Punk Goes 90s, Various Artists
So the first time I listened to this, I thought it was shocking. Like really, really bad. And then some of the songs grew on me a little bit, while others plummeted to new depths. The Punk Goes... serious has always been a little hit and miss and for me the '...Metal' and '...Pop' efforts were far and away their best. '...90s' isn't a complete lost cause, but that's only because there are several outstanding efforts which save this from being a catastrophe. In order:
Mae - March of the Pigs - Covering Nine Inch Nails when you're a namby, pamby electro pop band probably wasn't the best idea and unsurprisingly Mae can't convey the emotion Trent Reznor does on the original. Poor.
Plain White Ts - Song 2 - ...is absolutely abysmal. It lacks everything which made the original an anthem. It's the worst song on here by a mile.
Gym Class Heroes - Under The Bridge - I feared for this, but GCH make this their own song and even add an extra rapped verse for extra effect. It's clever - not the best version here, but their originality wins them bonus points.
Copeland - Black Hole Sun - See Mae really. Copeland are a bit too sickly sweet to cover Soundgarden, and this comes across like a weak straight cover. Aaron Marsh is a genius and has a lovely voice, but I don't think he sounds dirty enough to get away with this.
Hit The Lights - Hey Jealousy - probably the best song here. I'm a Gin Blossoms fan anyway and they just twist the original to make it a pop-punk classic. Great stuff.
Emery - All I Want - I've never heard of Toad The Wet Sprocket before, but this sounds like The Backstreet Boys. NEXT!
Scary Kids Scaring Kids - Losing My Religion - I hated this first time I heard it, but it's a big grower. SKSK are a bit generic, but they give this their own twist, so thumbs up.
Cartel - Wonderwall - Not a patch on the original, but I love Will's voice more than I love my own mother, so I was always going to like this. It's a bit too straight for a cover, but the vocals pull it through.
The Killing Moon - You Oughtta Know - This is brilliant. Alanis sang this with so much hate and venom it's a difficult one to match, but TKM do it with aplomb. If you download any one song, make it this one - you won't be disappointed at all.
Anberlin - Enjoy The Silence - I enjoyed this one ending. Boring!
Bleeding Through - Stars - Snoooooooze.
Eighteen Visions - Beautiful People - I suppose it's no worse than the original...but it's certainly not any better.
The Starting Line - Big Time Sensuality - TSL in Icelandic cover song shocker? You must bjorking! To be fair, this sounds like a TSL song, so fair play fellas!
So They Say - In Bloom - Rule one of being a band, don't cover Nirvana. To be fair though, this isn't too bad at all. Uusally Nirvana covers are just plain old nasty, but this one's ok.
Bedlight for Blue Eyes - Jumper - I love Third Eye Blind, this isn't as good as the original. Not bad, not great.
www.fearlessrecords.com
paul
