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Discography:
Rogers Stevens reviews the Blind Melon Melon Tribute Album
First of all...it looks really great and Mark from YakMusic is to be commended for his persistance and hard work in putting this all together. It is a somewhat unusual thing for us to listen to, as you might imagine...surreal and cool and disorienting....but nonetheless very flattering. I remember when we did the Zep tribute record and how we felt...I was always curious to know what they thought about it. We hung out a bit with Robert Plant when he came to some of our shows and also when we toured with Page/Plant, but I never asked him. It was somewhat frustrating for us to hear their version next to ours, because we clearly paled in comparison to the mighty Led Zeppelin, but it was fun to do and we got to work with Eddie Cramer, who made the original recording and had lots of stories and cool pictures
Rogers Stevens (04/27/2007)
DESERTED
- JAMIE
SHIELDS (USA)
Hi Jamie.....I do believe we have met. I was pleasantly
surprised by your version of this song. You voice sounds wonderful on
this...you've got a great range and it sounded like you were feeling
it. I also like the sorta half-time feel of this...that turned my ear
because it's something I would've never thought to do. Mark Thomas is
in the pocket with the percussion stuff, so the feel of it comes off
well. I thought the recording sounded good courtesy of Ross Vanderslice
(excellent name) and I liked the delay stuff he's doing at the end of
some of the sections. Good right hand on the guitar (assuming you are
right-handed) which gives the rhythm a solid backbone. You made the
song your own, which is always a challenge when interpreting somebody
else's ditty. Excellent first track on the record....my only complaint
is "More Tamborine!" (kidding). Rogers
Stevens (04/27/2007)
DRIVE - EMPREINTE
GALACTIQUE
(CANADA)
This one is well done....I REALLY like this singer's
voice. He's got a unique tone which is half the battle with singers.
Nice gritty tone to his voice and he's in the register that allows him
to hit Shannon's notes. This is a good band...I'm going to check out
their music. I see they have a myspace link inside the record
(myspace.com/empreintegalactique). What are those bleepy noises in the
breakdowns and at the end? Is that done with a stompbox on the guitar?
I want one of those. Maxime Lalanne is a good drummer...able to shift
from the 4/4 to the 3/4 time with no glitches, which a lot of drummers
have problems with (including me). He's (she's?) got a nice rolling
feel that the song really needs. I like the way the recording sounds,
though I would have ridden the vocal a little higher in spots, which is
interesting because Rami Renno (singer) apparently mixed this.
Dude...turn your vocals up! The accordian and the harmonica are nice in
there, and the guitar players got it down.....great job by all. These
guys sound like a real band, and this is one of my favorites on the
album......
I also like all the exotic French-Canadian names.......love Montreal also.
Rogers
Stevens (05/03/2007)
LIFE AIN'T SO SHITTY - DAVID
AARON (USA)
This is a pretty 'out there' version of the song that
really caught me off guard. I was surprised to hear it get this
treatment, but a good song can be done lots of ways and still hold up.
I like the clav (?) on here in the breaks...that sounds cool. The drums
on this are solid and establish the feel and hold it, which makes it
work. Also, I like that the guitars are panned hard and well
separated....we always try to do that as well. Sometimes you hear
records like that with only one side of the stereo field and it sounds
like a different song. I listen to Beatles albums all the time with one
side turned off. Anyway, I recently found the handwritten lyrics to
this song in a box, so it was cool to hear a new version of it because
I've been thinking about it..... Rogers
Stevens (06/01/2007)
NEW
LIFE - THE
VELMAS (USA)
Cool.....these guys played with the feel a bit on this
song. Sounds good.....I like the fact that everybody who's doing these
songs is not sticking with the format and is trying to break away from
the original recording. Guitars....loud. What type of amps are these? I
do not own amps that are capable of making these sounds. There's
something that happened to guitar amps in the last 10 years or so in
that they are capable of giving one heart palpitations with all that
heavy low-mid stuff. I remember cutting this song and feeling like the
chorus really took off and had momentum...these guys captured that,
which is the essence of the song. The best part of the tune is the
shift from the verse to the chorus ....it's supposed to feel like
you're launching off an aircraft carrier. I remember cutting the solo
in one take because I got an adrenalin rush from that feel. Good job,
People of Velma...... Rogers
Stevens (06/01/2007)
DEAR OL'DAD - EASILY
AMUSED
(USA)
Ha! Loved this one...the guitars are just crazy and I
like all the different bits that they tweeked. The 'ha' is for the very
end, which sounded like a bunch of drunks stumbling out of an ave B bar
or something. Good vocals ....he ironed out the phrasing and made it
feel totally different. I remember working on this song.....it's all
real, the story and everything. Remember the people involved, the
details of the lyrics....a lot of it is in code. Scandalous!
Interesting how these guys did the bridge. I was trying to remember all
these chords while I was listening and now I can't remember the
original version of the song! Rogers
Stevens (06/01/2007)
TOES
ACROSS THE FLOOR - MOEDELL
(USA)
....cool, sparse recording of the song. I like that he
boiled the song down to the essential chord progression in order to get
to the mood. This song was written during a very dark time and it
shows....I think MoeDell perceived that and got to it. I think that the
guitar is tuned low in an alternate tuning? I think that's cool.....CT
always does a lot of alternate tunings. I never do it because it just
confuses me...I want to know what the note sounds like before I hit it.
My only critique of the recording is that I woulda lost the wood block
type thing....I'll probably change my mind about that tomorrow. Good
vocal....rich tone in this guy's voice. Rogers
Stevens (07/15/2007)
PULL
- KURT
VATLAND
FEATURING DEFUZE
(USA)
....this one works well. Kurt can really sing....he's
got a good rocknroll voice. I suspect that he's got a big upper
register when he pushes it. I would recommend pushing it to the point
just shy of breaking it (listen to Lennon's vocal on 'Twist and Shout'
- one take at the end of the day after recording a bunch of other
stuff). Defuze sounds good here...they play the song well and get all
the guitar stuff. This was a CT piece of music that we all layed in on
top of. I'm pretty sure he tuned to open 'e'. Only critique is that I
think there are mix issues...drum balance. The tracks are well
recorded, though. We never played this live, but I think we will
someday. I will have to relearn all my leady type guitar stuff, perhaps
Jeff can teach it to me. I recorded this with a plastic fuzz pedal made
by Kay in the '60s. They were sold in the Sears catalog. It has a
sweeping footpedal like a wah pedal and is made of orange plastic. if
anybody every sees one of these, buy it and I'll pay you for it and
throw in a footrub. I lost mine somewhere. Good job to all on this! Rogers
Stevens (07/15/2007)
MOUTHFUL OF CAVITIES - SPIDER
(UK)
...beautifully played and beautifully sung. I think this
is the best sounding recording on the album. I feel like I just took a
valium. Slowing down the song like this did something cool to it with
the main guitar riff. Jessica did some cool harmony stuff.....the
harmonies on the original kinda bend the ear, and she got that spot on.
I want to steal some of the guitar things that Rob did on this.....this
is another song we never did live. Like the acoustic bit in the left
speaker at the very end. Rob is a very good guitar player and I also
like his drumming on here with all the inside snare stuff.....very
cool. Turn the bass up. Rogers
Stevens (07/15/2007)
SOAK THE SIN - EXPOSED
IN THE DRAWING ROOM
(CANADA)
GALAXIE - FLAMES
OF TROY
(USA)
2x4 - SUPEREXTRA
(ARGENTINA)
GLITCH - 12
DAZE
(USA)
LETTERS FROM PORCUPINE - THE
HOLY CRABS
(USA)
TICKLED PINK - JENA
KRAUS
(USA)
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