A TRIBUTE TO ABBA (2001) NUCLEAR BLAST
|
 |
Besides many of the Kiss-related stuff I own, I think this Abba tribute disc was the very first covers album I bought. At the time I thought it was hilarious, and actually liked most of the songs. Revisiting it to write about it hear I'm a little less enthusiastic. I am not afraid to admit that I absolutely LOVE ABBA. They created timeless music that I never seem to grow tired of. But with very few exception, the bands on this CD have not managed to translated these classic songs into the metal format very well. Opening death/goth outfit, Therion, do a stellar job on "Summer Night City". And I think I actually went out and bought some regular albums by At Vance after hearing their cover of "Money, Money, Money"! They have done several ABBA covers on their albums over the years. Swedish power metallers Morgana Lefay and Tad Morose also do their countrymen justice with respectively "Voulez-Vouz" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You". The latter is almost not recognizable at first, but when the chorus kicks in there is no doubt that this is the ABBA classic. Finally I think Sargant Fury does the best job of actually creating a metal tune with their "Eagle". If I didn't already know the original version, I could have easily have been misled to think that this was an original song from this band. On the other end of the scale we find a disappointing "Thank You For The Music" from Metalium. These guys usually deliver some great covers, but here I think they fall a little flat. Paradox's thrash metal rendition of "S.O.S." is not exactly successful either. Then you have the absolutely atrocious additions, such as Rough Silk and their version of "Take A Chance On Me". And add Custard's "Super Trouper" while at it. Their attempt at harmonic vocals is ludicrous! Talk about out of key! Finishing off the CD is German punk rockers, Glow, and their rendition of "Dancing Queen". 'A Tribute To ABBA' remains a novelty covers album that is fun to own. The booklet features liner notes from each band and their respectively songs. And as a collector of metal it is definitely cool that 9 of the 14 tracks were, at least at the time of it's release, exclusive to this release.
SPACEWALK - A SALUTE TO ACE FREHLEY (1996)
TRIAGE RECORDS
|
|
1996 was the year we saw a full reunion of the original line-up of Kiss. But prior to that the Kiss Army branches worldwide were busy hosting conventions, releasing tribute albums and keeping the Kiss name Alive (pun intended). I can't seem to remember if this tribute album was released before or after the reunion was a fact. But I do remember buying it as a new release. Nevertheless, this is a fine tribute, obviously concentrating on Ace Frehley. If you have followed Ace's career over the years, you'll see that this CD consists of self proclaimed fans of his, like the boys from Anthrax, Sebasitan Bach and the 2 brothers from Pantera, to name a few. Most of the songs stay pretty close to the originals, but the various artists have definitely put their own marks on them too. 'Spacewalk - A Tribute To Ace Frehley' is also very notable for the song "Take Me To The City", a brand new song from Ace Frehley himself! Definitely one of the standout tracks on the CD. Others include "Dimebag" and Vinnie's rendition of "Fractured Mirror", "Deuce", featuring Marty Friedman, "Cold Gin" with John Norum and Jason McMaster, and "Rip It Out" as recorded by most of the boys from Anthrax. My version was released on Triage Records, and seems to be the Canadian version of the CD. In Japan it also featured "Save Your Love" with Sebastian Bach as a bonus track. I'm a little uncertain, but I think the US Shrapnel version is missing the Ace Frehley tune.
METALLIC ASSAULT - A TRIBUTE TO METALLICA
(2000) TRIAGE/EAGLE RECORDS
|
|
Bob Kulick and Bruce Bouillet is back with yet another tribute album. This time they put the spotlight on Metallica. The list of musicians contributing is of course impressive. And it is also always fun to see what artists are collaborating on each song. I mean, where else will you see Jon Oliva (Savatage) sing on a song with Lemmy (Motörhead) playing bass? This tribute album is also a curiosity in that Robert Tujillo plays bass on 2 of these tracks here, 3 years prior to him actually joining Metallica. Long time guitar-tech for James Hetfield, ex-Metal Church guitarist, John Marshall, plays on "Sanitarium". So there are plenty of link to the band at hand present also. The most curious track might be King's X vocalist, Doug Pinnick's contribution on "The Unforgiven". I can't say that anyone really brings anything extra to any of these songs. But that is maybe as expected? These songs are so imprinted in my head in their original form, so any artist trying to take on these classics should treat them with respect, and not tamper with the original vision or intent of the material. The most disappointing try is ex-Anthrax singer Joey Belladonna's contribution on "Sad But True". I really had hopes for what this thrash metal legend could bring to the table. But he fails miserably. "For Whom The Bell Tolls sound great up till Eric Bloom (Blue Öyster Cult) opens his mouths and runs it! (Maybe it needed more cowbells?) All in all this is a very uneven tribute album, with only a handful of versions I'd like to hear again. Whitfield Crane (Ugly Kid Joe, Life Of Agony) does a fine "Sanitarium", Billy Milano (S.O.D., M.O.D.) and Scott Ian (Anthrax) moshes up "Whiplash", and I am of course a fan of Jon Oliva's "Nothing Else Matters". However I think my favorite is Chuck Billy (Tesamtent) and Jake E. Lee (ex-Ozzy Osbourne) roaring through "Seek & Destroy". But other than that I find the rest to be quite bland.
