RADIO GA-GA

Electric Six

I’m not a fan of Queen. Really, I’m not. I hate Bohemian Rhapsody, I generally despise vocal harmonies and guitar solos really don’t do a lot for me. On the other hand, I quite like Electric Six. Their three singles thus far have been great fun, the videos are good and the songs never go on and on and on. All of which leads me to a surprising discovery. Electric Six’s version is alright, but the original walks all over it, turns round and walks all over it again. Considering this is the same band that turned out Danger! High Voltage and Gay Bar, this is nowhere near as enjoyable as I hoped it would be (and this is coming from someone who doesn’t mind the original). The singer does his best, but when Freddie Mercury sang it he gave the impression that every line meant something to him personally – the delivery here is flatter and far less involving. The song itself is played straight down the line, no tricks, but it’s just not that interesting. Shame, really.

GALVANIZE

Chemical Brothers

I was wondering where they’d got to. The Chemical Brothers are a frustrating band, now and then they come up with some real gems (Star Guitar and Hey Boy Hey Girl, for instance), but there are times when I hear their stuff and think “Blimey, there’s some good ideas there, shame they tried to stretch them out into a full song”. However, that said, they’ve always done their own thing regardless or whether what they’re doing is deemed fashionable or not – I’ve always got time for bands like that. Anyway, let’s not mess about any longer. This is good. Nothing groundbreaking, but certainly worth a listen. They’ve carried on with their habit of hiring guest vocalists and this week’s Special Guest Star is Q-Tip, good choice too as it turns out, his voice fits in perfectly with the style of the song. It’s a bit dark, ever so slightly moody, but somehow the five minutes just fly by, that’s even accounting for the bit in the middle when the song goes quiet for just a little bit longer than you’d normally expect. The best thing about it is that it takes a couple of listens to get used to, so I think I’m going to recommend it. Yeah, I’ll do that.

FATHER AND SON

Ronan Keating featuring Yusuf Islam

Well now, it’s a good job I listened to the original version as well as this. So you know, the chap who used to be Cat Stevens sings the father’s lines and the other bloke sings the son’s. Had I listened to this version on its own, I’d have been saying how dividing the lyrics up was a good idea but wondering why Mr Keating was singing like a spoilt brat. Then I played the original and wouldn’t you know it, Cat Stevens does exactly the same thing – he goes from calm and measured to yelping and whining, mind you the first time he did this song it was a one man show. So that’s that explained, how about the rest of the song? Well, it’s meant to be a slowie, but this arrangement is a little bland, in fact Yusuf Islam’s presence is what saves this song from total mediocrity, without him it would be just another song that Ronan Keating has covered. Considering he’s been all but retired from music since the seventies, you’d never know it from hearing him here. When Ronan sings, it sounds a bit “Listen to me, I’m singing now” but Yusuf actually plays the part and sings his lines as though he’s simply giving out advice from someone who’s been there and done it, not someone who’s been away for donkey’s years and wants you to know he’s still around. To be honest with you, this was better than I expected, but why two people are now required to sing this song when previously one man on his own did the job perfectly well I don’t know.