If I said some of my favorite things, bedtime stories involving picking on a rare bird, you would say I'm sadistic and you would send me lots of letters and boycott my homepage forever and I would fade into obscurity before the bird would land.
But in this case I'm talking about the Material Girl, an Eagles tribute album and a pianist doing covers of mainly musicals, along with lesser known pieces you likely will enjoy. Let's put away the toys and talk about the noise.
Madonna, Bedtime Stories, (Maverick Recording)
"Survival" introduces what she describes in the song as her story. Here she even tells critics if they
respect her, then they can expect it from her. She also admits she's not a saint or angel.
The ambitious blonde offers a little of her sexual mores-busting side in "I'd Rather Be Your Lover."
She offers to act out the roll of her lover's favorite family member: sister, brother or mother.
"Don't Stop" is the best example of the major flaw in this recording. There's no life expressed.
Especially this song sounds as though the only live element of the track is Madonna's voice, and the rest
of the music comes from a synthesizer.
The artificial sounds, especially the repetitive drum beat, leave listeners dry, similar to powdered milk
- it doesn't quite match the quality of the real thing.
Otherwise, the song probably accomplishes all it sets out to, to create a meaningless number people
can move their feet to.
"Secret" deserves all the airplay and Billboard awards it receives. Shhh, don't tell anyone, but
Madonna is pretty talented if one looks at her work through all the mud everyone throws on it. Here is a
good example of her talents at work.
"Take a Bow" is a better example. The lyrics are creative and something most listeners can relate to.
The music, her voice, everything works together to produce what will stand out among Madonna's best
songs.
"Forbidden Love" has a sound radio should have uncovered and "Love Tried To Welcome Me"
almost captures the same sound that "Rain" did on Erotica, a song which took the charts by storm.
Bedtime Stories is not a sleeper, but it's not something everyone will want to curl up with, either.
Click here for a library of Madonna
Midi files.
Mike Strickland, My Favorite Things, (MSP Records)
He performs "Norwegian Wood," by the Beatles, which includes Strickland's interpretations
of the song most listeners will find familiar. The new version can't match the quality of the
original, and almost sounds like a Muzac trashing of the Beatles' song, except that Strickland
hopes to entertain listeners with his version, rather than coerce them into buying laundry detergent
and vitamins.
His piano style seems catored to "Fur Elise/Windmills of Your Mind," from "The Thomas
Crown Affair." The name may sound unfamiliar, but semi-cultured listeners will have heard the
famous piano song, which Strickland performs well.
Almost everyone also will enjoy Strickland's rendition of the famous Peanuts' song, "Linus
and Lucy," which the pianist and his band perform close to the original. This song makes listeners
remember the Peanuts' specials they probably watched on television as a child or with their own
youngsters.
The title track to "Beauty and the Beast" reminds listeners more of the hit song with vocals rather
than the movie, but the instrumental still sounds good. It conjures up sentiments that viewers
experienced during the movie, especially the love scenes. Another highlight of the release is the
title track, made famous from "The Sound of Music." Strickland's version sounds almost as good as
the song sung by several leading women throughout the decades. This song and the Peanuts'
classic may haunt listeners well after the disc stops spinning, because both are so catchy.
Strickland also records music from "Phantom of the Opera," "Schindler's List," and other
lesser known songs that people who hear the disk will probably consider great just from the
pianist's versions.
Overall, the disc is fun to hear and full of good music, either because of his work or in spite of it.
Nashville Superpickers, Pickin' on the Eagles, (CMH Records)
"Hotel California" starts about the same as the famous original, but it becomes more lively on this
version and actually sounds better. The nearly five-minute recording could hold listeners' attention for
two or three more minutes easily - it sounded so good it seemed to end too soon.
The "Pickin' on" version of "Witchy Woman" doesn't match the quality of the original, because Don
Henley's sassy voice gives the Eagles' version a quality banjos, guitars, dobros and fiddles can't
duplicate. This version still sounds good, but it lacks the element that makes the song stand out.
On "Heartache Tonight," the band's instruments translate the song well, but part of the original's
strength is the lyrics, the story of heartbreak, which the music can't mimick without changing the whole
character of the song. "Take It Easy," however, shines as an example of the successful conversion to
bluegrass and country. The song quickly moves through the verses of the original and sounds great.
"I Can't Tell You Why" also translates well into instrumental. The tangy quality of Timothy Schmidt
sounds great converted to the twangy steel guitars of the Nashville Superpickers, in fact, a little better
than the original, too. "Lyin' Eyes" suffers without the beautiful harmonies of Glenn Fry, but "Tequila
Sunrise" sounds at least as interesting as the Eagles' classic.
Another song that fails in comparison to the original is "New Kid in Town," which, too, sounds almost
empty without Fry's outstanding vocals. "Seven Bridges Road" is the most melodic song the Eagles
perform, however it does translate well to instrumental. The Superpickers' version sounds interesting,
melodic and brings a real western sound to the track.
Overall, picks and tones may break bones, but imitation is the best form of flattery, and the Nashville
Superpickers' music is a great contrast to the songs the X generation grew up with.
Click here for a link to bluegrass resources on
the Internet.
(C) 1995 Daniel E. Klatt Enterprises.
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Ratings are based on a scale of up to four discs, with one meaning the music is a waste of listeners’ money and four denoting an excellent disc that belongs on everyone’s shelf.