Notice that the first word in this album’s title is “Interpreting,” not “Covering.” That’s the right word to use for these songs: “Covering” implies imitation, while “interpreting” carries the connotation of adding original twists. And the Bird and the Bee — singer Inara George and producer/multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin — certainly do that.
George, daughter of the late Little Feat frontman Lowell George, tends to sing with airy detachment, and Kurstin favors tastefully sparse pop-electronica arrangements. Hall and Oates is something else entirely — an old-fashioned soul duo with modern pop overtones. George can’t match the fire in the vocals of the original recordings. Instead, she and Kurstin emphasize the songs’ sturdy hooks, and the plain-spoken poetry in the lyrics.
You may know these songs inside out, but when you listen to this album, you will feel as if you are hearing them for the first time.
The ballads “Sara Smile” and “She’s Gone” are sadder than the originals; there’s no cathartic release. Meanwhile, George and Kurstin bring songs like “Maneater” (featuring Shirley Manson of Garbage on backing vocals), “I Can’t Go for That” and “Kiss on My List” down to earth, stripping them of their pop slickness.
I could have done without another version of the smug “Rich Girl,” and also wonder why the CD is so short (30 minutes). George and Kurstin include just eight Hall and Oates songs. Surely they could have found more worth re-recording, maybe even some obscurities (the songs on this album were all Top 10 hits).
I have no problem, though, with them kicking off the CD with the album’s lone original, “Heard It on the Radio,” a sweetly nostalgic pop confection that sets the stage perfectly for what is to come.
George and Kurstin have not revealed what songs they might interpret on the future albums that the “Vol. 1” in this one’s title hints at. But starting with Hall and Oates was a smart, counterintuitive choice.
Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates
The Bird and the Bee
- Taken from: http://www.nj.com
- Source: JP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzmM85wnM8k
SHIRLEY MANSON IN DOUGLAS GORDON HORROR FILM?
Is Shirley Manson, singer for the ‘90s post-grunge musical act Garbage, set to star in a feature-length horror film directed by Scottish video artist Douglas Gordon? According to Glasgow’s Herald newspaper, Manson is game: “I would love to be in it. I’d be great in horror — you know it. I’m scary. I’m in. I’m sold.” Gordon, of course, is best known for his epic 24-Hour Psycho, a projection which stretches the classic Hitchcock horror film out over a full day. Manson has had a single foray into acting, according to IMDB: a role as “Catherine Weaver”– a robot — on the TV show Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles.
Manson and Gordon are friends met at the 2008 Style Awards at Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow, where Gordon served as a judge and Manson won an award for “Most Stylish Female” (a Garbage fan board even features what appears to be a picture of Manson sticking her tongue in the artist’s mouth). The two recently paired up for a BBC program titled, creatively, “When Shirley Manson met Douglas Gordon,” which had the pair “discuss images, ideas, influences and inspiration.” Lamentably, the program is not currently available to watch online. Gordon is also one of the many visual artists the rock star lists as an influence on her Facebook page; although the list is something of a grab bag that also includes Marlene Dumas, Barbara Kruger, Helmut Newton and Robert Wilson.
SOURCE: http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/artnetnews/shirley-manson-douglas-gordon4-15-10.asp
Great can’t wait!!!