TAC: Meliah Rage – “Halo of Flies”: The only song of the round that I hadn’t heard before, and one of two songs (Circus is the other) that I went back and listened to the original as well as the cover. Well, I have good news and bad news. The good? I fell in love with the original and will be ordering the album once I get home from my trip. I want to hear the rest right now! The bad? While the band got the essence – the swirl and buzz of the original, figuratively and literally the “halo of flies” – it’s a bit too… metallic in the sense that the Alice version is dirty and oily and almost uncomfortable. I almost didn’t even get the “Sound of Music” quote when I heard the cover, and yet in the Alice version that verse stuck out (in a good way) like a sore thumb, and kind of slammed home that distinctly Alice way of tweaking and honoring at the same time, almost making the entire song. This was the hardest song to score, BY FAR, because I wanted to reward you for enlightening me – which was your stated goal - but also reflect that the cover itself slightly missed the mark. 8
Mosh: Dirty Loops – “Circus”: Second most eclectic mix of songs in the roulette, and I thank you for that. In some cases that has worked for you, but here, unfortunately, it didn’t. I couldn’t figure out if the cover was snarky and ironic or not, and it kind of ruined the vibe for me. I’m one of those that doesn’t think Britney is a joke, and I think – while our Mancunian friend Dave takes it a little further than I do – that she’s a lot smarter and self-aware than her tabloid drama let on. When she sings about the “Circus”, she’s not kidding and I think the original of this is a lot deeper than the genre implies. I don’t think the cover here recognized that, and as such I think it missed the mark. Yeah, it was well-played, but the vocal seemed to me to miss the point entirely. 7
Lonestar: SHEL – “Battle of Evermore”: Zeppelin is one of my favorite bands, and this is one of my favorite Zeppelin songs. Zep is often dismissed as plodding metal monsters, but that, I think, is wrong. They were troubadours in the best and truest sense of the word. When Plant says “Nah, nah, leave it in” on Physical Graffiti (in reference to the airplane overhead) you got the vibe that it was four guys in an English garden playing whatever felt right. The Battle of Evermore is that vibe as well, and this version captures that perfectly. I love the vocal arrangements; not that far from the original, but maintaining that choir-like separation of voices (in my opinion the reason they brought Sandy Denny in to sing on it in the first place). Faithful to the original and the Wilson sisters famous cover, but having an earthiness that can’t be faked, and the elasticity of performance that so few Zeppelin covers capture (and why most Zeppelin covers blow badly, in my opinion.) 8.5
Elite: Chris Cornell – “Billie Jean”: Wow. I feel bad for you and (from Ariich’s roulette) I know how you feel. This should have been a slam dunk. I love Cornell. Soundgarden, Temple…, solo. I just saw him with TotD, and he SLAYED a set that was half covers (for him), including a killer “Achilles Last Stand” and Nilsson’s “Jump Into The Fire”. I also like Michael Jackson, and although I like “Off The Wall” better, I grew up with Thriller, and Billie Jean – with it’s very adult, almost subversive message – was a favorite. But I don’t like how Cornell treats this. It starts well, with the somber vocal and sparse guitar, but when he goes to the upper register, and uses that sort of out of rhythm “strum”, it loses the essence for me, which is a somber reflection of being a father and all that that means, good and bad. Compare and contrast this with his take (from Songbook) of one of the most beautiful love songs ever, “Thank You” from Zeppelin. (No points off, but also a big thumbs down to the hipster crowd clapping and “Woo-ing!” at inopportune moments to show how cool they are.) 7.5
v_clortho: Redemption – “Love To Love”: I love U.F.O. and I love to love “Love to Love”, one of my top five favorite U.F.O. songs. When Phil Mogg sings “Misty green and blue…” it’s achingly beautiful. I don’t think it is, but if “Strangers…” is the best live rock album ever, it’s in large part due to Side Two – “Mother Mary”, “This Kid’s”, and “Love To Love”. This cover nails it. The vocal, while not sounding like Phil, nails that ache, that yearning, but the music has a current fresh take to it, combining the important guitar with beautifully evocative keyboards. 9
Lethean: Dreamscape – “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes”: Nice call! My second favorite Ultravox song (behind the obvious “Vienna”) and one of the songs they played at Live Aid. Big fan of Midge Ure, even if I don’t love everything about Ultravox (the sterility, the coldness of everything but Ure’s voice, though that may have been the point). This is a great example of capturing the essence; it’s a little fuller than the Ultravox version, and there are any number of instrumental flourishes – not all of them good – but they do get the apocalyptic bleakness of the original (I understand the original to be a man contemplating nuclear annihilation). Plus, they’re working with a melody that really sticks with you. 9
Home: Elliot Smith – “Because”: Always dangerous ground covering the Beatles (my favorite band, by the way). There are a few exceptions, but while there are a number of great Beatles covers, they rarely surpass the masters. This isn’t one of them, but it comes close. Smith does a nice job with this, layering his vocals similarly to the Beatles (Paul, John and George each recorded three tracks, making nine total). It’s not a note for note version though; some of the harmony vocals opt for a minor note and it gives the piece a melancholy that is in the Beatles version, but is far more pronounced here. John always claimed the words spoke for themselves and there was no hidden meaning or subtlety, but I don’t buy that. On its original place on Abbey Road, the lushness of the vocals and very pure sentiment, in a time when the Beatles were feeling anything but love, and the rest of the characters on the album were, shall we say, troubled, lent a whiff of sadness that I think Smith captures nicely here. A sadness that, depending on your take on events, Smith shared. 8
Topic: Stadler's Wheel of Fortune! (A Roulette) - ROUND 7 RESULTS (Read 37983 times)