bon Jovi comparison Franco initially presented to me was enough to ruin it but honestly ignoring the guys unlikeable and bland vocals the instrumentation is pretty good. The guitar playing has a more sort of “Hey I dig The Edge but I’m kind of scared to admit it” with fun drumming. Still it completely lacks the grit of the original or the previous cover which coupled with the guys voice makes it improbable of it getting anything more than a four. 4/10

Franco: The guys voice sounds like Latino Bon Jovi. Like, seriously, I would really like this cover if we had a better singer, like, idk, Jonathan suggested Dave Growl. Aside from that, the backing track is really enjoyable, sounding like tight-playing garage rock music. Ah, well, I guess it could be worse, but it could have been better. 4/10

21.   The Flaming Lips- (Just like) Starting Over

Jonathan: Hey it’s The Flaming Lips. A great band known for their terrible covers! I kind of like this though. The music is somewhat minimalistic but still soft and pretty. Like The Soft Bulletin on a budget. Oh and Wayne Coyne’s vocals are really pretty. Still the bits with his voice and the acoustic guitar don’t work and when compared with the original I find myself feeling strangely cold. Better than I was expecting though. 6/10

Franco: I’m a huge fan of The Flaming Lips, but this cover just fails me. It sounds like it’s something from The Soft Bulletin, or maybe At War With The Mystics, but the spacey atmospheric effects are don’t fall in place and just give me negative vibes. Not only that, but Wayne Coyne’s vocals just hard to listen to. See, Coyne doesn’t have a technically good singing voice, but for the music he and the Lips creates, it fits in perfectly. So, when he tries to sing songs written by other people, it just sounds out of tune and unfitting, so therefor, the everything just falls apart. Therefor, I hate to say it, but I’m gonna have this give this a 3/10. I can see what they were trying to get at, and it’s not a disgrace to the original or anything, but it just fails in nearly every respect. Sorry buddies. I still love ya!

22.   Jack’s Mannequin featuring Mick Fleetwood - God

Jonathan: AHHH THIS IS TERRIBLE. Franco really took the piss out of the guy’s vocals when we listened to it and that’s completely deserved. He sounds so obnoxious. The problem isn’t that he sounds insincere, the problem is he sounds sincere in a really smug self-righteous assholeish way. Who needs that? Mick Fleetwood does the drums so they’re good but apart from that it’s unremarkable bar band land. And Christ the guy’s stupid over enunciated upfront douchebag vocals. Looks like Jack is such an asshole that the only person he could make it with is a mannequin. Yeah! Up yours Jack! 1/10

Franco: GAWD IS CAWNSEPT! BY WHISH, WE MEASHURE, OWLL, PAYNE!! 1/10

23.   Regina Spektor- Real Love

Jonathan: Thank God they end it with this because otherwise my opinion of the album as a whole would have sunk considerably. It starts off with some heartbreakingly beautiful harmonies that show up again at the end so you stay in love. Spektor’s piano playing is really soft but oddly tense in places and her voice is really beautiful. Really pretty melodic song. The original, but that applies easily to this one again. A definite highlight. 9/10

Franco: OH MY GOD THOSE OPENING HARMOINES THEY ARE SO BEAUTIFUL AAAHHHH. Aside from that, this is cover absolutely wonderful, and ends the tribute on a high note. All that the song comprises of, for the most part, is her voice and the piano, and man oh man is she good. Her style of singing is strong, but her approach is soft and timid, making me feel like she is speaking directly to me. As a result, this makes the entire piece more intimate, causing me to almost like this version more than the original. And THOSE HARMONIES APPEAR THAT APPEAR AT THE BEGINNING AND THE END!!! My god, they only happen for a short time but it’s like I’m in heaven for ten seconds. Bravo! Bravo! 9/10!

Conclusion

Jonathan: Despite some noticeable dips in quality this is a really good tribute album. Most of the artists manage to put their own stamp on the songs whilst remaining true to John Lennon, so you’re continuously reminded of his presence. It’s also a great reminder of what an amazing melodicist John Lennon was, a real McCartney. You can listen to it on Spotify and I’d recommend you do it now. Then y’know forget about it and listen to John Lennon’s actual albums.

Franco: I agree.

https://open.spotify.com/album/5hJwAMtrAvp9cGLhR3ZmYN

The Electronic Tribute To The Doors

1) Five To One - Private Benjamin 2) Crystal Ship - The Galactic Achievement Society 3) When The Music's Over - Motor Industries 4) Touch Me - Dissolve 5) Riders On The Storm - The Galactic Achievement Society 6) Break On Through (To The Other Side) - Bug Funny Foundation 7) People Are Strange - Motor Industries 8) Peace Frog - Dogooder 9) The End - Bug Funny Foundation 10) The Galactic Achievement Society

Hmmm, looks like All Music guide isn’t too hot on this album, as they have gave it one and half stars, calling the artists who played on this album as “faceless”, the executives who work at Vitamin Records as “money hungry”, and stating that overall it’s very hard to recommend this album to “anyone with even a passing interest in the Doors or electronica.”

Huh. Well, that’s too bad, because I enjoyed it quite a bit. The songs themselves are VERY different from the originals that they are deprived from, to the point where it may turn people off. However, unlike the Rush tribute album I previously reviewed, the essence of the songs, for the most point, are not lost, which therefor makes these renditions quite interesting.

The first half of the album is pure electronic bliss. The opening number, Five To One, is covered by a group called Private Benjamin, and they successfully captures the angry and dark spirit of the piece, from the monk chorus that drones all throughout the song, to the electronic sound effects that are scattered all over the piece, to the contrast between the whispering vocals and the abrasive music. This seems like this shouldn’t work, but it does. It all comes together very well, and I think I like this version just as much as the original.

Up next is The Crystal Ship, performed by The Galactic Achievement Society. Redone as a laid back, funky synthesized instrumental, can I understand how one could view this as simply easy listening background music, but nevertheless, I find myself tranquilized by the extraterrestrial atmosphere it creates, with the piece reminiscing Monolake, Pink Floyd, and jazz fusion all simultaneously.

From there, we have Motor Industries recreating When The Music's Over as a mid-tempo, dub instrumental. It starts out pretty easy going and silly until suddenly, during the chorus, it gains momentum and becomes more harsh and noisy. Then comes Dissolve's vaguely straightforward cover of Touch Me, which is redone as an electro-pop song. This sounds like a horrible idea, but original structure and melody is remained intact, and the electronic instrumentation seems to, surprisingly, fit in quite well with the original piece, so this rendition gets a thumbs up from me.

The Galactic Achievement Society returns again with Riders On The Storm, and although I've always found this piece to be a tad overlong, there are a good amount of entertaining ideas nevertheless. The song still maintains the dark atmosphere of the original, but through the use of eerie keyboards, the mood is strengthened even more. The guitar that plays the lead melody sounds similar to something out of a western movie, so it does make the piece feel like soundtrack music to an extent, but it fits in well, so I’ll give it that. 

The second half of the album, however, isn’t as consistent. The only thing that truly sticks out for me is Motor Industries fun, but short, rendition of People Are Strange, which is catchy as hell and fueled with different ideas, noises, and sound effect that work together well. Not sure what genre I can describe it as, though. Dub maybe? Eh, maybe not. Anyways, The Galactic Achievement Society makes it's third appearance through a groovy original composition at the end called Spanish Fire Women, which does sound somewhat like The Doors, and although it's pretty funny in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way, it's not very memorable in the end. However, despite Bug Funny Foundation's attempts, Break On Through does not sound fit within a breakcore beat, nor does Dogooder improve Peace Frog by splashing WAY too many sounds and ideas onto it. But, perhaps the biggest disappointment was Bug Funny Foundation's rendition of The End. Based on how well done the last two “atmospheric” Doors songs were (Crystal Ship, Riders On The Storm), I was expecting this to be a GREAT eight minute epic rendition. Unfortunately, all that BFF change from the original is the instrumentation, which is now completely electronic. As a result, the song becomes incredibly uninteresting, since what was enticing about The End to begin with was the subtle interplay between the guitar, keyboards, and drums, resulting in an ghostly atmosphere that made Jim Morrison’s stream of conscious rants in the piece actually impacting as opposed to goofy. Take that all out, replace it with a repetitive electronic backing track, throw in a women singer who doesn’t give the slightest bit of emotion when she sings and recites the lyrics to the songs, and boom you get something that doesn’t seem to go anywhere at all. There are some interesting moments, and at times it does feel hypnotizing, but it doesn’t sink me in the same way original does. To their credit, it’s not horrible, and this is a piece that I could only imagine The Doors pulling off, so making a successful full length rendition is not easy, and with that in mind, I do respect their effort.

All in all, while not everything on here works super well, it's very enjoyable for the most part. I will agree with the All Music Guide that it is very difficult to recommend this to either Doors fans, electronica fans, or anyone else. I mean, people who listen to The Doors and people who listen to electronica seem to be on different musical wave lengths, and if you aren’t a fan of either, you certainly aren't going to like this. However, I think that if you have an open mind, and enjoy listening to anything no matter how obscure or unusual it is, then you too will be glad that this exists, even if this album is simply a commercial attempt to broaden Vitamin Records audience to a wider crowd.

Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are NOT Devo!- Claw Hammer

1) The Spawning of a New Error 2) Uncontrollable Urge 3) Satisfaction 4) Praying Hands 5) Space Junk 6) Mongoloid 7) Jocko Homo 8) Too Much Paranoias 9) Gut Feeling/Slap your Mammy 10) Come Back Jonee 11) Sloppy 12) Shrivel Up 13) Blank Frank 14) Gut Feeling 15) Pumping (My Heart) 16) Slappy sings Dead Zeppelin

I guess the album cover for this really sums it up. 

Okay so you know how Devo were kinda punk but not really, this album seeks to correct that mistake. As the title indicates it’s a cover of the first Devo album. Now if you’ve heard that album you know it’s reasonably diverse, there’s some fast paced rockers, some bouncy new wavers, some creepy post-punkers and some zany experimental rock tracks. Well this album homogenises that and turns all the songs into fast paced punk rock songs. Oh, and the singer sounds awful, just really unmelodic and- for lack of a better word- gross.  

I know this sounds like a criticism (the homogony, not the grossness) and it is to an extent but it works in the album’s favour, giving it more of its own personality. The problem is they don’t go far enough, it still sounds like Devo, just a more hyperactive and, um, could I say primitive without sounding like an asshole?

So the band does a grimier more spontaneous take on Devo and it’s not entirely convincing. The songs they handle the best are the songs which were energetic to begin with. Like “Uncontrollable Urge” for example, they do a great version of that. It manages to leave me as excited as the original one and has a rougher and more distorted guitar tone that works in its favour. Oh and the synth tone they get throughout the album is great, much more synthpunk than on the original album. This leads me to conclude that maybe it would have been smarter if they’d covered Freedom of Choice instead, it would have sounded more original and would have turned the dated tones of that album into something more unique.

They chose to go with this album though and they really don’t do so well with the more contemplative songs. I admit straight away that I’m biased as “Gut Feeling” is my favourite Devo song but in my view they really butcher it. Whereas previously the song had a somewhat sombre- perhaps because of the truly ethereal keyboard tone they use- and eccentric vibe now it’s a by the numbers punk song with the keyboard sounding like a bar band piano. The alternate version they do later on is slightly better due to them foregoing the keyboard line but not by much. They also fuck up Devo’s signature song! Jocko Homo (I guess Whip It is their signature song but can’t they have two?) The call and response is completely indecipherable and the clinical aura of the song is gone, I don’t think they were in lab coats when they recorded this.  

They do some other really good covers to make up for this however. “Satisfaction”- which is a cover of a cover!- can be said to combine Devo’s with Rolling Stones version. “Praying Hands" is fun as hell the garage punk and “Shrivel Up” works surprisingly well as a punk song, feeling creepy in a more visceral but less malevolent way.

There are exceptions to the fast paced good slow paced bad rule however. They do a great version of “Mongoloid”, with a growly guitar part and dilapidated synth tone. Oh and the guys vocals actually work on it. And on the other side they completely screw up “Too Much Paranoias”, which has the paranoid and hectic feel of the original song replaced with, well, punk.

So the album definitely has flaws. Some of the covers don’t work and homogony of it makes it monotonous. Not enough to get completely bored but enough to fidget and think of dirty limericks. The album does manage to retain the bright catchiness of the original though, it just feels a bit insubstantial in places.

Despite the many complaints I’ve made I still don’t feel inconsistent in recommending it. There’s some good high points and it’s too damn fun not to recommend. Sure they remove some if the idiosyncrasies but that really helps prove that Devo’s melodies work without the weird garnishes and it’s really cool to hear the melodies played on this album. Listen to it at least once, especially if you’re a Devo fan.  

Oh and for some reason they do a Brian Eno and Patti Smith song. Those are nice.

Red Star: A Tribute To Rush

1) Anthem (Engrave Speed Death) 2) Working Man (Killing Field) 3) Bastille Day (Shallows Of The Mundane) 4) Subdivisions (Hostile Intent) 5) What You're Doing (Hate Theory) 6) Tears (Capital 2) 7) Passage To Bangkok (Scary German Guy) 8) Tom Sawyer (Disarray) 9)  10) Freewill (Mythiasin) 11) Red Barchetta (Prototype) 12) The Spirit Of The Radio (Premonition)

Regardless of what you may say of them, Rush are probably one of the most influential progressive rock groups of all time. Yeah, I do mean this. They weren’t the first band to intermix high technicality and complex time-signatures into hard rock, but they were among the most popular, and by doing so, they helped add the influence of classical music into the development of heavy metal. If Rush had never existed, it’d be hard for me to imagine what Metallica, Iron Madien, and Megadeth would sound like, since amidst all their thrashing about lies sharp, complex, and progressive arrangements that are reminiscent of Rush’s style.

But then, in 1999, a collection of obscure artists decided to create a tribute album dedicated around Rush's music. The basic idea is that twelve different bands cover twelve different Rush songs, putting emphasis on the heavy and rock aspect on their music by re-stylizing them as hardcore thrash music. Does it work? Here's what I thought of each and every track.

Anthem - Engrave Speed Death: No. You aren’t improving the sound by just acting a low, raspy heavy metal growl instead of Geddy Lee’s heilum level signing. In fact, you are only making it worse! And that’s all they add to the song! Literary, there’s almost nothing is different from the original, other than the horrendous singing. And the production is really muddy, and I should mention that this can be said for every single song here. 1/10. Off on a good start!

Working Man - Killing Field: Awful. It sounds like Metallica, but not Ride The Lightning-era Metallica, but Load-era Metallica. And, here we go again with the vocals, as the guy sounds like he’s trying to throw up. There is a decent guitar solo though, and it ends with the most hilarious AARLLLIGHHHTTTTTTTTTTTT I’ve ever heard. 2/10

Bastille Day - Shallows Of Mundane: Nooo. Shallows of the Mundane, why? They try to make the song speedier and more hardcore, but it just fails. The singer is just shouting his lyrics, and the band is just trashing about. I don’t really know what else to say. I’ll just give it a 1/10

Subdivisions - Hostile Intent: This is kind of interesting. I mean, this song is getting the typical metal treatment, but they seem to play the song straightforward otherwise, resulting in a mixture of 80s pop and death metal that doesn't gel well at all, yet comes off as strangely intriguing. So yeah, an unintentional 4/10

What You’re Doing - Hate Theory: You know, this actually could have worked, since this song comes from Rush’s first release which is the most basic hard rock album they made, and it actually starts out sounding like it’s going to be a decent metal rocker. But then, dear god, those bleeding vocals come in and just puke on the entire song. Plus, if I am correct (the vocalists growling makes it really hard to hear the lyrics), it sounds like they making the song needlessly vulgar, adding in “Motherfucker!!!!!!” at different points in the lyrics. Nice job! 3/10

Tears - Capital 2: Hey! This one is pretty alright! I mean, to be honest, I have not heard the original song, but there’s nothing that this cover does to make me believe it was anything other than great. It sounds like a power ballad, with there being a soft acoustic melody mixed with loud, antithetic guitars. It still sounds like a great song nevertheless, so yeah, not bad Capital 2! 6/10

Passage Of Bangkok - Scary German Guy: God damnit, what's up with these renditions??? This is yet another thrash rendition, but in this case, the singer doesn’t seem to be gurgling his throat, but rather screaming them as if he is having a melodramatic breakdown or something. The drums seem to be electronically processed or something, resulting in a really thin sound. I do admit some steam is picked up in middle, and I still find the song catchy even through the irritating vocals. Jonathan also commented that the bands name is worth some points on its own, but I’ll give it a 2/10

Tom Sawyer - Disarray: Oh. My. God. Stop with those obnoxious vocals. This style does not fit Rush’s music. I have nothing else to say, other than it's poorly made hardcore metal, just like everything else. 1/10

Temples Of Syrinx - Blood Coven: Oh joy, now there are two people rasping their throats at the same time, resulting in vocals that sound like they are coming from a mutant beast. Again, it’s done in the same thrash hardcore style, and I don’t really have much else to add other than the guitar solo is pretty okay. 2/10

Freewill - Mythiasin: Hey, this is a straightforward cover of the song! Unfortunately, it still sucks. The best way to describe this is that it sounds like a high school garage band rendition of the song, although the singer does a decent Geddy Lee impression. That takes some talent. 2/10

Red Barchetta - Prototype: This one actually comes close to actually being more than decent. I mean, the production on the most part is actually alright, though still a bit dirty, but the actual band covering is REALLY TIGHT. Unlike most everything else here, it sounds like these guys actually put work into this, and they seem to ingrain the heavy elements very well into the piece, rather than restructure it to sound metal. It still sounds like a standard cover of the song, but it still manages to capture the good elements of the original while toning the “rock” aspect up a notch. I mean, the original Red Barchetta wasn’t that hard rock to begin with, but Prototype seems to successfully put emphasis on that characteristic of the piece, thereby making it close to being great. However, the lead singers voice strikes it down from being fantastic to just merely good. See, the vocalist doesn’t do any ear piercing shrieking or disgusting gurgling, nor does he even try to imitate Geddy Lee’s voice. He just…sings. This guy’s got the most average, ordinary singing voice I’ve ever heard, and amidst the hard rocking backing music, it just doesn’t gel well. Oh well. Still gonna give them high points for putting in effort. 7/10

Spirit Of The Radio - Premonition: What’s up the last three covers being so straightforward? Like, everything else seemed to be so radically different from the originals, but these songs almost seem TOO close to the originals. But, oh my god, this guy’s voice is hilarious! Whereas Freewill had someone trying too hard to imitate Giddy Lee, and Red Barchetta just had someone not really giving a damn about making his voice sound different, this guy sings so low that it almost reaches operatic. Aside from that, I can’t say much else about this cover. It’s not really doing anything to the original version, but while Red Barchetta was exciting from it's tight and sharp playing, these guys, much like the band that covered Freewill, run through the song sloppily. Still, 5/10 for not being as horrible as everything else.

So, in conclusion, does Rush’s music still sound good when rearranged as hardcore thrash music?

The answer is no.

Why not? Well, despite that one could make the claim that Rush had an profound influence on heavy metal, they were never quite metal themselves. There was always element of whimsy and softness in their music, and these artists seem to completely disregard that. In fact, I think Rush are one the least ballsy hard rock bands I can think. They weren’t singing about death, or gore, or really anything hardcore, but instead were on the total opposite end of the spectrum, singing about science fiction and philosophy. Although they had a huge impact on heavy metal, at the end of the day, Rush were far more prog than metal. Hell, they were closer to pop than metal. So, almost nothing on this album works, because it often seems like many of the artists are trying to make Rush's music sound "evil" and "satanic", when those adjectives never applied to them in the first place.

However, at the same time, these people obviously weren’t even trying to make this a good tribute album, and I get the feeling that basically these bands just liked Rush and wanted to cover their music. There’s nothing wrong with that, and although I still I don’t think it’s very good, I don’t think they were trying to make it so. These guys sound like they were just having fun, and none of this is taken too seriously. Among all that, as horrifying as many of these renditions are, it’s never boring, and there are golden moments of unintentional hilarity. For this reason, I can say that this album is worth at least one listen, as a curious novelty.

The Beatles Gregorian Songbook- Schola Musica

1) The Abbey's Bell 2) There is a Place 3) Nowhere Man 4) Strawberry Fields Forever 5) Tomorrow Never Knows 6) Within you Without You 7) The Inner Light 8) Blackbird 9) Mother Nature's Son 10) Because 11) The Word 12) All You Need is Love 13) Let it Be 14) The End

I really wanted to like this album. 

Like a lot of music fans The Beatles are one of my favourite bands and like a lot of music fans I'm thoroughly familiar with the majority of their music. So what better than listening to a new take? Granted if this album had been released back in the 60s the counterculture would have perished and Richard Nixon would be President to this day but there's still something delightfully quirky about the idea that when Franco made me aware of it I was hooked straight away. 

Unfortunately the music itself is anything but quirky. It's dull, ponderous and reverential. Listened to in the right mood though this can be quite affecting and at times the music almost reminded me of dark ambient. I mean think of it, a dark gothic church with a bunch of cloaked men standing inside lit by candles and singing Beatles songs. Or more precisely turning the previously charming vocal melodies of John, Paul, George and Ringo into the type of music that would make the sinless repent. 

Yeah this album really didn't work for me. In some places I was quite taken with it and the version of Strawberry Fields Forever they do actually manages to retain a quasi-psychedelic feel, though a creepier more autumnal one. Most of the other songs sound like a beautiful cake that has been crudely stuffed into a bucket and become an unseemly mush. Or to be more direct the vocals sound like they're all mushed together. I was initially confused by this as one of The Beatles strongest assets was their vocal melodies and while you'd think this would result in a rather beautiful album as Gregorian Chant is based on vocals (hooray for the obvious!) it really doesn't. The vocals sound generic and murky. This temporarily caused me to lose faith in The Beatles but the more I thought about it the more I realised why. The Beatles vocal melodies whilst great have a certain casualness to them; they don't sound belaboured. This doesn't translate to a type of music that I've deemed that math rock of the 16th century (or whatever). 

What I'm trying to say is maybe The Beach Boys would have been better for this tribute. They're American though so fuck 'em (is what the Chuch said). 

Anyway this album is great in places like I said and the songs with more deliberate vocal melodies do work -though surprisingly Let it Be doesn't- but on the whole it's tedious as all hell. George Bernard Shaw said "The English are not a very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity". The same could very easily be applied to this album. Like the exact same quote, weird I know. 

However I don't want to be too harsh because it really is a rather great concept and some of the songs work. I'd recommend listening to "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Nowhere Man", "Blackbird", "Because" and "All You Need is Love" on Spotify. For Christ's sake don't buy the thing! 

So to conclude this album didn't do much for me and it's a shame they didn't finish off with a version of Revolution 9.