Album title: PTX, Vol IV- Classics
Artist: Pentatonix
Genre: Acapella Pop
Nationality: American
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Fifth EP; eighth overall
Estimated Rating:
Familiar with this artist? Have heard of them yes
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.47
Look, it's very clever but the problem is that this has been done so many times it's no longer original. I think The Flying Pickets were the first to do this back in the early eighties, and yes there's skill involved without question, but do I really want to listen to a full album of these guys recreating rock classics without the aid of any music? Oh, just an EP, not an album? Well, the question stands. You sort of know beforehand what you're going to get, and to be honest, hearing them wail “Wah-wah-wah-wah” for the guitar solo on “Bohemian Rhapsody” doesn't come across as being clever or talented (though I'm sure it is) but annoying. It's hard not to pre-review this entire album and say “Yes very nice. Now go learn to play some real musical instruments.” I don't mean to put down whai they do, but how long can you listen to this sort of thing before it gets on your nerves?
Speaking of getting on my nerves: “The Boogie-Woogie ****ing Bugle Boy”? Kill me now. Actually, scratch that: kill yourselves, Pentatonix. You don't deserve to live after that. Me? I'm just hanging out to see what they do with a-ha's “Take On Me”, and I've been reading a lot about their version of Dolly's “Jolene”, and as she guests herself on vox, I think I'd like to hear what all the fuss has been about. I'm not mad about the former, let's say; how are they going to do the long keyboard solo I wonder? Or will they just ignore it? They just ignored it. I don't think the world needs another version of “Can't Help Falling in Love With You”, even an acapella one, and now we're on the last track. Is it worth all the hype and the gushing praise the press have been giving it?
Meh. “Jolene” has always come across to me as a whiny wimpy song that doesn't suit Dolly Parton at all – can you imagine her a) begging her rival not to take her man or b) kicking her rival in the head and warning her off? Anyway I hate this song and this new version neither makes me like it nor this band. Pass.
Check out more from this artist? Nah
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Probably not
Actual Rating:
