As we all know, tributes records are hit or miss, but "Someone/Anyone?," the 50th anniversary tribute to Todd Rundgren's classic "Something/Anything?" is more miss than usual. Maybe I feel this way because I have more invested in both the album and tributee than most. Or, maybe the covers just aren't very good.
I guess it's no surprise that the best of the lot comes from the veterans.
Louise Goffin shoots out of the gate with a killer rave-up, Motown style, of the pop classic "I Saw The Light." Astral Drive, the pet project of veteran producer Phil Thornalley, delivers a wonderful take on "Marlene" that switches gears midway for the better. Utopia vet, and Rundgren right hand man, Kasim Sulton shows respect for "The Night The Carousel Burned Down" and it works perfectly. And Marshall Crenshaw takes it down a notch on the proto-power pop classic "Couldn't I Just Tell You," leading with acoustic guitars and a sweet vocal, turning it (almost) into a ballad, with very fine results.
There are a few other winners, like Van Duren's heartbreak take on "Torch Song," or the frenetic reworking of "Song Of The Viking" from Adrien Bourgeois, which isn't great, but at least it tries.
Sadly, there are some downright awful entries on this set. The most disappointing for me is Ken Sharp's version of "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference." That it happens to be one of my Top Three Todd songs doesn't help matters, but hearing Sharp, who does have a lovely singing voice, try to out sing the master, was more offputting than impressive. He toys with the melody so much, it made me cringe.
I wasn't expecting much from this tribute, but I was hoping for more surprises, like the stellar XTC tribute, "The Garden Of Earthly Delights." Maybe a tribute 10" should have been the way to go.
11 comments:
Marshall Crenshaw has always been a classy guy. He has a penchant for covers, and almost always nails it. It sounds to me like this Someone/Anyone? is like most of these multi-artist tribute records. They almost always have a few good takes plus a lot of lesser work. The title Someone/Anyone? seems extra fitting in that regard.
I've become pretty wary and pessimistic about tributes anymore, especially ones that play it straight. They only make me want to listen to the original versions. I just think you need to keep the important elements of the song while at the same time putting a unique spin on the tune. Granted, that's not always an easy task to do, but to just play it straight - what's the point?
Your reference of the XTC tribute is a good example of one done right for the most part. There were a couple of volumes of Zep tributes done back in the late 80's -- early 90's, The Song Retains The Name, that just nailed it.
Randy
Hm - I like it a lot. Mostly the first disc - it does wane for me on disc two.
But I really like the remakes of 'It Takes Two To Tango (This Is For The Girls)' and the first version of 'Sweeter Memories'.
Likewise, 'One More Day (No Word)' is one of my least fave songs on the original but I like it here.
I think 'Some Folks Even Whiter Than Me' goes more for a groove here than the quasi-psychadelic arrangement of the original - that feels more right.
'Saving Grace' is prob my second-fave song on the original, and I rather like Adrian Bourgeois's bonus remake here.
But I must say, this comp made me realize how much I actively disklike 'You Left Me Sore' (especially without the impromptu laughs on the original).
But the original's the best of course - it's my favorite record of all time.
The Louise Goffin and Crenshaw tracks are killer. I'm going to be stealing those for PowerPop on Friday, and thanks for the heads up.
I actually liked this a lot and thought it was really fun. Yes, it's played straight for the most part, but I didn't think that was so bad in this case. Sometimes a reinvention of every song on a tribute album is not necessary.
The XTC tribute was a recent high mark. This doesn't come close to that, but there wasn't anything I didn't like on Someone...
"Sometimes a reinvention of every song on a tribute album is not necessary."
I agree. But, if you are playing it straight and not very good at it, what's the point? The guy singing Wolfman Jack sounds anemic. A good faithful cover is always welcome, but so few entries on this set are worth a second spin.
Not a fan of straightforward covers on a tribute album. Otherwise, it just sounds like a covers band. At least change it up a little.
I loved the XTC tribute album as well as the Bowie tribute video. The former had versions that pretty much stuck to the originals where there was a bit more translation with the Bowie stuff. The Todd has a bit of both. With the exception of the Louise Goffin cut nothing struck me. The versions that stuck to the originals were ok but I didn't care as much as I did with the XTC and Bowie stuff. I'll go back and listen again but for now nothing else is thrilling me.
cmealha,
Not even the Crenshaw?
Wolfman Jack is not one of the highlights for me on the original album, so I wasn't expecting any cover version to change my mind on it. :-)
"Wolfman Jack is not one of the highlights for me on the original album"
Kill me, why doncha!
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