I finally got my 'Amateur Hour' CDs today, & have now listened to the whole thing twice. Like everyone else, I must say that I'm mighty impressed! This CD is truly something every Sparks fan will thoroughly enjoy & would be proud to have in their collections. The problem with most tribute albums is that a lot of the bands sound like they don't really have their hearts in it, turning in by-number arrangements of only "the HITS"... you get the feeling half of the bands on the damn thing only memorized the songs in the first place in order to "get something out". NOT HERE, FOLKS! Why, there is so much LOVE pouring out of these tracks that it's STAGGERING... it's obvious from the first song that EVERY participant has, corny as it sounds, a truly "personal relationship" in their own way with our Brothers Mael & are therefore trying REALLY, REALLY HARD to do our heroes justice. The results are overwhelmingly successful, for the most part.
Here is my track-by-track analysis as a PROFESSIONAL WEIRDO, after 2
listenings.
(PS- If I offend anybody, well, I probably don't know what I'm talking
about... )
DISC ONE:
01. Steve Murray- "Propaganda"- A faithful & delightful way to get things
started... so far, so good...
02. Derek Paice- "Girl From Germany"- Now, THAT'S entertainment, folks! The vocal delivery on this one is a thing of beauty. Or SOMETHING... anyway, THANKS FOR RECORDING THIS!
03. Wednesday Week- "Slowboat"- There's a folky, comforting quality to Ruud's voice that I quite like... good job!
04. R. Stevie Moore- "Fletcher Honorama"- Now, this is where things REALLY get goin' for me! Somehow, our Little Stevie has managed to make it all so much, well, CREEPIER, while still somehow maintaining the vibe of the original- YIKES! Kinda SPOOKY...
05. Steve Murray- "Beat The Clock"- BRAVO!!! This all acoustic version is a total blast- I LOVE the bridge part... TOTALLY COOL!
06. The Squirrels- "With All My Might"- hmmm.... since this is, um, ME & everything, I guess I have to "disqualify myself" or whatever & just go to the next one (but I WILL publicly state that Tom Morrison, the keyboardist on this cut, TOTALLY F***ING ROOLS!!!!!!)...
07. Steve Murray- "The No. 1 Song In Heaven"- Another acoustic gem from Mr. Murray. Nice Job!
08. The Quackle- "This Town..."- Ah! A much more lightweight, less
threatening approach than the guitar laden original, complete with female
vocals & the neccisarry cheesy gun sounds. Almost RELAXING!
(And better than the website version, I must add)
09. Rafael Wynn- "La Dolce Vita"- YAHOOO!!! I LOVE this song, & this version is NICE and SPRINGY! BOING, BOING!!!...
10. Karen J. Walsha- "Never Turn Your Back..."- Again, REALLY COOL... THIS LP IS PRETTY HAPPENIN', FOLKS!
11. Peter Konig- "Popularity"- A faithfull, professional & peppy little one, ain't it? QUAINTNESS ROOLS!!!
12. God/Monster- "The No. 1 Song"....- Hey... GUITARS! And more BOINGINESS!! Hop around, everybody! WOOO! (My downstairs neighbors must HATE me.. )
13. Steve Murray- "Something For The Girl..."- Seems like Steve finally put his acoustic down & rounded up some GEAR! Rockin', but I personally like tracks 5 & 7 better...
14. Egneken's Daughter- "Those MYSTERIES!"- HOOOORAY! STANDING OVATION! ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!! One of my all time favorite songs, sung from the heart by an 8 YEAR OLD GENIUS!!! BRAVO!!!! (If you like this kind of stuff, I highly recommend "THE EXOTIC BEATLES, pts. 1 & 2")
15. Murdoch- "Pineapple"- Disc one comes to a close with a haphazard rendition of everyone's favorite "Ode To Fruit"! (Minus points for annoying clicks & farts)
DISC TWO:
01. Cuban Boys- "A Song That Sings Itself"- Pardon my language, but this one
is GOD DAMN KICK ASS!!!! VERY well done...
02. The WayOutz- "A Fun Bunch Of Guys From Outer Space"- ROCKIN'!!! This is one of my FAVORITES on the album... love those 'G N' R' lead licks! AGAIN- WOOOO!!!!
03. John Sunderland- "Suzie Safety"- GREAT! Fu***ng great (even though at times it kinda sounds like it's gonna DERAIL at any second. But that only adds to it's CHARM!). Hats off! Man, I'm SO HAPPY to be on this ALBUM!
04. Peter Konig- "Reinforcements"- Pretty faithful & amusing enough, but the kick drum is gonna blow SOMEBODY'S speakers, FER SHURE...
05.Wednesday Week- "Knock Off" In which Ruud trades in his acoustic for an electric! haunting, yet HYPER... and again, there's that VOICE...
06. Wonder Boys- "The No. 1 song..." ...only THIS time with GUITARS! LOTS of 'em! And GREAT vocal backups! I LIKE these guys! Like, I said... THIS CD DOESN'T SUCK AT ALL!!!!
07. Collider- "I Predict"- HOORAY!! Another standing ovation!!!
A perfect match up of song & performer. THESE GUYS ROCK!
08. AAIIEE- "Happy Hunting Ground"- A rockin, fairly straight version, and the "Lou Reed meets Bryan Ferry" vocals are REALLY WEIRD. (So. naturally, I LIKE 'em!!!!... ) And that little SQUEAK is so CUTE!
09. Peter Konig- "So Important" MAN! People sure got a lot of GEAR sittin' around the house! I like this one way better than "Reinforcements"... COOL!
10. AAIIEE (with, um, ME!)- "AT HOME, AT WORK, AT PLAY"- Again, no comment 'cuz I'm biased or whatever- but check out Johnny's E-BOW ACTION!!! TOTALLY happenin'...
11. WONDER BOYS- "When Do I Get To Sing My Way"- ABSOLUTELY GREAT!!! Probably my FAVE TRACK!!! ...damn crafty arrangement, boys! Send me more stuff so I can rave about it in Poplust...
12. R. Stevie Moore- "Here Comes Bob"- Man! This guy is OUT THERE... Extra points for the guitar solos... I better get a full album & scope it out.... maybe not.... hmmm....
13. Collider "Something For The Girl..."- FANTASTIC!!!! WAY hyper & in your face... YIPPEE!! Jump up & down some more!!
14. Klepto Maniac Zoo- "Moon Over Kentucky"- I better let everyone find out about this one for themselves. YIKES!!!!!! (more insane Americans, obviously...)
Seriously, ORDER THIS LP- I SWEAR you'll enjoy it!!! REALLY!! Go right now
to http://www.fanmael.net for info... and tell 'em The CAPTAIN sent ya....
WOOOOO!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!