Beyond guessing the original artist on track 11 I have another challenge for everyone. I don't actually know if it's possible by what you can actually read on the cover art, but there are words on there. It's a photo I took. You get extra credit if you can tell me whose words they are and where the rock their carved on stands. You can email me the answer at renewcomer@gmail.com and I'll post news of a winner below.
Meanwhile if you'd like to comment on any tracks here I'll review them very quickly here:
- Legions (War) from One Cello x 16 by Zoe Keating
- Old Man Atom by the Sons of the Pioneers... Was Roy Rogers still with them here?
- Days of Armageddon from Haiku by Songdog.
- The Bell by Stephan Smith with Pete Seeger, Dean Ween, and Mary
- Blackwater Slide by Bert Jansch
- Lady in Black by the Phudys
- What a Piece of Work is Man by the cast of Hair
- Helter Skelter by Siouxxsie and the Banshees
- Camina Burana Fantasy by Sandy Bull
- Girl by Tiny Tim with Brave Combo
- How many had to pull out the original track to remember what it sounded like?
- Wicked and Weird by Buck 65
- I Hung My Head by Johnny Cash
- Gimme Shelter by Twilight Dimentia
- Famous Blue Raincoat by Tori Amos
- Starman by the Culture Club
- Red Song by Hey Rosetta
- ... and finally, like the ending to another great album, Her Majesty by Chumbawamba
And for those who like the many covers in the set you can get an amazingly steady diet of them at coverville.com. Check it out. Become a citizen.
- Randy Newcomer
Yeah, Randy, Siouxsie would have driven Manson off the rails even faster than the Beatles! Spooky cover of an already creepy song.
ReplyDeleteI've finally given a thorough listen to all 18 tracks - twice no less - and found it a very eclectic and intriguing mix. I thought "Days of Armageddon" was a revelation, and I laughed out loud at Chumbawamba's rendition of "Her Majesty". On the other end of the spectrum, it won't be "Helter Skelter" keeping me awake at night, but rather Tiny Tim's imaginative treatment of "Girl".
ReplyDeleteI smiled every time the liner notes began "I'm not a big fan of...", having experienced the same thing myself. Would you believe that I have a favorite Gospel song? But I digress. Honorable mentions go to "What a Piece of Work is Man" for best use of a Hamlet soliloquy in a musical, and "Carmina Burana Fantasy" for best banjo rendition of a Carl Orff cantata.
As for the mystery song, I was never a big fan of Black Sabbath, but my next-door neighbor had all of their early records, so the "can you help me" chorus rang familiar. I had never heard of "Hellsongs", but recalled that their countrymen The Cardigans were also fond of giving Metal the Lounge treatment on such staples as "Iron Man". So there you have it!