Post
by RemarkablyInsincere » Thu Sep 17, 2015 1:53 pm
After living with this album for a week, I have to say over all I like it a lot.
First off, the new tunes are nothing special. "Raise The Dead" is the better of the two. Neither of them are anything more than decent songs that I suspect will barely be mentioned after this album cycle is over. Would have been nice if we got one great tune, but neither of these rise to the occasion.
The covers, however, are quite good. For the most part, the track listing is pretty pleasing (at least for me). I don't like to see songs on covers albums that are so classic they're ingrained in the public consciousness. And while we did get a few of those, the vast majority of the album consists of songs that I consider lesser known and thus good candidates.
Comments:
One/Jump Into the Fire - killer version of these tunes. It's fricken awesome when "Jump Into The Fire" kicks in. I've heard these songs before, but since I'm not a fan per say, this version is very cool.
Five To One / Break On Through - I absolutely love The Doors so it's kinda surprising that I enjoy this one as much as I do. They're also very well known songs. Alice does a terrific job on vocals and these versions are pretty faithful to the original. The Manzarek organ, could have easily been omitted, but I'm glad they included it. Fun medley of two great songs. I am surprised they didn't include "Roadhouse Blues" since, after all, Alice always says the classic line "I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer" is something he said to Morrison.
Jeepster - I like this, probably because I never heard it before. Never a big T. Rex guy, and this doesn't get played over here in the States. A good candidate for a covers album. Good tune and a good version.
Cold Turkey - Dig this one a lot. A slightly more uptempo version of the original that still borrows a lot in the production elements. Good decision to stay away from the super popular Lennon songs and go with something off the beaten track. Really a highlight of the album. Some smoking guitar work.
Itchycoo Park - Another song I'm not overly familiar with that you'd never hear on the radio here. I checked out the original and this is far superior. I could do without the part where Alice stops the song in a confusing manner, didn't he do that on the last album? Overall a great version.
I Got A Line On You - I always loved Alice's 80s version of this song so I was a bit perplexed when I heard he did it yet again. Still, this version really is so different from that one, and it's very, very good so I'm glad he did as it fits well here.
Come and Get It - Anytime you can get Paul McCartney to sing a song on your album, it's an amazing coup. Being a big Beatles and McCartney fan, it's pretty special for him record to record a song he wrote yet never recorded. Although, I have to say it does feel slightly out of place without an Alice vocal on it.
Whole Lotta Love - Of all the Zeppelin songs to include, this one has me scratching my head. While I think Brian Johnson does an amazing job on the song, it's hard to improve on the original. I don't particularly care for the intro. Not terrible, but I can think of a bunch of other Zep songs I'd do before this one.
School's Out - kind of cool to include this in honor of Glen (if that's the reasoning) and also to get a recorded version of the "School's Out / Another Brick In The Wall" combination. This isn't going to give the original a run for it's money, but feels appropriate.
"My Generation" & "Manic Depression" - respectable versions of very well known songs. I probably could have done without either or both of these, but oh well.
"Golly gee it's wrong to be so guilty..."