Queensrÿche - Take Cover
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Free Music Notes for Take Cover
Free Music Review: Better than I expected...
Hit: 3 Stars
In the now decade since guitarist Chris DeGarmo departed Queensryche, the band seems to have been severely lacking in direction and execution. 1999's Q2K suffered from limp songwriting and 2003's Tribe was, while significantly more satisfying than it's predecessor, inconsistent (likely because of the presence of the departed DeGarmo on a handful of its tracks). But after Tribe, the band took a turn that made me nervous-- touring as part of packages, playing nostalgia-oriented shows, and finally releasing a disasterous sequel to their '80s metal masterpiece Operation: Mindcrime (the cleverly titled Operation: Mindcrime II), in what seemed a desperate effort to regain their past success. You can probably guess that I didn't have good feelings about "Take Cover", an album of cover songs. But having had a long love affair with Queensryche, I was willing to give it a spin. I loved Rush's cover album from a few years back (Feedback), maybe this one would surprise me too.
Overall, I can safely say, it's not bad. But take that comment for what it is-- faint praise at best. By and large, the band avoids the trap of sounding like a cover band by actually making the songs their own-- this gives the record a real sense of consistency. And the arrangements are actually by and large quite clever (Jesus Christ Superstar track "Heaven on their Minds" gets a great, fairly straight metal reading, Stephen Stills' classic "For What It's Worth" gets its chorus butchered, but in a good way). Further, vocalist Geoff Tate is in fine voice throughout-- he sounds as if he's finally becoming comfortable with the (natural) aging of his voice (Peter Gabriel's "Red Rain") whereas previously it sounded like he was struggling between trying to sing like he did in his 20s and finding something new.
Still, as much as there is to like, at times the band approaches the material with reverence bordering on plasticity (the admittely incredibly well arranged Pink Floyd classic, "Welcome to the Machine", The Police's "Synchronicity II") or seems just a bit off on tackling the material (Tate's incredibly uncomfortable vocal on the bridge of Queen's "Innuendo" is the best example).
I suspect some people out there will really love this, and admittedly I was perhaps hostile to it from the start, but "Take Cover", while quite listenable, is distinctly lacking. Its strengths come forth when the band is clearly having a good time (like on "For What It's Worth") as opposed to the material that was clearly a stronger influence on them. Fans will want to pick this up, everyone else can probably live without it.
Free Music Review: Not great, but mostly fun.
Hit: 3 Stars
I have to admit to being a pretty big fan of cover albums. It's always interesting to me to hear a band pay tribute to their influences, and to just cut loose and have a little fun. Sometimes they turn out great, sometimes not so much. I would say that this particular one falls somewhere in between.
The one thing you can say about this album is that it incorporates a pretty diverse array of artists. However, this is both good and bad. There are places where the band excels, especially on the Dio Sabbath tune "Neon Knights" (which is simply tailor made for Tate's vocals), and on Pink Floyd's "Welcome to the Machine", which retains all of the creepy grandiosity of the original.
However, there are also songs like the O'Jays' "For the Love of Money" and Crosby, Stills, and Nash's "Almost Cut My Hair" that just really didn't fit with the band's style or Geoff Tate's vocals. Also, I nearly groaned in protest when I saw Buffalo Sprigfield's "For What It's Worth" was included on here, not that I have anything against the song, but it's already been done to death. Ozzy and Rush both already did this song on their own cover albums, and neither really brought anything new to the original. However, this particular version is done a bit different from the original. It's not amazing or anything, but at least they sort of made it their own.
In between, the rest is pretty decent. The Police's "Synchronicity II" and Peter Gabriel's "Red Rain" are both done well, and the band takes some interesting ventures outside of the norm with "Odissea" and "Heaven On Their Minds", which are reverent and well-accomplished nods to Tate's background in opera and broadway, respectively. If I had to pick a favorite here, I'd say that Queen's "Innuendo" is arguably the standout. This is an insanely difficult song to recreate, but the band never misses a step, and Tate does the late great Freddie Mercury justice like few people could.
The album ends with a live cover of U2's "Bullet the Blue Sky", which is pretty cool, but kind of goes on for too long. This is one of my favorite U2 songs, and the band rocks it for sure, but I don't know, I would have preferred a studio recording to this long rambling version.
Overall, not a bad album. Not a must-have by any means, but it's a fun buy if you like covers.
Free Music Review: A step back in the right direction!
Hit: 3 Stars
After reading a lot of mixed reviews on here, I decided to pick up this album being the die hard Queensryche fan that I am. My hope was that they would redeem themselves from the debacle that was Opeation: Mindcrime II. I have to say, it was a step in the right direction. They're no longer the great prog metal band that brought us Operation: Mindcrime or Empire, but they are still Queensryche and I think they showed us that on this album. I rarely like hearing bands do covers, but I'm always intrigued to see a particular band's interpretation of a song. I think QR did a great job here on taking songs and making them their own. Some songs they stayed true to the arrangement but gave it a more QR metal feel, others that really changed a lot. "Heaven on Their Mind" was done very well, but I think the best song of the album is Peter Gabrial's "Red Rain". They definitely did that song justice. The one thing that I think would have made the album much stronger was a better mix of Tate's vocals. They weren't loud enough, especially on "Heaven on Their Mind". It's a very powerful opening song from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar and the lyrics are really what sets the tone for the musical and gives the song it's power, however, if you don't know the song, you'll have a hard time understanding what Tate is saying. The entire album is like that however, with his vocals struggling to make it above the guitar. I'm not sure if this was done on purpose because his voice is struggling, but that's what really made Queensryche unique is his unique voice and vocal style. Although I will admit that his voice doesn't work on all the songs, I don't think you will be disappointed. It's not a "must have for the essential Queensryche collection" but it's an enjoyable album and a step back to what made them great. I recommend it as it is enjoyable to listen to.Free Music Review: Something to pass the time until the next studio album comes out
Hit: 3 Stars
Basically, the album is o.k. There's some good tracks. Some o.k. tracks. And some not so good tracks.
If you're bored with operation mindcrime II and can't wait until Queensryche's next studio album, get this. It's good enough to hold you over. It's not the next "Queensryce album," though. So, don't go looking for that.
It's kind of a curiosity, more than anything else.
I like the cover of The Machine. Very queensrych-y.
The next few tracks are good. I like Love of Money a lot. Heaven on their minds is great, too.
I didn't like Neon Knights at first, but it's grown on me quite a bit.
Synchronicity is o.k. The original is way better.
Red Rain actually is pretty good.
Bullet the blue sky is awful. The instrumentals are quite good. But Geoff's voice just doesn't work with this song, and the monologuing in the middle is just,... silly.
Innuendo is good in some parts, and then in one section Geoff's voice goes a little weird and it kind of ruins the song for me.
And Odissea? Well,... it's opera. Not sure what to make of it. Can't really comment because I'm not familiar with Italian opera, so I have no frame of reference as to whether they did a good job, or not.
So, there you go. I'm a lifelong queensryche fan. (They're my favorite band.) And I give this 3 stars. Check it out if you're a die-hard fan looking for anything queensryche. Borrow someone else's copy first if you're not a die-hard fan or if you're unsure, before picking up your own copy. But, I'm glad I bought it.
Free Music Review: Maybe Scarborough Fair set the bar a little high...
Hit: 3 Stars
I've been listening to their streaming "listening party" at another site for the past two and a half hours. I recently enjoyed seeing them live (for the sixth time since 1986) and getting to hear "Welcome to the Machine" live at the most recent show. Unfortunately, I can't give an enthusiastic thumbs up to this. IMHO Geoff's voice sounded better on the current tour than it has since the first Mindcrime tour, but this album doesn't quite reflect that. I do give them points for venturing far out into the places most fans wouldn't expect. The band is in very good form, but I can't recall them ever being anything but. However, the cover of Queen's Innuendo is rough, at best. Geoff did a better job covering Somebody to Love about a decade ago on a tribute album. The only songs that I enjoyed from the first listen are Almost Cut My Hair, Neon Knights, and Bullet the Blue Sky. These three were the most readily recognizable when compared to some of the arrangements and interpretations presented on this release. If you are a die hard fan or a completist, this is for you. And I just realized... They were really sweating the making of Mindcrime II, but when it was completed, how would you follow that up? You don't, at least right away. You put out yet another Greatest Hits compilation and a covers album. Give the fans some time to hunger for something new. Hopefully the next release of original material will be a solid addition to the Queenryche catalog.