« | Main | »

CD Revew: Various Artists: Butchering The beatles

First of all, let me qualify this review by saying that I'm not exactly a Beatles fan. They have some catchy songs and all, but I just don't think their musical contribution compares to Zeppelin, Sabbath or a number of other bands. So, when I heard that a bunch of 80's metal stars were going to "butcher" their songs I was pretty excited about hearing the cd. One look at some of the names below and I knew my ass was about to get kicked.

1. "Hey Bulldog" - Alice Cooper, vox; Steve Vai, guitars; Duff McKagen (Velvet Revolver / Guns N Roses), bass; Mikkey Dee (Motorhead), drums
2. "Back In The USSR" - Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead), vox/bass; John5 (Marilyn Manson / Rob Zombie), guitars; Eric Singer (Kiss / Alice Cooper), drums
3. "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" - Geoff Tate (Queensryche), vox; Michael Wilton (Queensryche), guitar; Craig Goldy (Dio), guitar; Rudy Sarzo (Dio), bass; Simon Wright (Dio), drums; Scott Warren (Dio), keys
4. "Tomorrow Never Knows" - Billy Idol, vox; Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), guitars; Blasko (Ozzy Osbourne), bass; Brian Tichy (Billy Idol), drums
5. "Magical Mystery Tour" - Jeff Scott Soto (Yngwie Malmsteen / Soul Sirkus), vox; Yngwie Malmsteen (Rising Force / Alcatrazz), lead guitar; Bob Kulick, (Meat Loaf / Paul Stanley Band), rhythm guitar; Jeff Pilson (Dokken / Foreigner), bass; Frankie Banali (Wasp / Quiet Riot), drums
6. "Revolution" - Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), vox / guitar; Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard), guitar; Mike Porcaro (Toto), bass; Gregg Bisonnette (David Lee Roth / Ringo Starr Band), drums; Joseph Fazzio (Superjoint Ritual), drums
7. "Day Tripper" - Jack Blades (Night Ranger / Damn Yankees), vox; Tommy Shaw (Styx / Damn Yankees), vox; Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake / Dio), guitars; Marco Mendoza (Whitesnake / Thin Lizzy), bass; Virgil Donati (Steve Vai / Soul Sirkus / Planet X), drums
8. "I Feel Fine" - John Bush (Anthrax), vox; Stephen Carpenter (Deftones), guitar; Mike Inez (Ozzy Osbourne / Alice In Chains), bass; John Tempesta (The Cult / Testament), drums
9. "Taxman" - Doug Pinnick (Kings X), vox; Steve Lukather (Toto), guitar; Tony Levin (John Lennon / Peter Gabriel), bass; Steve Ferrone (Eric Clapton / Tom Petty), drums
10. "I Saw Her Standing There" - John Corabi (Motley Crue), vox; Phil Campbell (Motorhead), guitar; C.C. Deville (Poison), guitar; Chris Chaney (Jane's Addiction), bass; Kenny Aronoff (Smashing Pumpkins / Jon Bon Jovi), drums
11. "Hey Jude" - Tim "Ripper" Owens (Judas Priest / Iced Earth), vox; George Lynch (Dokken / Lynch Mob), guitar; Bob Kulick (Meat Loaf / Paul Stanley Band), rhythm guitar; Tim Bogert (Vanilla Fudge / Beck / Bogert & Appice), bass; Chris Slade (AC/DC), drums
12. "Drive My Car" - Kip Winger (Winger), vox; Bruce Kulick (Kiss / Grand Funk), guitar; Tony Franklin (The Firm / Whitesnake), bass; Aynsley Dunbar (Whitesnake / Journey), drums

Well, consider my ass about half-kicked. Okay, we know the musicians involved are all incredibly talented, and you get about what you'd expect from them stylistically, so lets focus on the singers here, as they can make or break each of these songs, and I'll throw in mentions for the others when needed..

I must admit that I've never heard "Hey Bulldog" before in its original version, but I'm guessing that the guitar wasn't quite as blazing as Steve Vai's. I actually kind of like this song, except that Alice Cooper seems to be phoning it in. In fact, this is a recurring problem throughout the cd. Lemmy, Geoff tate and Billy Idol all seem intimidated by the material they are covering instead of truly living up to the title of the cd. JESUS! did I just criticize Lemmy AND Billy Idol in the same sentence? Well, I'm a huge fan of both of them (and Queensryche) so I know what these guys are capable of, and they just seem to lack their usual passion in these songs. Perhaps the title is too ambitious?

Just when I'm about to completely give up hope, here comes Jeff scott Soto and the guitarist that gave him his first big break, Yngwie malmsteen! Yngwie is incapable of playing a song without Yngwie-fying it, which on a cd like this is actually a good thing. I'm a unashamed Yngwie fan (except for the crap he's been hashing out for the past decade) and I'm an even bigger Soto fan, so this started to turn the tide for the album for me. It's probably the least impressed I've ever been with Soto, but that's okay. He's one of the best, so I'll deal with it.

Wait a seond, what the hell is Billy Gibbons doing on this cd? Don't get me wrong, he does a fine cover of "Revolution" but he's not metal by ANY stretch of the imaginaton! On a bright note, this song finally lets us all know what it would sound like if a member of Superjoint ritual and a member of toto recorded together. We can all sleep well tonight now that the bruning question has been answered. They actually turn in a good cover, but it just doesn't belong on what clims to be a metal cd..

"Day Tripper" reunites former Damn Yankees co-vocalisst Jack Blades and Tommy Shaw. These guys always sounds GREAT together, and this is no exception. They are a dream team of vocal harmonies. Unfortunately, the other musicians are kicking out the jams so much that it clashes with the vocals. I also feel the need to mention that guitarist Doug Aldrich was a member of the band Lion, who recorded the theme song to Transformers: The Movie back in the 80's. What are you all looking at me like that for?? That song was AWESOME!Lets see YOU write a metal song about Autobots!

Next up is John Bush, who has the voice that every man should have, but none do. If you don't like John Bush, then you do not like metal. He's paired up with musicians that make sense, and they change the song up just enough, while keeping it familiar as well. Good job, boys. PS: Anthrax never should have fired John to get Joey Belladonna back.

Doug Pinnicks band King's X has at times exhibited a massive Beatles influence, so there was no way he was going to mess up "Tax Man". King's X has been criminally overlooked for the past few decades and it's a shame. In my opinion THEY re one of the greatest bands of all time and people should be covering THEIR songs. the way the words "tax man" are sung kind of reminds me of the theme to the 70's batman tv show, and anything that makes me think of batan gets bonus points from me!

GOOD LORD! Its John Corabi! John is an incredible frontman, and he has the confidence to make this song his own. He swaggers through 'I Saw Her Standing There" with a touch of Little Richard in his step. Finally someone on this cd had the balls to truly redefine their song!

Ripper Owens [icked a rather left field choice of songs, dont you think? He's one of he best screamers in the business, but he shows his versatility here while giving us possibly the best song on the cd. He actually reminds me a bit of Axl Rose in his tone and delivery.

Despite massive criticism over the years, Kip Winger always had a decent hard rock voice, and his bands cd "Pull" is a hell of a lot better than most reviewers will evr give it credit for. Unfortuantely, like many of the other singers, he seems overcome with the legend of The Beatles and flatlines his vocals to try to sound more convincing. Dude, if I wanted to hear "Drive My car" done right then I'd be listening to The Beatles right now, not you. The songs could have used an extra kick.

So, whats the final verdict? Well, I'm still not a Beatles fan, and this cd failed to live up to the promise of "butchering": them. Its in a weird little place...Beatles fans wont like it because it isn't The Beatles, while metal fans will wish that the cd actually rocked a little harder. My advice is, that you should get this if you are a completist of any of the musicians therein. I happen to be a completist of John Bush, John Coarbi, Jeff Scott Soto and King's X so I definitely would have paid for this. While you're at it, check the store for cds by King's X or any of John Bush's work with Anthrax or Armored Saint, and buy those too.