Punk Goes Pop, Various Artists
When I first heard that Fearless were going to follow up the cool Punk Goes Metal record with a cd of pop covers, I got very excited. Y'see I love punk covers of cheesy pop songs. There are some absolute classics out there that surpass the originals - see Snuff's version of Tiffany's 'I Think We're Alone Now' and 'Take On Me' by Reel Big Fish as cases in point. So when I finally got my grubby mits on this CD I was extremely disappointed to hear it, because, well some of the songs are simply shite...
Looking at the tracklisting you will see all of your favourite 90's pop acts. There's N*Sync, Britney, Madonna, J-Lo, O-Town and even Belinda Carlisle (ask your dads kids...) Add to that Thrice, The Starting Line, Rufio and Yellowcard and you have a tasty looking effort. Unfortunately 'Punk Goes Pop' is like getting a huge present for Christmas, only when you open it you find most of the packaging is filled with polystrene balls and your prezzie is only little...rather disappointing.
Still there are a number of good tracks here to whet your poptastic appetite. Slick Shoes offer the first beauty, slaughtering the magnificient Mandy Moore's 'Candy'. It's typical Slick Shoes, fast and furious and loaded with melody. The recording does sound a bit shite, but it's passable enough to have you singing along if you know the words. Yellowcard can do no wrong at the mo, and with tracks like 'Everywhere' it's easy to see why. It's the perfect track to cover and with the violins acting as a perfect foil for the vocals, the band even make it sound like their own song. Probably the only version here that is better than the original.
Stretch Armstrong thunder through Pink's 'Get The Party Started' with their own brand of hardcore, and although they do a decent job, I can't help but feel that a pop-punk version would have been better. Rufio are another band on the rise, and their version of Madonna's classic 'Like A Prayer' is reasonably good. Technically this band are amazing and that shines through here...just this has already been covered by H2O and I'd probably say that version is better. Still, Rufio do a decent job.
Further Seems Forever tackle Justin "I dumped Britney" Timberlake and the rest of N*Sync by covering 'Bye Bye Bye', and to be fair have a reasonable go bearing in mind the type of band they are. I just think that this would have been far better with some urgency and distorted guitars lobbed into the mix. The Starting Line will be huge this time next year and their version of 'I'm Real' is fantastic. It's so hard to pull off a punk version of an r&b track, yet the boys do it with ease. It's trademark TSL with their pop twists, but the dual vocals work a treat and if their upcoming CD is going to be as good as this, we are in for a treat.
Reach The Sky butcher Britney Spears in a manner only they can, making 'Sometimes' sound like it has been melodic hardcore all its life. Fake ID cover a song I'm not familar with, 'All Or Nothing' by O-Town, but it's ok(ish) so I guess I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Ditto Thrice, and because I've never heard of Real Life, again I'll let this one go.
So on to the duffers. Dynamite Boy are worshipped by some, but I'm still yet to be convinced about what the fuss is all about. And 'I Want It That Way' doesn't offer too many plus-points. It's too slow, too generic and a bit dull. Not worthy of being the opening track, and isn't as classy as the Allister power-pop version. Noise Ratchet are an excellent new band, and are well worth checking out. Just 'Crush' is not a song which suits their emo wailings and so doesn't showcase their many talents. Element 101 are not a band I'm familiar with, and that's a good job because their version of Nelly Furtado's 'I'm Like A Bird' is atrocious. It's exactly the bloody same! It's when pop goes pop! Even the singer sounds like Nelly...fly away birdie, and don't come back...
Knockout admirably attempt to cover Destiny's Child, but 'Survivor' is just too difficult a track for them to manage it. Beyonce and the girls make it sassy and sexy, but Knockout don't quite manage to deliver the neccessary punch to win the contest. Keepsake are just rubbish, with 'The Way You Love Me' absolutely awful. Ditto Showoff who choose an old song in 'Borderline' when perhaps more modern efforts would have more suited them. It had to make an appearance somewhere, but unfortunately the Nicotine version of 'Baby One More Time' is a big let down. It could have been done so much better, but this is disappointing. At least it's not as bad as Student Rick, who literally murder Belinda Carlisle's 'Heaven Is A Place On Earth'. Vocally this is diabolical, when will SR realise they have no talent and just give up?
This could have been so much better. Too many bands stick too faithfully to their chosen song, whilst others simply choose the wrong track. There's a definite lack of big name bands too, surely a New Found Glory or Ataris covering Britney would have been better, and attracted that bit more publicity. Still, whack it in the stereo, and when you hear the original at least you won't feel as embarrassed when you find yourself singing along...
Paul Savage
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