TAKE COVER

I must be a masochist. I always get real excited by cover albums, literally can't wait to buy them, and I am always disappointed. This new one from Queensryche sadly just hammers that point home, joining the sad club of Def Leppard, Styx, Rage Against The Machine, etc...

To do a cover song an artist must either bring something new to it or make it their own. Sadly, in the case of most artists it just means adding heavier guitars. There are times when it works well, especially if the music style fits the bands own particular idiom, as in the case of Rush's 'Feedback' album or Oingo Boingo's cover of 'I Am The Walrus', or in a live environment where it comes off as more throw away, such as Dream Theater's numerous releases. Often times these are releases that underline the band's inability to come up with interesting material. If after hearing the new version, all you want to do is reach for the original, you know they failed.

This album does start well with a heavy version of 'Welcome To The Machine', which is strong as the slow riffing fits the overall tone of the song. 'For The Love Of Money' is an interesting choice and is performed with muscle. After that the rest of the album is rough going. 'Heaven On Their Minds,' a song with an unbelievably great lyric line, is rocked up, but Tate's voice is buried so far back in the mix that you wonder if they were afriad to offend anyone. Almost Cut My Hair' is an annoying mess, 'For What Its Worth' (really, another cover of this song, really?) comes off uninspired. 'Neon Knights' is a note for note remake with nothing new to offer. The real crimes here are 'Innuendo' and Synchronicity II', with Tate singing as if he's never heard these songs before, almost as if he's an ESL student. The biggest problem here is they offer nothing new, going for the safe standard way of playing. Imagine what a little inspiration might have done to the guitar break in 'Synchronicity II', and the choice to underplay 'Innuendo' one of the most pompous songs in Queen's catalog, is terminal.

This album stinks, and judging from the album cover, the band knew it too.