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Beatallica – A Garage Dayz Nite |
| December 5th, 2005 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 2001
Tracks: Sgt. Hetfield’s Motorbreath Pub Band; A Garage Dayz Nite; For Horsemen; No Remorseful Reply; The Thing That Should Not Let It Be; Everybody’s Got a Ticket to Ride Except For Me and My Lightning; …And Justice For All My Loving
Best track: probably A Garage Dayz Nite, but you could really pick any of them
Track to skip: none
Oh my goodness. This stuff is just insane. OK, for anyone who doesn’t know, Beatallica is a sort of ‘comedy band’. The music they do sounds like what Metallica would sound like playing Beatles songs. It sounds simple, and sounds like it really wouldn’t work, but once you listen to what they do, it’s obvious that these guys make it work. They clearly love both Metallica and the Beatles, and the depth that they know these two bands is impressive. I love how they get every nuance of Metallica: from James Hetfield’s vocals to Lars Ulrich’s drumming to Kirk Hammett’s wah-drenched guitar solos. These guys really know Metallica; so well, in fact, that many people honestly thought this *was* Metallica just taking the piss. That’s how authentic they sound.
The formula of the songs is pretty simple: they take a Beatles song, thrash it up, and throw in Metallica lyrics (not to mention many references to beer and poser metal bands). It’s more complex than that, because these guys do such a tremendous job with the lyrics, but that’s the basic idea. All of these songs work really well, but some of my favorites are still The Thing That Should Not Let It Be, obviously a wonderful combination of The Thing That Should Not Be and Let it Be. I just LOVE the guitar solo on here – perfect Hammett imitation, and then we get to the bass solo which is a super-multi-tracked bass extravaganza. They really captured the essence of Cliff Burton and it’s actually quite cool. Everybody’s Got a Ticket to Ride Except For Me and My Lightning is kind of two songs put together – the first half is Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey, with the second half being Ticket to Ride, with lyrics to Ride the Lightning over the whole thing. Very creative.
The main reason I love this stuff is because it’s funny. The lyrics are really good and the James Hetfield impersonations are just spot on. What I get from this is that, more or less, even if you play them like Metallica, the Beatles still wrote some great songs. And you can actually thrash up Beatles tunes and they still sound good. AND they still rock. And that’s why these guys, just goofing around initially, really did this perfectly. It’s humorous in so many ways, but also it’s still musically *good*. Maybe most people wouldn’t get all the jokes here, but since I’m a big fan of both Metallica and the Beatles it’s quite perfect for me.
Here’s the deal: Originally this album (as well as the “Beatallica” album) were only available as free downloads. They legally couldn’t sell them. In 2007 the band worked out a deal with Sony (owners of the Beatles catalog) where they could officially release *new* material. Once the new “for sale” CD was released, the band removed both free albums from their website. Maybe they had to; I don’t know. However, you can still find these two classics out there on the web. Here’s a site where you can download Garage Dayz Nite. It’s free, it’s not illegal, so go for it!
Rating: 93
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The Chick Corea New Trio – Past, Present and Futures |
| December 5th, 2005 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 2001
Tracks: Fingerprints; Jitterbug Waltz; Cloud Candy; Dignity; Rhumba Flamenco; Anna’s Tango; The Chelsea Shuffle; Nostalgia; The Revolving Door; Past, Present & Futures; Life Line
Best track: probably Rhumba Flamenco
Track to skip: none
I was introduced to Chick Corea’s music by my friend Kory who had an extra ticket for a show by this trio and wanted to know if I’d like to come. It was an amazing show and so naturally I became an instant fan of Jeff Ballard (drums), Avishai Cohen (bass) & Chick Corea (piano), but also of this trio as a whole. I didn’t wait too long in purchasing this CD. I think this is the only CD that these 3 have done on their own. Ballard, Cohen & Corea are the heart of Chick Corea’s fusion band, Origin. I love that this CD isn’t tied down to any one style of jazz and also that isn’t it definitely isn’t modern fusion played by a trio. They take ideas that crop up in modern jazz fusion, but they thankfully do away with all the coldness of it. So, here you have an album chalk-full of emotional, intelligent, rhythmic & humorous musicianship. This is one of the many albums I love that totally showcases what a trio can do. It’s surprising that 3 guys can get this much stuff to come out of their instruments.
Both Cohen and Ballard aren’t standard jazz players. They take chances that so many others don’t. I haven’t heard too many jazz bassists who approach their instrument, and their basslines, like Avishai Cohen does. I could listen to this album for his bass playing alone. And then, there’s Ballard who looks and sounds like he’s literally painting his drums. He is an extremely lyrical and melodic drummer (yes, on a rhythm instrument). Oh, and then there’s the other guy…what’s his name? Wow. I mean, Chick Corea’s piano playing is so amazing. He really blew me away when I saw them and in listening to this CD I’m once again struck of how well he knows his instrument and knows the kinds of things that a piano is capable of. I am seriously in awe of his musicianship.
There are so many great musical moments in these songs, and really, all of the songs are great. I do particularly love Avishai’s bass playing on the old Fats Waller tune, Jitterbug Waltz. Tremendous. I think my favorite on here is still Rhumba Flamenco; such a fantastic composition. The title track is also just remarkable. Really though, this whole album is great and the music goes so deep…there’s just so much to get out of this album.
Rating: 95
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