Band : Various Artists
Album : The Killer In You - A Tribute To The Smashing Pumpkins
Release Year : 2005
Genre : Post-Hardcore / Emo
Tracklist :
1. Roses Are Red - Cherub Rock
2. A Thorn For Every Night
3. Poison The Well - Soma
4. Emanuel - Mayonnaise
5. Amor For Sleep - Today
6. Hopesfall - Eye
7. A Static Lullaby - The Everlasting Gaze
8. Vaux - 1979
9. 32 Leaves - Zero
10. Murder By Death - We Only Come Out At Night
11. Eighteen Visions - Quiet
2. A Thorn For Every Night
3. Poison The Well - Soma
4. Emanuel - Mayonnaise
5. Amor For Sleep - Today
6. Hopesfall - Eye
7. A Static Lullaby - The Everlasting Gaze
8. Vaux - 1979
9. 32 Leaves - Zero
10. Murder By Death - We Only Come Out At Night
11. Eighteen Visions - Quiet
People are correct in fearing tribute albums since the songs cannot be evaluated but in the context of their original versions. This makes a Smashing Pumpkins tribute that much more difficult since the band was not only phenomenal (disclosure: I'm a huge SP fan) but also because Billy Corgan was famously (some would say infamously) over-controlling and meticulous during recording, leading to impeccable albums. Hence, if a cover is to be "good" or successful (at least), it cannot simply aim to replicate the original (impossible in this case); it must bring in something different (in most cases unique to the band covering the song) that recasts the song in a new, possibly innovative, light.
What does this mean for this collection? Exactly what most people fear: it is populated with dull renditions of great SP songs performed with some measure of competence but ultimately failing to entertain even on some level of nostalgia. The problem, of course, it that they are trying to emulate the originals which, while flattering to Corgan and Co., I'm sure, simply does not work. This is not surprising, as these are mostly forgettable bands with questionable aptitude. The songs are simply out of their league. Then there's Murder By Death.
Murder By Death avoids doing precisely what the rest of the bands do here, which is simply rehashing the original with a few screams here and a painfully cheesy voice inflection there. They instead make it their own. Surprisingly, the fist time I listened to their track I actually heard Murder By Death and not some band pretending to be the Pumpkins. The usual MBD strings complement the song well, "We Only Come Out At Night" feels right at place with their newest album, and the narrative structure of the song suits their own style perfectly. The original was fascinating because of the interplay between its bouncy, playful melody and its otherwise dark lyrics. MBD takes the song all the way to its natural conclusion by making it even darker and somber yet retaining its strange sense of hope, albeit with a sort of helpless resignation to it. The song is cool all over again. And that's what a good cover should do.
In other words, mostly disposable dreck except for Murder By Death's cover of "We Only Come Out At Night." It single-handedly takes the entire album from 1 star to 4. That is to say, the album is worth it just for this one song, it really is that good.
What does this mean for this collection? Exactly what most people fear: it is populated with dull renditions of great SP songs performed with some measure of competence but ultimately failing to entertain even on some level of nostalgia. The problem, of course, it that they are trying to emulate the originals which, while flattering to Corgan and Co., I'm sure, simply does not work. This is not surprising, as these are mostly forgettable bands with questionable aptitude. The songs are simply out of their league. Then there's Murder By Death.
Murder By Death avoids doing precisely what the rest of the bands do here, which is simply rehashing the original with a few screams here and a painfully cheesy voice inflection there. They instead make it their own. Surprisingly, the fist time I listened to their track I actually heard Murder By Death and not some band pretending to be the Pumpkins. The usual MBD strings complement the song well, "We Only Come Out At Night" feels right at place with their newest album, and the narrative structure of the song suits their own style perfectly. The original was fascinating because of the interplay between its bouncy, playful melody and its otherwise dark lyrics. MBD takes the song all the way to its natural conclusion by making it even darker and somber yet retaining its strange sense of hope, albeit with a sort of helpless resignation to it. The song is cool all over again. And that's what a good cover should do.
In other words, mostly disposable dreck except for Murder By Death's cover of "We Only Come Out At Night." It single-handedly takes the entire album from 1 star to 4. That is to say, the album is worth it just for this one song, it really is that good.
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