Dangerous stuff taking on the classics: Covers EP by Slighter #electronic #bowie #radiohead #massive attack

 

Cover versions are always dangerous places. If it’s a well known track then you risk conflicting with people’s ideas of how the track should sound. That’s even worse if you’ve picked on artists who are on pedestals. Slighter has gone for broke here picking on Massive Attack, David Bowie and Radiohead.

First under the microscope is Massive Attack’s Angel. Taken from their 1998 album Mezzanine, the track featured a lovely delicate vocal from Horace Andy. It’s a woozy druggy song (intentionally or otherwise) fully of paranoia. Slighter keeps the paranoia but turns it into an industrial ambient epic. Not quite suitable for Wednesday nights and Champions League but good for blood spattered episodes of Silent Witness.

Second is David Bowie. This is better ground for me, since I’m no Bowie fan and there are no illusions to shatter. More hefty industrial noise on the all too contemporary I’m Afraid of Americans from Mr C turning it into a gargled vocal industrial rock wig out to excellent effect.

Finally, the immensely tedious Radiohead and their inexplicably popular Climbing Up The Walls. There’s still the industrial tinge here, with orchestral dynamics to add a bit of drama. It’s only towards the end when the wall of guitars comes out that htis finally breaks free. But this of the three seems most respectful of its sources. Ends up slightly less than it should have been.

Get this for Angel and especially, I’m Afraid of Americans.

~ by acidted on January 18, 2018.