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Atheist4Catholics
= Cult of Ray =
USA
925 Posts |
 Posted - 07/30/2003 : 06:32:52
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noexx - I really liked your cover. It reminds me of Slint or Sebadoh and is one of the more unique sounding covers.
www.mp3.com/clootie |
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noexx
= Cult of Ray =
361 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2003 : 07:33:21
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wow slint? i love slint and even a lot of the sebadoh stuff. i never even imagined a comparison to those with this cover. thanks.
ryan |
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Cult_Of_Frank
= Black Noise Maker =
Canada
11687 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2003 : 08:04:02
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| Heh... well, I actually did think it was pretty well done in several ways. Yeah, it seemed rushed, which was my general comment on most of them, but the potential was there. Mike actually played it for his sister and she loved it, though she doesn't generally dig FB much (somehow). So that might actually be an insult. But in general, most of these you can see what was supposed to happen or the potential, it just didn't quite get there. I could see this rocking with a bit more time. |
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Steak n Sabre
* Dog in the Sand *
Uzbekistan
1013 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2003 : 13:21:12
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| My quick take on the B-sides. I like many of the tracks just for the willingness to mess things up a bit, I'm more of a rock guy, so of course I would have like to have seen some of these make the final. I'd swap out Clooties tracks for each other, just 'cuz I like 'Big Red' more, great work Tim! Alas, quite a few tracks have some issues with things like timing and tuning, which bother me more than recording quality or vocal accomplishment. I think with more time, some of those could have been brought up to the next level. Good drummers are hard to find 'aina? Track-by-track coming soon.... |
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billgoodman
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Netherlands
6214 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2003 : 00:52:15
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My track (Parry the wind) was really a wrong one I guess.
I'm hardly satisfied with it. It was a risk to make the guitars as metally as it could be. The drummer didn't know the track. We only had time for one day of recording. You can really hear that.
And the distorted vocals? I really liked that.
Recorded in 1975? I like recording on crappy 4-track analog machines
But that's about all I like of it.
''it's not a box, it's a submarine'' |
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Little Black Francis
> Teenager of the Year <
3648 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2003 : 02:15:30
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quote:
Black Letter Day
Andy & I went through a couple iterations of this track, and I can't tell you how much improvement there was in the course of a week. I like the idea of the noise and distortion as it fits with the somewhat distorted take on life that modern society has found itself in and the song deals with. Intentional? I don't know. That said, I think that the song needs more going on and that while the idea was great, it failed in execution and the SNR seems to be somewhere well below 1. The vocals are great in the lower range as well, though the higher end stuff needs some work, and again, buried behind too many effects.
thank you dean
ain't it |
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molin
- FB Fan -
USA
15 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2003 : 04:40:33
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The top of my comments here is a repeat of what I said in the regular review forum. Also, as you may know I am one of the B-side folk as well (though I'm not gonna review my own track). I can't guarantee I'll be as "harsh" as I was in the other review - getting tired of being the idiot - but I'll try to stick to the same guidelines as outlined below.
To make a successful cover version you should usually meet one of these 3 requirements:
1) You/your band has a distinctive enough sound that you can cover the song straight, no major changes, and it will still have something to offer
2) You make a better version of a (possibly bad) orginal (maybe the execution was bad or the song itself just plain sucked).
3) You change the arrangement so as to make a semi-new song that merely alludes to the original
You can follow this rule and still fail miserably (see the Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie cuts on the recent Ramones tribute CD), but I believe you ignore it at your peril.
Some examples so you know what side of the fence I'm on:
BAD:
The Ataris' version of Don Henley's "Boys of Summer" is bad because the singer sounds just like Don Henley and the song sticks pretty damn close to the original, even mimicking the original's guitar sound for the little breaks. You could alomst get away with putting the original into rotation instead without the teenyboppers noticing.
Britney Spears' version of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock & Roll" is awful because it sticks too close to the original for her vocal style, and it's just awful anyway.
Puff Daddy's reworking of "Every Breath You Take", while meeting requirement #1 by default, actually still uses too much of the original. The juxtaposition that takes place is decidedly awkward.
GOOD:
Limp Bizkit had a huge hit with George Michael's "Faith" because they reworked it to fit their audience and because they have a totally different sound than George Michael. Not a fan, making a point.
Similarly, Alien Ant Farm's remake of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" was a hit (though not a good song in my opinion) because of their distinctive sound (compared to MJ anyway).
Pearl Jam's version of Frank Wilson's "Last Kiss" is good because PJ has a distinctive sound, especially when compared to the 50's original, and also because it redeems what is probably one of the lamest songs of all time.
Jeff Buckley's version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is so vastly superior to the original it's shocking, mostly because he was so damn talented he could sing the phone book, but also because there's a great song hidden in the original.
Finally, if you've heard A Perfect Circle's "Diary of a Madman/Love Song" thingy, you know they took two completely different songs, one of which is from another universe then they are musically, and made a successful integration which in some ways is superior to both originals.
Without any further ado, here's my notes. An asterisk (*) means I would put the song on my CD version of this collection.
Andy Pleva - Black Letter Day
interesting way to present the song
vocals are just not loud enough
also I would probably palm mute a section just to help differentiate the parts of the song
*Arthur - Fiddle Riddle
vocals are not loud enough
good idea doing this one as a rock song
10x more energy than some of the ones that made it on the CD
quirky enough to make my cut
*Avelimp - Adda Lee
reminds me of that band Hater, which I like
sounds good, there's no reason this shouldn't have made the cut but whatever
Bronko - I Need Peace
like the vocalist, a good sound
overall a bit too sloppy performance-wise
also too much of a straight-up cover for my tastes
*Cartland - Superabound
nice, Frank Black as performed by Elliott Smith channeling John Lennon
vocals are a bit off the mark at times (nitpick), otherwise this is really great stuff
*Clootie - Big Red
like the harmony stuff
would have preferred a totally beach boys-themed version but this is close enough
fairly straight cover but pulls it off I think
Eric Roberts - Heloise
not a fan of drum machines in this context, imagine it probably wasn't your first choice as well
great sounding mix, performances are good
unfortunately (for me) I can't get over the drums
*Floyd Merrick & The Body Pipes- I Think I'm Starting To Lose It
nice take on the song
reminds me of the Melvins
kickass
Gavin Bachner - Dog in the Sand
well ok then
Gavin Bachner - Nadine
believe it or not, I want this to be weirder, but with less distorted vocals
Gavin Bachner- So. Bay
like this the best of your covers
voice sounds good but at times reminds me way too much of Adam Sandler's singing voice
the coda/tag/whatever starts off too quietly, though perhaps this is on purpose
Marshall Guthrie - Robert Onion
drum machines in this context just rub me the wrong way
like the vocals
like the reworking of the song structure
wish could hear it better
Noiwings - Dog in the Sand
instrumental, not a bad idea
I think I might like yours better than the original, though I didn't really like the original
Parker Airspace - Czar
a bit too much of a straight cover
could have used more of the keyboards
Parker Airspace- If It Takes All Night
too much of a straight ahead cover, piano and all
would have liked to hear the metal guitars from "Czar" on this one
Pong - True Blue
had to turn this way up to hear it
drums have that weird "studio" sound
hate this song (not your fault) and you didn't turn it around for me
Psychic Twin - Speedy Marie
you've got a whole Lemonheads thing going on, which is neither here nor there
could have used more crunch guitar in the mix
while I applaud the percussion freakout in theory, I'm not feelin' it
PU - Western Star
singer sounds really unsure, maybe that's the style but I'm not feelin' it
otherwise I like what you've done
rent to own - Man of Steel
sticks too close to the original in some ways for my taste
vocals are too soft by half
Robert Onion - Don't Ya Rile 'em
vocals are just off-key too often
Robert Onion - Old Black Dawning
ditto
*Surf Feast - Man Of Steel
Link Wray meets Frank Black, nice
this should have made the cut, it's short and sweet
Surface Noise - Parry The Wind High Low
like the way it's going most of the time
like way you did the ending
vocals are off-key sometimes
just wish it were less low-fi overall
The Ex Team - Sir Rockaby
good job, really like the format, instrumentation, etc
don't like the vocal style (totally personal choice)
In conclusion, I just want to say I'm really glad we have access to these tracks as Avelimp and Cartland have the best tracks of all as far as I'm concerned. |
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PsychicTwin
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1772 Posts |
Posted - 08/01/2003 : 02:28:46
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quote:
Originally posted by molin
Psychic Twin - Speedy Marie
you've got a whole Lemonheads thing going on, which is neither here nor there
could have used more crunch guitar in the mix
while I applaud the percussion freakout in theory, I'm not feelin' it
molin- points well taken...i'm always open to constructive criticism. like i said, i'll give everybody (both final and b-sides) my own constructive criticism when i get back from Greece after 8/7. I want to give all the tracks a re-listen instead of just spouting out opinion from memory.
but, dude, the LEMONHEADS?? i sure as hell hope you are the only one who found such a parallel.
oh well, at least i have some solace--you would find no such similarity even remotely in my original songs. |
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mereubu
= FB QuizMistress =
USA
2677 Posts |
Posted - 08/01/2003 : 08:12:52
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Um, my husband and I heard it too. Mostly it's that your voice is in the same register as Evan Dando's, so I wouldn't take it too personally. It's a passing resemblance at best.
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PsychicTwin
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1772 Posts |
Posted - 08/02/2003 : 15:56:22
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*phew*
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The Holiday Son
= Quote Accumulator =
France
2010 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2003 : 04:39:37
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quote:
Originally posted by Cult_Of_Frank
Avelimp- Adda Lee
I love the intro in particular, but the rest of the song is well done too. I like the harmonica (?- sounds like a synth harmonica, but I'm not sure).
It's actually a real saxophone but we added some reverb on it. |
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Cult_Of_Frank
= Black Noise Maker =
Canada
11687 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2003 : 07:28:07
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| Cool, yeah, I really couldn't put together what it was and didn't really think it was a harmonica, but the reverb must've thrown me off. |
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noexx
= Cult of Ray =
361 Posts |
Posted - 08/23/2003 : 03:49:44
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i have a song for the pixies tribute thing pretty much done...let me know when it's ready to go!
ryan |
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