Track By Track on Punk Goes Classic Rock

now playing: The Outfield - Your Love

I still can't keep an update schedule, surprising no one. However, I recently became aware of the existence of the Punk Goes... series of compilation albums from Fearless Records. If you're unfamiliar with the concept, all you do is take the latest 13-or-so flavors of the week from the increasingly ill-defined punk scene and get them to record covers of songs that are distinctly not punk. Highlights of the series—and I use that word with varying degrees of sincerity—include Chiodos doing Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta" (Punk Goes Pop 2, 2009), Cartel covering "Wonderwall" by Oasis (Punk Goes 90s, 2006), and more or less everything off the 2008 album Punk Goes Crunk. Yes, that's a real thing.

2010's offering, Punk Goes Classic Rock, hits stores on April 27th. I can give my basic impression of the album with a quote from Adam West: "I love this song! And I love it when amateurs sing the lyrics! But I hate baseball cards." Which is essentially accurate, even the baseball cards part. However, I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't go track-by-track on this album and evaluate each cover. Let's get started, then.

01) "More Than a Feeling" by Boston, cover by Hit the Lights

The opening track is a deal faster, clocking in two minutes shorter than the original, and does away with the soft guitar intro we've come to know and love. In its place are drums that are mixed just a little too loud, extra-crunchy guitars, and the god-help-him-he's-trying vocals of Nick Thompson. Brad Delp he most certainly isn't, and it really comes out during the chorus. I can hear his voice straining to hit some of those notes, and honestly if he hadn't changed the melody of a couple lines, I think he would have had a much easier time with it. There's a questionable filter sweep over the drums coming back in after the first chorus, and throughout the song, the emphasis of certain lyrics has been changed—I suppose to make it easier on the performers. The solo's a little different towards the end, and right after that there's a decent a cappella section for a couple bars, but it's just too little too late. Not a good start.

02) "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones, cover by VersaEmerge

The synthesizer introduction is certainly interesting, and I like that Blake Harnage and Sierra Kusterbeck trade off vocals in the verses; it's an interesting male/female voice dichotomy. There's a lot of electronic influence in this cover: Synthesizer, incredibly fuzzy guitar, processed bass and drums. Keyboards and guitar riff simultaneously around two minutes in and keep coming back in and out of the verses. Once the song goes into triplets, there's a keyboard line that adds its own texture to the cover in a mostly positive way. It's busier than the original, but it does covers right. VersaEmerge makes the song their own while keeping the spirit of the original alive. Nice recovery, album. Let's keep it up, okay?

03) "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty, cover by The Almost

Damn it, album, what did I just say. This cover opens with drums panned all the way to the left for no discernible reason before messily turning to stereo. Aside from that gaffe, this song isn't too bad instrumentally. The problems enter in the second verse, when Aaron Gillespie tries to sound more intense. I can't really blame him; his previous experience is Underoath, after all. There's no screaming, thankfully, but he does attempt to put an edge in his voice that really detracts from something that's supposed to be a pretty chill song. He also adds "she" and "they" to the beginnings of certain lines, which I suppose is admirable; I too respect complete sentences. It's a small difference, but it's notable and it makes me remember how little Tom Petty had to try to make this song sound good. Gillespie comes across as trying very, very hard to turn this cover into an Underoath song.

04) "We Are the Champions" by Queen, cover by Mayday Parade

Derek Sanders, vocalist for Mayday Parade, does a pretty good Freddie Mercury at times. This cover opens quite nicely, really; Jeremy Lenzo's bass tone is great and Sanders is pretty mellow up until the chorus. But then the "choir" starts, and it's in quotes because it's really just gang vocals. I don't know who mixed this section, but fie on them. Like Brian Posehn said, it's four sweaty dudes yelling in a booth. And aside from that, Sanders' voice just can't hit the notes in the chorus, but he gets points for not changing the melody for his convenience. I can excuse bad Freddie impersonations, but I'm not that lenient on those who change him. Alex Garcia can match up to the guitar chops of Brian May, so I have no complaints there. What I'm still ambivalent on is Mayday Parade finishing the final line—I don't know if I like the resolution of one last "of the world" or if I want the original to remain intact. At least I'll have all album to think about it, because having more than one Queen cover would be silly.

05) "Rock and Roll All Nite" by KISS, cover by The Summer Set

I like The Summer Set. I think Love Like This was a pretty solid debut and I still throw on "Girls Freak Me Out" when I want to, as they say in the parlance, shake my groove thing. They're no strangers to covers, having done a great version of "Love in This Club" by Usher. And I think if they had had any other song on this album, they would have done an excellent job. John Gomez and Josh Montgomery turn the guitar line into something even more KISS than KISS, they've got all the breakdowns in the right places, the group shouting is blended nicely and actually works for the song; by all means, the instrumentation is great. But my issue is with Brian Dales, the singer. Dales' voice fills clubs; this song fills stadiums. He's just not powerful enough as a vocalist to pull something like this off. It's really a shame, because aside from that, this is my favorite cover on the album so far.

06) "Caught Up in You" by .38 Special, cover by We the Kings

I love .38 Special. If I had a time machine, I would go to August 1977 and pick up a copy of their self-titled debut, then head straight to 1981 and be first in line for Wild-Eyed Southern Boys. So I have high expectations for this We the Kings cover. And I regret to say that the song does not deliver quite as much awesomeness as I would come to expect. Travis Clark's vocals stink of autotune, especially in the second chorus, and even where he's not electronically helped, he sounds off. Maybe it's just his vocal style, but he sounds downright silly at times. In this song, though, my biggest issue is Hunter Thomsen taking the coward's way out with the ending guitar solo—by this I mean that there is no ending solo. I don't understand why, since the solo in the middle of the song is... well, it's capable, at least. This track is a disappointment.

07) "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" by Journey, cover by A Skylit Drive

Why is this song twice as fast as the original? Why are the drums so intense? Why do Michael Jagmin's vocals make it sound like the Alvin and the Chipmunks cover? And most importantly, why is there screaming in this song? I realize that A Skylit Drive is hardcore and all, but Cory La Quay needs to learn that some songs don't need screaming. "Separate Ways" is definitely one of those songs. I don't really have anything else to say about this. This is a bad cover.

08) "Your Love" by The Outfield, cover by I See Stars

This is the only song on the compilation that I wasn't immediately familiar with, so I did a little digging to get an idea of the original. And in the course of digging, I found out that Midtown did a cover of this exact same song on Punk Goes 80s! Running out of ideas, huh? I guess when Katy Perry does it, you need to reprise it to stay relevant. Devin Oliver's voice is pretty high-pitched, which (contrary to my normal opinion) works very well for this cover. On synthesizer, Chris Moore throws in a great electronic groove that for some reason wasn't present in the original. It sounds 80s as all get out. It's a bit more upbeat than the original, which could be jarring for the experienced listener, but right now, I think I like the I See Stars cover better than the original. At any rate, I definitely like it better than Katy Perry's.

09) "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult, cover by Pierce the Veil

You probably won't be surprised to discover I like BÖC, as well. I would have picked "Career of Evil" or maybe something off their self-titled, but at the same time, I'm glad Pierce the Veil went with something so mainstream. That means my more obscure favorites won't be affected. I don't necessarily like the heavier sound that guitarist Tony Perry and drummer Mike Fuentes contribute to this cover, but I could see myself getting used to it. Perry's guitar tone is much less psychedelic than the original in the verses, but the solo, helped with clever keyboard work from Vic Fuentes, brings it back together. And, of course, Mike Fuentes has more than enough cowbell for the entire class. But Vic Fuentes' vocals are just flat-out wrong for this song. He's singing too high and too nasally for a song about, well, death.

10) "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne, cover by Forever the Sickest Kids

My sister loves Forever the Sickest Kids; I am indifferent towards them. I do, however, think that "Crazy Train" is one of the hardest-rocking songs known to mankind. When your cover of it makes me think of Green Day's "Brain Stew" before Ozzy, you've done something wrong. But I have to give huge amounts of respect to Caleb Turman for attempting Randy Rhoads' enormous, legendary guitar solo and actually pulling it off. It's a little weird to hear Kent Garrison doing the bass line on keyboards through a filter sweep, but it's kind of cool at the same time. Jonathan Cook isn't quite Ozzy, but at least his voice isn't as high as some others; it actually fits the song, or as well as it can. The cover ends in a different direction, adding more programming and electronic bewitchery, but if it's only bad in the very beginning and the very end, maybe you haven't done that wrong after all.

11) "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard, cover by The Maine

Hair metal as a genre is very near and dear to my heart. What can I say? Working hard to have the best time of your life is a great message to me. The first thing I notice about this cover is that it's very well produced. Possibly the most important part of 80s production is intact: Enormous amounts of reverb on the drums. The Maine's singer, John Cornelius O'Callaghan V, sounds like a can of hair spray away from fronting his own hair metal band, right down to exaggerated attacks on certain words. I've never heard harder Ps. The guitar solo has hints of acoustic guitar in the background, though, and the style of the solo brushes too close to modern radio rock to be great. But overall, this is a faithful and solid cover, and I'm actually impressed by that. I mean, of course I am, because we all know what has nine arms and sucks, right? Def Leppard.

12) "All Along the Watchtower" by Bob Dylan, cover by Envy on the Coast

Oh, boy. I guess I can't blame Envy on the Coast for trying out this one. They've apparently got four guitarists, so that's four times the odds that one of them will be as good as Hendrix—because this is the Hendrix version they're covering, and don't let the original artist tell you different. I'm not sure what Ryan Hunter, Salvatore Bossio, Brian Byrne, and Chris Kerenan are doing with their guitars, but it definitely works out. There's an intense, heavy sound to this entire cover that puts it a step above the Hendrix version, if not in quality than certainly in uniqueness. Hunter has this harsh quality to his voice that isn't quite like Hendrix or Dylan. And for not having an official drummer, they manage to get by pretty well. It's a little like VersaEmerge's "Paint It Black" from earlier, where the band completely makes it their own. I could hear this on an actual album of theirs, and not just some compilation.

13) "Take Me Home Tonight" by Eddie Money, cover by Every Avenue

I don't know if I'd call this song classic rock, but I certainly don't mind its inclusion. Alongside the original, I have a couple a cappella versions of this from two different colleges, and I've liked it in pretty much every form. Every Avenue just sounds comfortable with this, like this is the kind of music they want to be playing. David Strauchman doesn't have to strain at all to sing, there's no audible evidence of autotune, and little touches of guitar from Joshua Randall and Jimmie Deeghan give the cover a character all its own. I wish I knew who the female guest vocalist was, because I would love to reprimand her by name. She gets a little too into her part and takes me out of the experience with some of her acrobatics. That's the only negative I can really list for this cover, though. You know, the second half of this album is pretty great.

14) "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, cover by NeverShoutNever!

...No.

15) "—what do you mean that's unprofessional? Oh, fine, I'll do a real review of this one. I think there should be some ground rules set down in the music industry, though. Rules for songs that should never be covered, ever. "Bohemian Rhapsody" is one of them. "Stairway to Heaven" is another, and yes, I'm looking at you, Mary J. Blige. "Free Bird" depends on the band. I could go on, but I won't. NeverShoutNever! is essentially one guy, Christofer Ingle, and a bunch of studio musicians. I'd be okay with this if Ingle weren't the one responsible for the vocals. The A section is absolutely terrible vocally. It gets a little better once we see the little silhouetto of a man, and then the guitar solo outward is downright listenable. But when I said that The Almost was trying too hard, I obviously hadn't heard Ingle yet. Though I can't be too hard on the kid; he does, like I said, get better as the song goes on. His vocals begin as indescribably bad and end up squarely in "I want to stone you and spit in your eye" territory. Which is an improvement.

15) "Dream On" by Aerosmith, cover by blessthefall

Whether you like Aerosmith or not, it's hard to deny that "Dream On" is a pretty solid song. And I've noticed that the dividing line on the "do you like Aerosmith?" battle tends to involve whether or not you can tolerate Steven Tyler's vocals. But now with Beau Bokan doing the singing, you don't need to worry about that! Now you can judge the song on its own merits. Compared to some other covers on this compilation, this song is sparse in instrumentation; drummer Matt Traynor only comes in when he's needed, and both Eric Lambert and Mike Frisby keep their guitars as atmospheric instruments more often than not—until, that is, the song brings in some synthesized strings and Lambert begins shredding over them. Most important to me, though, is that I finally got the choir I've been waiting for since "We Are the Champions": The song ends with the entire band singing the chorus in modest harmony. Bokan's voice takes a little getting used to, admittedly, but he's a lot easier to listen to than Steven Tyler.

That's Punk Goes Classic Rock on a track-by-track basis. As far as recommendations go: "Paint It Black", "Crazy Train", "Pour Some Sugar on Me", "All Along the Watchtower", and "Dream On". Tracks to stay away from at all costs include "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". The really good outweighs the really bad on this compilation, but they are both outweighed by the mediocre. If you're that hard-pressed for classic rock, just go listen to the originals. C+

The Desert Island Albums

now playing: White Wizzard - Over the Top

I've been meaning to write this post for quite some time, and I think it's something every music fan does eventually. No matter how cliché it is, it's always a fun exercise to see what music you really value enough to bring with you if you're stuck on a desert island—or, in this day and age, a horrible oppressive wasteland where music is forbidden and the horrible dictator Führer King No Fun declares all CDs contraband and you spend the rest of your days sneaking a listen to a few seconds of a song whenever the overseers in the plutonium mines change shifts. Now that I think about it, that would make an awesome concept album.

To qualify for this list, an album must fit three criteria: 1) I must be able to listen to it all the way through and not once feel compelled to hit the skip button; 2) I must have some sort of emotional or personal connection to the album—it has to mean something; 3) I must be in absolutely no danger of burning out on the album after listening to it for the fiftieth time that day. Without further ado, here are the five albums I would bring with me into a sonicbane wasteland. (Have you heard my new band, Sonicbane Wasteland?)

05) Fall Out Boy's Folie à Deux (2008)

As you may remember from my review of Folie à Deux, I had nothing but good things to say about this album. A year and change later, all those things still stand up; in fact, I recently re-listened to the album after forgetting it for a little while and it was like the first time I'd ever heard it all over again. Every track hits perfectly and graphs a fantastic contour throughout the entire album. The album, for me, marks the point where I stopped feeling sorry for myself and started following my dreams and writing music as I've always wanted to do. "The (Shipped) Gold Standard" remains my favorite song to this day for that reason. The chorus, "You can only blame your problems on the world for so long / Before it all becomes the same old song", was the kick in the ass I needed to finally do something. And aside from all that, it's just a solid, singable, danceable, rockable album.

04) Boston's Boston (1976)

Now, I live in Boston, so I might be a little biased in putting this album on my list, but you take a listen to "Something About You" and tell me it's not the greatest classic rock song you've ever heard. And I will believe you, because there are better ones out there, but there are not many. Before I listened to this album, I was certainly aware of Boston's existence, but I never really went out of my way to listen to them. I'm infinitely glad I did, because this album rekindled my interest in classic rock and helped shape my own aspirations for the kind of music I wanted to make. The album starts high and keeps rising (as any good mixtape should, if Barney Stinson tells me right), only coming down at the end in a gradual fade on "Let Me Take You Home Tonight", and even that is fast-paced and energetic. The guitar solos, the tones of all the instruments, Brad Delp's amazing voice... do I really have to go on?

03) Jack Off Jill's Clear Hearts Grey Flowers (2000)

If it's emotional response you want, it doesn't get much more intense than this album. I first found out about Jack Off Jill from a few of my online friends who were much more musically-savvy than I. This was in late 2006/early 2007, when I was going through a pretty turbulent time in my college career: Romantic issues, fights with friends, crises of existence—you know, all that fun stuff. So hearing songs like "Nazi Halo" and the title track more or less made my angsty little day. The lead singer, Jessicka, delivered these lyrics with such vindication and pure rage that it was all I could do not to shout along whenever I listened to it. Jessicka's doing quite well for herself fronting Scarling these days, but nothing she ever does will top Clear Hearts for me. It's the rawest, most brutal emotional outlet I have ever heard from any musician. It's musical catharsis, opening quietly and ending with panting, angry breaths. You just feel better after listening to this album. Emotionally exhausted, but better.

02) Poe's Haunted (2000)

This is a tough album to swallow. There's rock, there's merengue, there's funk, noise, happiness, sorrow, vindication, anger, love, love, so much love. I've been listening to it for seven years and I'm still discovering new things. On the surface, it's about the relationship between Poe and her father, Tad Danielewski, aided by audio diaries left by her father spanning back to the day she was born. "If You Were Here", the significance of which should be self-explanatory, is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard and one of the only ones that can make me cry no matter what. At the same time, the album is a companion piece to Mark Z. Danielewski's avant-garde horror novel House of Leaves. The lyrics interlock with events and characters in the novel; even the thematic elements, such as echoes, show up. Haunted is remarkably complex and highbrow while still being accessible and catchy to the uneducated listener. I didn't even know about the House of Leaves connection until my second year of listening. There's always more to find, which is how I know I'm never going to burn out on this album.

01) Queensrÿche's Operation: Mindcrime (1988)

Here it is: The album that sparked my interest in metal and my love affair with concept albums. I call Operation: Mindcrime the greatest metal album in existence and one of the best of all time. The story remains open to interpretation 22 years after its release, and the ideals of revolution and change in times of political turmoil will hold strong forever. A friend of mine gave me this album in 2004 and not six months later, I saw Queensrÿche in concert. It was my first real metal show and one of the best shows of my life. So yes, as you might be able to tell, I'm rather a fan of the album. It sparked my own musical renaissance, the beginning of an era where I stopped listening to what the radio told me to and started looking for my own music on my own time. I only wish Queensrÿche's other albums were as good. Empire has some decent tracks, yeah, but after Mindcrime, the band really fell from grace. I wish they hadn't put out Operation: Mindcrime II, even if they did get Dio to do guest vocals. Some stories don't need an end.

Well, there you have it. These are only the ones that made the list, but it was tough narrowing it down to five. Here's a few honorable mentions that missed out for one reason or another.

	Coheed and Cambria's In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 (2003) Why not? While a great concept album, IKSSE:3 lacks the emotional significance a desert island album needs. I still end up skipping a few tracks here and there, too.		Sonata Arctica's Silence (2001) Why not? A fantastic album, like I said, but I burn out on it way too easily, which is unfortunate considering Sonata's my favorite band and all.
	Reel Big Fish's Cheer Up! (2002) Why not? The ska and rock songs are great, but "Sayonara Senorita" and "Boss DJ" never clicked with me. Still a very fun album, but possibly a bit too bold for me.		The Sounds' Dying to Say This to You (2006) Why not? Too much new wave. It's awesome, but it's overwhelming by the end. There's only so much synth I can take. Maja Ivarsson is so hot, though.
	Blue Öyster Cult's Fire of Unknown Origin (1981) Why not? I love me some BÖC, but the middle of this album is pretty unimpressive. I tend to skip from "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" straight to "After Dark" and shut it off after "Joan Crawford".		Lady Gaga's The Fame Mons†er (2009) Why not? Because I have shame.

Album Review: Halestorm

now playing: Coheed and Cambria - The Broken

Okay, I admit it. I can't keep an update schedule to save my life and I won't even pretend to anymore. But I still have a serious interest in writing about music, so this blog is totally not abandoned quite yet. Thanks to a new partnership with Typo Away, updates should be coming out a little more regularly, but don't get too excited. I'm still behind the wheel, after all; no promises. Now, let's get back into the swing of things with an album from a recent group that I'm enjoying quite a lot.

Halestorm, a semi-local band (from York, PA), came out with their self-titled debut in April of last year. When describing this album, I've often joked that it's eleven songs about having sex with the frontwoman, Lzzy Hale. That's not entirely fair; I'm pretty sure "Familiar Taste of Poison" is not, in fact, about shacking up with her. The other ten, though? Completely. It's this sort of ballsiness (ovarishness?) that I've found lacking in rock music as of late. With songs about exhibitionism, deflowering virgins, strictly sexual relationships, prostitution, and all manner of other euphemisms for the same basic concept, Halestorm takes the expectations of female-fronted rock music, ties them down to the bed, and makes like Kathy Bates in Misery all over them. It's refreshingly edgy without coming off as trying too hard.

But the concepts are only half the album. Halestorm isn't afraid to use the instruments and talent at their disposal to great effect. Nearly every song on the album has a bona fide guitar solo, something that has gone forgotten for far too long. Let's not forget the riffage in songs like "Dirty Work" and "It's Not You". The hard rock roots of the album bring with them a touch of atmospheric keyboard reminiscent of all the best parts of the 80s. Appropriate, as the current vocalist of Sixx A.M. co-wrote "What Were You Expecting", a track that brings the album back to its powerful core after a couple less-than-impressive ballads.

If there is any point where this album fails to impress, it's the slower tracks. "I'm Not an Angel" and "Better Sorry Than Safe" are good examples of power ballads, but it's clear the band isn't at their peak. Halestorm has definite strengths: Fast, hard-hitting rock songs. You won't find the next "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" on this album, but you shouldn't be expecting to find it. It's clear from the first lines on the album ("I'm in love with somebody / And it's not you") that Lzzy Hale isn't interested in sappy love songs. That's no excuse for calling a song "Bet U Wish U Had Me Back", though.

Halestorm can stand up against any 80s metal album with pride. If you know what you're going into, you'll be satisfied with this album. If, like me, you have no idea what to expect, prepare to be pleasantly surprised. (Personally, I thought I'd get a bit more power metal, but a tirade on album covers is for another post.) In a market stagnant with emasculated rock and roll, Halestorm resuscitates rock music, then gives it a sharp kick to the nards as punishment. Bravo, Lzzy. Bravo. A-

You can buy Halestorm from Halestorm's online store. Right now, the band's touring with Theory of a Deadman across the States and into Europe. In April, they'll be with Janus, Burn Halo, and Madam Adam. If this sounds like your kind of scene, check out the dates and buy tickets now.