Sin-atra --- Various Artists --- 2011 (Eagle)
Oh, whether this is great or a load of tosh it's definitely gonna be fun! When I saw this I just had to buy it: a tribute album to old Blue Eyes by rock and metal bands? I am so there! We've had this sort of thing before, of course, but mostly by pop acts, with the likes of Westlife's “May we be Frank?” --- no you may not! --- and of course Robbie Williams' “Swing when you're winning”, and tribute albums by their very nature are nothing new, but to see the cream (maybe) of rock pay homage to the Chairman has got to be worth a listen!
As expected, it's insane from the off, with Devin Townsend mashing up, chewing up and spitting out that classic “New York New York”, even more disturbing than Sid's, er, rendition of “My way”! Power metal chords, a growl that would make Waits blush and a total irreverence mixed with a sense of awe and respect that you just have to smile at. I'm sure ol' Frankie himself would approve. Well, maybe not. But it's fun, and Devin's ad-libbing ---
”I wanna wake up/ In a city that doesn't sleep/ And find I'm king of the hill/ Overlord of the freakin' universe!” --- just adds to the sense of surrealism and fun this first cover has to engender in all but the most stony-faced and, dare I say, square music fans?
Glenn Hughes is up next, to tackle that old love ditty, “I've got you under my skin”, and to his credit he doesn't mess too much with the source material like ol' Devin, putting a heavy hard guitar melody on it but generally sticking to the original lyric and tune. Good version, if not quite as much madcap fun as the opener. Nice addition of horns in a respectful nod back to Frankie's big band backing. Nice keyboards that really complement the guitars here. Gives the song quite a dramatic, almost ominous feel.
Not too much info available on this release, sadly, so I can't tell you specifically who plays on what, only the vocalists, but you'll no doubt recognise Queensryche's frontman Geoff Tate on a blastin' version of “Summerwind” which is just a joy to listen to, swaying along on a semi-big-band rhythm, great guitars and brass, though I think the latter may be on keys. It's even possible that the same backing band is used across the album, just with different vocalists, though that may not be the case. Either way, there's a cool guitar solo backed with some heavy keys on this, and an almost Sabbathesque ending, then it's the turn of Mister Twisted Sister himself, the one and only Dee Snider.
Now I would have thought “The lady is a tramp” was tailor-made for Dee, but he's decided to go with his interpretation of “It was a very good year”, which I have to say from the opening is virtually unrecognisable from the original, but when Dee gets singing he really gives it his all --- as he always does --- and totally gets into the groove and the spirit of the thing. Backed by a Zep Kashmir-like melody, he definitely puts his own spin on the song, and without question he still has a fine set of pipes, even, what, twenty-five years later?
After that, it's hard to discount anything, but Tim “Ripper” Owens singing “Witchcraft”? That seems to be stretching the envelope to tearing point, however the ex-Judas Priest/Iced Earth vocalist has a good bash at the song, and comes away leaving it still breathing. Barely. Hard and heavy screaming guitars and crunching drums are the order of the day, and it's probably the fastest version of any of the Sinatra catalogue on the album so far, even approaching Devin Townsend's “New York, New York” for sheer insanity and fun. That
sounds like harmonica there, but I'd be willing to bet it's being made on a keyboard.
Strangely enough perhaps, no-one has decided to tackle Frankie's swansong, perhaps agreeing that the ex-Sex Pistols guitarist's version was the definitive (what?), so the next one up is “Fly me to the moon”, and it's Cheap Trick's Robin Zander that takes it on, opening with a whimsical little snippet of NASA dialogue, then the song takes off itself, rocking along but really not too far removed from the original, though obviously a lot faster and heavier. The band certainly have a whole lot of fun behind him, but as with just about all the covers here, you never get the feeling they're laughing at the songs, just rearranging them --- in some cases radically! --- for their own genre, and in that sense making them theirs, as a certain show's judges never tire of saying.
We mentioned “The lady is a tramp” earlier, and indeed it does make a showing here, handled by Eric Martin. It's given a real big rock sound by the Mr. Big singer, with brassy keyboards and burning guitars, almost closer to AOR than metal, but still great fun, while Anthrax's Joey Belladonna does a great job on “Strangers in the night”. Being a drummer as well as a vocalist, I'm assuming that he's behind the drumkit, but don't quote me. Great guitar solo rips the song wide open, then dramatic keyboards pull it back together before Joey takes it home triumphantly.
Talking of ripping songs apart, those poor rubber tree plants get it good when Franky Perez kicks the **** out of “High hopes”. It's almost too bad to even be funny, but considering the humourous frame of mind that you really have to approach this album with to be able to not be offended by it, it's a blast. Frankie must be spinning though! Meanwhile, Doug Pinnick apparently has the world on a string, or so the Kings X man would have us believe. It's probably true, and he does a fine job with the song, actually using a lovely orchestral arrangement to open, thereby coming the closest on this album (so far) to evoking the original spirit of the songs. Of course, it's not long before grinding guitars and heavy drums crash in, but to Pinnick's credit he does not overdo the vocals and really comes across as creating one of the best interpretations on the album. Nice synthwork there too.
I'm not sure who exactly Elias Soriano is, other than that he's apparently in a band called Nonpoint, but he certainly flattens “Love and marriage” (can never hear that song without thinking of Al Bundy!), runs over it and then comes back to reverse over it a few times to make sure it's dead, gleefully snarling all the time. It's stupid, it's silly, it's pointless and it's very, very, very funny. Closing on perhaps an appropriate track, the philosophical “That's life” is taken by the late Jani Lane, in what must have been one of the Warrant frontman's last recordings before his untimely death in August of last year. Quite poignant, given the title and the lyric, but he does a good job with the song, with a mixture of rock, blues, gospel and big band swagger, and it's a damn good closer to what is, generally, a pretty awful album, but you don't realise that because you're laughing so much.
Look, this album is never gonna win any Grammies, and it's the sort of thing you used to see in record shops (remember them?) in the bargain bin for fifty cents, and thought, nah, not worth it! But if you truly hate Sinatra you might feel like it's cocking a snook at the Chairman; if you're a fan you probably should avoid it unless you've got a great sense of humour or are very tolerant. At the very least, it's a chance to hear some of rock's finest shuffle out of their comfort zone and tackle songs that they would probably never had considered performing otherwise. It's almost like the guy in a ripped t-shirt and tatty jeans finding his way into the exclusive country club, while whispers of "Shame!" abound! And really, where else can you get to hear Dee Snider sing “It was a very good year”, Devin Townsend berate New York, or a guy from Anthrax pound out “Strangers in the night”?
If you just want a good laugh, are prepared to accept a few (really) terrible versions of Frankie standards, or just need something to lift those whatever-blues from your life, this could be the one. Stick it on, rack up the volume and just try not to laugh. Hell, ol' Blue Eyes is probably bustin' a gut right now up there in the Great Gig in the Sky! Either that, or his lawyers are preparing a deposition right now...
TRACKLISTING
1. New York, New York (Devin Townsend)
2. I've got you under my skin (Glenn Hughes)
3. Summerwind (Geoff Tate)
4. It was a very good year (Dee Snider)
5. Witchcraft (Tim “Ripper” Owens)
6. Fly me to the moon (Robin Zander)
7. The lady is a tramp (Eric Martin)
8. Strangers in the night (Joey Belladonna)
9. High hopes (Franky Perez)
10. I've got the world on a string (Doug Pinnick)
11. Love and marriage (Elias Soriano)
12. That's life (Jari Lane)