Brian's Bowie Tribute

(Scott)-This is one you guys will want to hear....Brian, of course, being the "king of cover projects", and this
one.... well, it's Bowie, what more needs to be said...... I got a sneak preview of this a week ago, and this one is killer again, Brian is perhaps the best on earth at creating these particular projects, and I am thrilled that we can post them here! Don't miss this one, although after he describes the project for you, I think you will be running, not walking, to grab this beast!
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This one has been in the works for awhile. I started it around the time of the Hot Rocks covers comp. After an initial burst, I left it alone for many weeks. I was finding it hard to listen to Bowie. At one point, I almost uploaded what I had, a half-assed collection of 17 covers, just to be done with it. But this little corner of the Internet likes my covers comps, and if anyone deserves doing right, it's Bowie. So.... now we have a kickass collection of 50+ covers! And given that Bowie is the inspiration, the musical variety on display is even a bit more than usual... though no Laibach, strangely enough....

If I've never said it to you before, I've got something to say now about these covers projects. One of the reasons I like doing them so much is that each time, I learn something. I often don't know a good amount of the groups I'm assembling, or maybe not those specific songs by the artist being covered. A good example of this is the Dylan covers pile back in September - I was a completely different Dylan fan after I made that one! Often, there's a cover or two that provides the first impetus, and then it goes on from there. And please, never think I just grab the first okay cover of a song I find. I'm always deleting and finding new ones til everything sounds just right.

This Bowie comp is a good example of that. But the bitch of it was, I couldn't nail down the tracklist. I knew what I wanted to begin and end the parts with, but that was all. Finally, I just went all "raffle ticket" with it, putting song titles on bits of paper and shaking em up in a box. Somehow, I think David would appreciate that idea. And for once, each one of these clocks in under 80 mins, should any of you have the desire to burn them onto CD.

Guys, given the size of this, I don't want to write about every track. I'll talk about some of the unique ones and favorites on here, but just roll with the rest of it, OK? By this point, you know whether or not you like what I do, and trust me when I say this one is good. My writing batteries are just a little low right now.

Many people have covered Bowie. There were a lot of versions of "Life On Mars?" and "Space Oddity" - from artists as disparate as Natalie Merchant and Barbra Streisand. There's two versions of "Heroes" here because I couldn't decide between the faithful cover (Junkyard Liberty) or the awesome shoegaze (Luna Ghost). So, I've bracketed each volume with two covers of each of these three Bowie standards. But don't worry - no Streisand.

The reimagining of "Let's Dance" by German metal band Atrocity is brilliant, making one of my least favorite DB songs highly listenable again. The a cappella version of "Changes" by the Calvillo Sisters was ripped from a YouTube vid. I like it for it's uniqueness. I love Rickie Lee Jones's acoustic "Rebel Rebel". Seu Jorge's version of "Lady Stardust" is from the Portuguese-language Bowie covers he did for the movie The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. Bauhaus's "Ziggy Stardust" just kills...I don't think I've ever heard Peter Murphy howl like that! And the version of "Scary Monsters" is by Frank Black and David Bowie, because if anyone is gonna defy the rules - not to mention death - on one of my comps, it's Bowie! (Plus, the only other easily findable version by Laether Strip is pseudo-KMFDM crap).

The Melvins are the perfect group to cover "Breaking Glass". The same can be said of Tears For Fears' and Franz Ferdinand's covers, too. Phillip Glass's "V-2 Schneider" is from his Low Symphony - definitely worth checking out. Of course, Nirvana is here. Michelle Branch is an early 2000's pop crush of mine, and she also turns in a great "Life On Mars?". Scott Weiland (RIP) was always a glam boy at heart, and his version of "Fame" with Paul Oakenfold retains Bowie's sense of funk. And I've never heard of Steve Salas, but that is an awesome cover of "Always Crashing..."!

And many, many, many more....

Disc 1

1.) Natalie Merchant - Space Oddity

2.) Morrissey - Drive In Saturday

3.) Calvillo Sisters - Changes

4.) The Get Up Kids - Suffragette City

5.) Dave Gahan - Cracked Actor

6.) Bauhaus - Ziggy Stardust

7.) Enuff Z'Enuff - The Jean Genie

8.) Momus - The Bewlay Brothers 

9.) Steve Saylas - Always Crashing In The Same Car

10.) Kim Wilde - Kooks

11.) Green River - Queen Bitch

12.) Gilby Clarke - Diamond Dogs

13.) Contraband- Hang On To Yourself

14.) Dana Gillespie - Andy Warhol

15.) Rickie Lee Jones - Rebel Rebel

16.) Seu Jorge - Lady Stardust

17.) Ghosts Of Breslau - Warszawa

18.) Hell O Ween - Space Oddity

Disc 2

1.) Michelle Branch - Life On Mars?

2.) Christian Death- Panic In Detroit

3.) Eluder - I'm Afraid Of Americans

4.) David Bowie & Frank Black - Scary Monsters

5.) Gl•nn D•nzig - Cat People

6.) Lulu - Watch That Man

7.) Camilla Fascina - I'm Deranged

8.) Culture Club - Starman

9.) Franz Ferdinand - Sound & Vision

10.) Tedeschi Trucks Band - Oh! You Pretty Things

11.) Black Box Recorder - Rock N Roll Suicide

12.) Phillip Glass - V-2 Schneider

13.) Blaine L. Reining - Sons Of The Silent Age

14.) Camille O'Sullivan - Lady Grinning Soul

15.) The Polecats - John, I'm Only Dancing

16.) Genuflec - Soul Love

17.) The Cure - Young Americans

18.) Scala & Kolacny Brothers - Life On Mars?

Disc 3

1.) Luna Ghost - Heroes

2.) The Remote Viewers - Jump They Say

3.) Scott Weiland & Paul Oakenfold - Fame

4.) Nirvana - The Man Who Sold The World

5.) Der Rudy ft. the Van Jets - Fashion

6.) Marilyn Manson - Golden Years

7.) Atrocity - Let's Dance

8.) Momus - Joe the Lion

9.) Murder By Death - Five Years

10.) Duran Duran - Boys Keep Swinging

11.) The Melvins - Breaking Glass

12.) Tears For Fears - Ashes to Ashes

13.) The F-Ups - All The Young Dudes

14.) Human Drama - Letter To Hermione

15.) The Pain Teens - She Shook Me Cold

16.) Brazzaville- Moonage Daydream

17.) The Merry Thoughts - Station To Station 

18.) The Junkyard Liberty - Heroes

You guys should like this one. I'm glad I took my time with it. The bonus link for this post is an album by my

favorite impression/voices comic. If you've ever heard or seen his "Movie Previews Guy" bit, this is the album it came from. Funny stuff

And a big thanks again to Jonder for helping me with this one. He did the cover art and some track editing for me. Someday I'll get a working computer again, but in the meantime, he's a great cohort to have. Go back a few weeks and give his posts some love, too.