Breaking Benjamin - Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen
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Artist: Breaking BenjaminBrand: Baker & Taylor
Performer: Constantine
Performer: Shinedown
Performer: Joss Stone
Performer: Gavin DeGraw
Performer: Josh Kelley
Performer: Los Lobos
Performer: Flaming Lips
Performer: Sum 41
Performer: Ingram Hill
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2005-08-09
Model: 00720616252227
Music Label: Hollywood Records
Soundtracks:
- Stone Cold Crazy - Eleven
- Tie Your Mother Down - Shinedown
- Bohemian Rhapsody - Constantine
- Who Wants To Live Forever - Breaking Benjamin
- Good Old Fashioned Loverboy - Jason Mraz
- Under Pressure - Joss Stone
- We Are The Champions - Gavin DeGraw
- Bicycle Race - Be Your Own Pet
- Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Josh Kelley
- 39 - Ingram Hill
- Sleepin' On The Sidewalk - Los Lobos
- Killer Queen - Sum 41
- Death On Two Legs - Rooney
- Play The Game - Jon Brion
- Bohemian Rhapsody - Flaming Lips
- Fat Bottomed Girls - Antigone Rising
Music reviews of Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen
Music Review: Exactly what a tribute album is supposed to be
Rating: 5 Stars
When you pick up a tribute album, you usually know what to expect --> one or two very good versions of classic songs, padded with a series of awful knockoffs and cover renditions by independent or up-and-coming artists who often butcher the vocals of songs to the point of unlistenability. Magna Carta leads the league in those productions.
I'm happy to report, though, that Hollywood Records' "Killer Queen / A Tribute To Queen" really breaks the mold. This is an outstanding tribute album. The songs are all performed by exceptionally talented musicians, and even if none of the vocal performances will make you completely forget Freddie Mercury (although a couple come very close), they are all very well done. The songs can be separated into three categroies:
First, you have the "Faithful Note-For-Note Reproductions" -- songs that are very true to the originals. You expect several of these on a tribute album, and although they are often the least interesting (why would I listen to the faithful reproduction when I could listen to the original), they are also usually the most polished.
Second, you have the "Artistic Licence" songs -- these are the tunes that are very close to the original, but that the artist puts their personal stamp on in some way or another, or shakes things up a bit. This type of song is the real reason to have a tribute album, and most of the songs on a tribute album should be like this.
Finally, you have the "Complete Overhauls" -- songs that share the same lyrics as the original, but are arranged completely differently, and turn into completely new songs. If done well, these are the most interesting inclusions on a tribute album, but you don't want to have too many of them, or else it's not really paying homage to the original artist. Unfortunately, hard-core fans may have a tough time embracing these versions. But the couple of overhauls on this album are done fairly well, and in fact, I think these are what makes this album a must have overall.
This album has the perfect mix of all of these types of tribute songs:
GROUP 1: FAITHFUL NOTE-FOR-NOTE REPRODUCTIONS:
Bohemian Rhapsody (Constantine M): This is the most true to the original on the whole album, and it should be. Changing anything about Bohemian Rhapsody could potentially destroy it. As it happens, this is also one of the best performances on the album. Truly outstanding vocals here.
Tie Your Mother Down (Shinedown): This song could have easily been ruined by a lousy vocal performance. Luckily, Brent Smith's vocals work really well here, and the band does a great job with it. Like the excellent remix of this song on the "Day At The Races" album, Shinedown smartly removes the guitar at the beginning of the final refrain (right before "Lock your big-big-big-big-big-big Daddy out of doors"). Not much new added to the song, but this is another one that there was no reason to change, so kudos! Great job.
Good Old-Fashioned Loverboy (Jason Mraz): Jason Mraz channels Freddie Mercury on this song. His vocal performance is eeriely similar to Mercury's. Again, identical to the original, and very well-performed.
Death On Two Legs (Rooney): Identical to the original, with slightly less gravelly vocals. Good to have on the album even if only because it's a Queen song that you don't often hear. The end segues immediately into the piano intro of "Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon", just like on 'A Night At The Opera".
Bohemian Rhapsody (The Flaming Lips): If Constantine M's version of this song wasn't also on the album to overshadow it, this song may have been one of the better tracks on the album. However, as it is also a fairly faithful reproduction of the original, I see no real reason to have included it. Had it been changed around in any way, it might have merited inclusion. It's not bad, and they do a pretty good job with the opera section, but it doesn't add anything to the album that wasn't already there.
Killer Queen (Sum 41): Except for the introduction which Sum 41 cleverly added, this one is also extremely faithful to the original, right down to the distorted wave-like background vocals ("Dynamite with a laserbeam", etc)
GROUP 2: ARTISTIC LICENSE SONGS:
'39 (Ingram Hill): This is almost identical to the original song, but the little extra piece that Ingram Hill adds to it makes a HUGE difference. Specifically, they add a snare drum to the upbeats, creating a whole new energetic rhythm backbone, and the resulting drum riff takes this song to a new level. Great remake!
Fat Bottom(ed) Girls (Antigone Rising): WOW! I think this is my favorite track on the album. What an OUTSTANDING version of this song! It's fairly true to the original, but the all-girl band 'Antigone Rising' puts their own touch on it, and the female vocals put this one WAY over the top. Best vocal harmonization on the album. Perfect album closer. If you didn't already like the original, this version of the song will change your mind.
Sleeping On The Sidewalk (Los Lobos): Keeps the same bluesy feel as the original. Decent version.
Who Wants To Live Forever (Breaking Benjamin): The newest original on the album. The original, from "A Kind Of Magic", was always one of those songs that the skip song feature on CD players was made for. This version is one of a handful of songs on this tribute album that actually outshines the original. Perhaps not a huge task for this song, but Breaking Benjamin does a very good job breathing some life into an otherwise lethargic original. A terrific vocal performance in the second half of this song puts it over the edge.
Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Josh Kelley): Josh Kelley ditches the rockabilly triplet rhythm that made this song such a pop staple, and replaces it with a more standard 4/4 time signature. Usually I wouldn't be a fan of defaulting to 4/4, but it's a nice change for this song. There's a little bit of 80's style keyboards sprinkled throughout the song too. Altogether a very fun version.
Play The Game (Jon Brion): If I have to choose a least favorite song on this album, I guess this would be it. Jon Brion does not have a strong voice (I always thought that if Jason Falkner had done all of the vocal work for The Grays, they would have been a big hit), and it shows here. It's not terrible, but it's fairly forgettable.
COMPLETE OVERHAULS:
We Are The Champions (Gavin DeGraw): A much more bluesy, slower version than the original. Gavin DeGraw sounds a lot like Jonny Lang, and does a very good job re-arranging this song and centering it around blues guitar. Perhaps not the best choice for the album opener ("Tie Your Mother Down" or Constantine M's "Bohemian Rhapsody" would have been better choices), but this is still a very good performance.
Stone Cold Crazy (Eleven with Joshua Homme): I always thought the original version of this song was far too frenetic and fast. This remake smartly slows this version way down -- to half time in fact. It's almost a "rock meets jazz" version of the song. Especially in the "Stone Cold Crazy you know" refrain. Really cool.
Bicycle Race (Be Your Own Pet): Okay, your hard core fans are going to absolutely despise this rendition. But WAIT! If you accept it is falling into the "complete overhaul" category, it is a very very cool punk-rock version of the song. Other than the lyrics, it bears very little resemblance to the original (although they do sample part of the bicycle bell interlude). The verses are sped up and the rhythm completely changed around. Gone are the cool Queen harmonizations in the refrain ("Biiii cycle, Biiii cycle, Biiii cycle"), replaced with what can best be described as the band shouting at a bicycle. Personally, I think it's a lot of fun. One of this type of song is enough for this album, but as far as I'm concerned, it completely belongs on the album, and, what the hell -- great job guys!
Under Pressure (Joss Stone): Maybe not a complete overhaul, but there's a lot changed on this version. Joss Stone changed the key of the classic bass line (which is more than Vanilla Ice did) to match her vocal range. The general structure of the song is the same, but Joss puts a definite stamp on this song vocally, especially at the end. And the feel of the song is completely different. Unfortunately, it loses some of the intense emotion that the original had (especially during the "Can't we give love one more chance" section), so it may disappoint some hard core fans, but again, if you accept it as a complete overhaul, it's a very nice song.
So anyway, 5 stars for this album for being exactly what a tribute album should be. A great mix of faithful remakes, slight shakeups, and complete overhauls. Very well-performed songs with good vocals as well as good instrumentation. Great job.
Description of Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen
16 tracks including Brion's PLAY THE GAME. Hole in barcode art.Classic Rock CDs
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