When musical worlds collide #3

I thought it was a one off... then I found some more... and here we are with the third When musical worlds collide. Do you enjoy these odd pairings as much as I do? Would you like to see more?

Collision 1: I'll start with the one I'm least sure about. I love the video but I'm not sure it counts as a collision as I'll explain below:



My memory of Gary Numan is of a early pioneer of Synth Pop whereas Nine Inch Nails are the founding fathers of Industrial Rock. Surely no connection there - a clear collision. But when you watch the video - it works. What do you think? musical collision or is there is a clear line from Numan to NIN?

Collision 2: I'm not convinced that the embed code for this next video is right. However, you should be able to see it in the original ill doctrine post. If it doesn't work here, check it out there... as long as you promise to come back here afterwards. :-)

Update: I really like this video but I can't get it to load reliably either here or on the ill doctrine site (which is a pity). I've edited the embedded video out because the page just hangs when it fails to load. :-(

I think this Blues/Rap mashup works well. John Lee Hooker and 50 cent - two very different artists and two different attitudes to money but one interesting musical mashup.

Collision 3: Next up is a musical duo that featured in Free Download Friday #33: - Rodrigo Y Gabriela:



Listening to the free download of Orion, it was clear that they were very good but watching them perform with Robert Trujillo is just stunning.

Collision 4: Finally, something that's more than a little bizarre. When I hear the term One Man Band, I picture a chap playing a guitar, with a bass drum on his back, cymbals between his knees and a kazoo on a bit of wire round his neck... that doesn't come close to describing this chap:



The drumming is good - that he's doing it one handed is brilliant! If you had only heard the track without seeing him perform, would you have guessed that he was doing it live and all by himself?

I can't quite remember who directed me to these videos but feel free to claim the credit in a comment. I can't see that I'll have another of these posts in the near future but if you want to make some suggestions...

When musical worlds collide #2

When I wrote When musical worlds collide a couple of months ago, it never occurred to me that I'd be writing a follow up...

To break you in gently, how about some swing?



Mike Flowers had a fairly big hit with this cover but perhaps Richard Cheese is better known in the US:



Some of Richard's Christmas songs are awesome and worth checking out if you are looking for an alternative to Wham's Last Christmas. :-)

Stepping up the pace a bit is the genius that is Ade Edmondson and various Folk music worthies doing bizarre things to punk classics.



I heard them live on the radio and I suspect you have to see them live to appreciate their true genius.

Ramping it up again, but still just about clinging on to easy listening are the Red Hot Chilli Pipers:



Really not sure what to make of these chaps. It almost works but it almost makes me ashamed to be Scottish too!

And finally, to blow away the cobwebs, an a cappella group. If you are a certain age, perhaps you are thinking Swingle Singers. If you are a bit younger, perhaps you are picturing The Flying Pickets. If so, hang on to your hats and prepare to be assaulted by Van Canto.



Thanks to Mosher for bringing this one to my attention.

That's all I can add just now... unless you know can think of some others...

When Musical Worlds Collide #5

There has been a bit of a fuss recently because Mary J Blige has recorded a cover of Stairway To Heaven. (See for example Circle of Fits - where Seano is clearly a bit miffed, so his language is not entirely safe for work!) To be fair to MJB, she did recruit a few people for the recording that ought to have been able to bring some rock kudos to the project, however, I haven't heard her version yet, so I will reserve judgement... while fearing the worst.

As a result of reporting the news of Mary's meddling with a classic, a couple of sites have compiled a list of rock crossover projects that I'm going to plunder for this post. :-) Unlike previous When Musical Worlds Collide posts, this one will feature collisions that I am far from impressed with!

First, Classic Rock magazine had a news item titled: Ten Pop/Rock Crossovers That Worked – Or Didn’t! However, from their comments, it is clear that they think most didn't! Honourable mentions are given to Michael Jackson and Eddie Van Halen on Beat It. However they are less than impressed with Metallica and Mariah Carey.

Next Rock Radio had two items counting down the ten worst cover versions: Worst-Ever Cover Versions 1-5 and Worst-Ever Cover Versions 6-10. Of the ten they list, I'd like to offer the following two as the worst of the worst covers. First is Shakira's Back in Black:

Stunning isn't it? She is completely incomprehensible at times and why she is prancing about barefoot isn't entirely clear. I especially like the bit where she shouts "Everybody..." at her bemused audience.

I have a long standing problem with Celine Dion. I once complained to a music store about the way they organised their CDs. I told them in no uncertain terms that I do not consider Celine Dion to be Easy Listening. (Thanks to Arnold Brown for this joke!) It is almost too easy therefore to dislike Celine Dion's version of You Shook Me All Night Long:

The air guitar at the start and the attempt at a duck walk are utterly cringeworthy.

However, don't get me wrong. If a song is good, it should be able to cope with people covering it in unusual ways. If an artist tries to bring something different to a cover, drawing on their strengths rather than trying to copy the original, it can work. That's why I particularly dislike the two shown above. They make the mistake of trying to rock it up like AC/DC instead of doing what they do best (what ever that may be). Therefore, I disagree with at least one of the covers on Rock Radio list:

I think Tori Amos has at least tried to do something different with the track - to do it in her style rather than Nirvana's. And I'm in two minds about Westlife doing More Than Words. It's not my cup of tea at all but they've done with it what Westlife do - they've made it safe and mum friendly.

In conclusion, I think we rock fans can get a bit precious about things. I don't believe that Stairway to Heaven is such a classic that it should never be touched. As long as the person covering it brings something new and interesting to the table, I don't see why they shouldn't give it a go. As Exhibit A, I offer you Rodrigo y Gabriela:

And as Exhibit B, Rolf Harris:

"All together now..." :-)

Questions

1. What, in your opinion, are the best and worst rock cover versions ever?
2. Am I wrong about Stairway To Heaven? Should it remain untouched?
   

Review of the year

Distinct lack of blogging during 2013.

New Year Resolution: try to get back to at least one post a week. 

Proof of the pudding: Review of stuff added to my iPod in 2013

Introduction (by way of an excuse)

First off, not a lot of new albums. This is due to a combination of too little time and more importantly, too little money. As a result, most of the additions are charity shop purchases. But here's what I did add, in the order of addition. 

Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy (Remastered)

Very pleased to find this in a charity shop early in January 2013. It's an album that I have never owned, not even on vinyl, but one I always intended to get. I was familiar with most of the songs but it is always good to hear stuff in the order decided when it was first released and in relation to the other stuff on album. It is not my favourite Zeppelin album (my favourite is Led Zeppelin I in case anybody is interested) but well worth having. It has a great track to kicking off with in The Song Remains The Same and a very strong finish in No Quarter and The Ocean.

Miss The Occupier - Keeping Company With Wolves

I have featured Miss The Occupier in this blog before and declared a possible source of bias (I know Roz, the lead singer and bass player). I picked up a copy of this album at the launch gig back in March. the addition of keyboards to their sound is interesting. For me the stand out track is Song For The Miserable which, among other things, gives the lie to Roz's claim to be a vocalist rather than a singer!

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand

Another charity shop purchase. Mr Plant's voice still sounds great but Ms Krauss' vocals don't really grab me. Having said that, Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On) is well worth a listen. 

Slash - Apocalyptic Love (Special Edition)

Slash is an outstandingly good guitarist with a talent for creating memorable riffs. Myles Kennedy is an awesome vocalist able to bring power and emotion to his performance. What's not to like about this album? My favourite tracks from the previous Slash album, R&Fn'R were Back From Cali and By The Sword, both of which featured Mr Kennedy, so I was pleased when I heard he was the only vocalist on this album. Having all the featured vocalists on R&Fn'R was fun but settling on the one vocalist this time made it feel more consistent. There's not a duff track on the album so picking a favourite is tricky. Anastasia is good, but if pushed, I'd probably choose You're A Lie.

The Temperance Movement - Pride EP

Another band where I have to admit to a personal connection - I kent his faither. By "his faither" I mean I know the lead singer's father, and I also know his wee brother, although I have lost touch with both of them. The lead singer is a chap called Phil Campbell and I've followed him from when he was a solo artist, when he was in a group and then solo again... but the stuff he is doing with the Temperance Movement is just outstanding and, for me, this is the best I've heard from him yet. In particular, Only Friend is stunning. First time I heard it was on the radio. At the time, I didn't know Phil was in the band and I assumed it was a cover of an old Blues song. It was only when Inlooked it up that I discovered who the lead singer was and that they had written it themselves. Their new album is still on my wish list - with a bit of luck, I'll get it for my birthday. :-)

Genesis - Calling All Stations

I would count myself a fan of Genesis, but more the classic Gabriel era Genesis; I lost patience a bit with them when Collins took over vocal duties. I have most of the Genesis albums but don't have all of the ones produced after Gabriel left. In particular, I never bothered getting Calling All Stations because it was panned by one and all. Picked it up in a charity shop though and it's much better than I thought it would be. It is closer to old-style prog Genesis than the immediately preceding pop Genesis - I suspect that's why it didn't do so well when it was released. It's not a great album but it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. There are no five star tracks but four out of eleven tracks rated at four star makes it better than many I have in my iTunes collection!

Hayseed Dixie - Let There Be Rockgrass

Hayseed Dixie featured in my When musical worlds collide post in 2009 but it was only last year, when I came across this album in a charity shop, that I finally got around to listening to more than the odd track. They don't disappoint. Perhaps the key to a good musical spoof is that the spoof has to be good. That is, it works best when the people doing the spoof are not just mocking something but are good at what they do and have a love for the music that they are creating and aping. It seems to me that Hayseed Dixie manage that balancing act perfectly. They are clearly good musicians and perform the Bluegrass style songs with skill and passion. But they also seem to love the rock music they are covering while managing to avoid a stifling reverence for it. For me, the standout track is Highway to Hell - I think Bon Scott would have loved it!

That's all for now. It is already a longer post than I intended. I still have a few more albums that I added to my collection in 2013 but I will try and do another post about them soon.

What were the stand our additions to your music collection in 2013?

When musical worlds collide

An exchange on Twitter today got me thinking about odd musical crossovers. The message that started me off was:

jont: @morageyrie hayseed dixie are ace by contrast however this is awful http://twurl.nl/8jeh1r

I'll leave you to watch the David Lee Roth video and form your own opinions. Suffice to say, I agree with jont. The Bluegrass band are very good and David Lee Roth is a great rock vocalist and frontman but his voice doesn't work with this style of music. As I said in reply to jont, at least David Lee Roth has the decency to look embarrassed... as well as embarrassing. :-)

Disclaimer
Before I go any further, it has to be said that in general I don't like the Whoever Philharmonic Orchestra plays The Beatles type albums, or the Famous Opera Singer Sings Pop Songs genre. It seems to me that classical music buffs like classical music and rock fans like rock, so I'm never sure what the market for that type of crossover is. However, I'm about to list some odd musical mixes that I like... Inconsistent? Moi? My defence is that these guys aren't taking themselves entirely seriously. They are seriously good musicians but they seem to be having fun - which as far as I'm concerned covers a multitude of musical sins!

Hayseed Dixie
I thought it only fair to start with the Hayseed Dixie track posted by morageyrie. Hayseed Dixie started as an AC/DC tribute, but have branched out to cover other bands and have even released an album of all original music. This is an awesome cover of a Motörhead track:



Frenetic, fantastic and fun!

Vitamin String Quartet
Various musicians use the name Vitamin String Quartet to produce classical style covers of various popular/rock acts. I first heard them when Phil Jupitus did the breakfast show on 6 Music. He used their cover of Rush's The Treesas a bed for his talky bits.



Of the crossovers posted here, this is the one I'm least sure about because 1) the video is rubbish and 2) I'm not sure they're doing it for a laugh. What do you think? Do they deserve to be here?

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
What's not to like about the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain? Here is an outstandingly good live performance that shows what they're made of:



Their website links to some other great videos. Well worth seeing live I suspect.

Dread Zeppelin
Dread Zeppelin are a band that have to be seen to be believed! They are Robert Plant's favourite Zeppelin cover band (he says) and I think he's on record as saying Dread's cover of Your Time Is Gonna Come is better than the original. However, I can't find any evidence of this online so here's a slightly fuzzy video of it - you can make up your own mind:



I think it's magnificent!

What do you think?
What do you think of musical crossovers like this? What's your favourite of the ones shown here? Do you know of any other bizarre mixes that I've missed? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Free Download Friday #77: Apocalyptica

Just last week, this would have been a When Musical Worlds Collide post. This week, thanks to those nice people at Rock Radio, it is a Free Download post instead because I won tickets to a Secret Session they hosted last week.

I have won tickets to Secret Sessions before (see the Secret Session tag), so I knew how they worked. There is an intimate venue, a small but select audience and a band playing a short unplugged set. This time, the band in question was Apocalyptica. If you have never heard of them, try to imagine three classically trained cellists from Finland playing Rock and Metal. Struggling to imagine it? Then have a look at this video from the band's website:

Their secret session was outstandingly good! They only played four songs, two with a vocalist and two where it was just the three cellists. The stripped back nature of the Secret Session and the intimate (i.e. small) venue allowed you to concentrate on the music and the musicianship... and both were excellent. Even the drummer sounded great and his "drums" were the box he was sitting on!out

Rock Radio videoed the event, so you can see and hear for yourself what it was like.

So when are we getting to the free download I hear you ask? Well, I'm glad you asked because when I won the invite to the secret session, I had a look around to see what I could find out about Apocalyptica. One of the things I found was, that in exchange for signing up to their newsletter, Apocalyptica are currently offering a free download of At The Gates Of Manala. So sign up, download, enjoy!

Free Download Friday #33: Rodrigo Y Gabriela

I was very tempted to keep Rodrigo Y Gabriela for a When musical worlds collide post. I may still feature them again at some point in the future but I decided the downloads available were too good to miss for a Free Download Friday.

_Rodrigo y gabriela Live concert @AB Ancienne Belgique Bruxelles -9
Originally uploaded by Kmeron

Rodrigo and Gabriela are two Mexican musicians who are currently living in Dublin. They play a style of guitar that is normally described as flamenco metal. However, I don't feel this is fair to either flamenco or metal! What ever you call it, they are stunningly talented guitarists, playing a fast, percussive and powerful style on classical guitars.

I heard them on the radio ages ago and thought they sounded interesting but for some reason I did not seek out any of their recordings. However, when I went looking a couple of weeks back, I was pleased to discover three of their tracks were available on the rcrd lbl site. (I've talked about rcrd lbl once before and always meant to go an see what else of interest I could find there.)

The three downloads are:

1. Diablo Rojo
2. Buster Voodoo (Radio Edit)
3. Orion

Of the three, my favourite is probably Diablo Rojo:

What do you think? What's your favourite track?

When musical worlds collide #4

This is is nothing short of genius!



Queen + The Muppets - I'd pay money to see more of that.