Attention Deficit Delirium

The soundtrack to the 2005 film "Sky High" was chock full of Eighties covers, from Vitamin C tackling 'Til Tuesday's "Voices Carry" to Bowling For Soup performing Modern English's "I Melt With You".

While the Nineties gave us some great underground music from the metal, goth, ambient and experimental communities, the mainstream world was generally filled with whiny rock, anemic pop and insipid dance music. It’s funny how a decade of prosperity inspired such underwhelming cookie cutter music. Or perhaps that is the reason why. Thankfully the ’00s — fueled by a strong Eighties flashback mode, including conservative cultural repression — brought back big hooks, colorful looks and the belief that it was okay to be a rock star once more. Even the darker pop and rock tunes from the Eighties seemed larger than life and more dramatic than what followed in the decade that spawned grunge, alternative and electronica. (Many people know I like dark and moody stuff, although I also have a soft spot for party hearty rock from back in the day.)

Naturally Eighties covers became all the rage during the Aughts and allowed many young listeners to be exposed to great songs that came out before they were born. And when done right, these new renditions also brought smiles to the faces of those of us who remember the originals. Following are ten reinvented tunes that made all things Eighties that much more cool during the first decade of the new millennium.



TORI AMOS “Raining Blood” (Slayer) — You have to give Amos points for sheer chutzpah in transforming this aggressive thrash metal classic into an eerie, dissonant piano and vocal composition. And it works. The live version below is slightly heavier and more rhythmic than the studio take. Okay, not exactly the feel good song of the Eighties, but you have to take sinister and intense along with perky and poppy. Complement and contrast, folks.
Compare to the original here.





APOPTYGMA BERZERK “Cambodia” (Kim Wilde) — This Norwegian band took Ms. Wilde’s slow, dreamy song and injected it with synth-rock energy and guitar crunch without losing the original’s melancholic edge. It’s funny that Apop gave an adrenaline boost to a song whose original singer was known for the propulsive pop anthem “Kids In America”.
Compare to the original here.





THE ATARIS “The Boys Of Summer” (Don Henley) — The Ataris’ lone Top 20 hit was an amped-up version of the forlorn Don Henley ballad that turned a nostalgic adult tune into an angst-laden teen rocker without sapping it of its emotional power. It was also one of the first prominent Eighties covers in the Aughts.
Compare to the original here.





CRADLE OF FILTH “Temptation” (Heaven 17) — Leave it up to this black metal battalion to take a bright synthpop number and transform it into a snarling, cheeky, heavy goth track. Then again, isn’t the point of doing a cover to try something different? They certainly did here.
Compare to the original here.





DISTURBED “Land of Confusion” (Genesis) — While they did a good job giving Tears For Fears’ “Shout” a metal makeover, Disturbed’s cover of “Land Of Confusion” upped the ante, not only with its driving energy but good timing — right at the height of the bitter Iraq War debate. Their choice of an animated video is an interesting nod to the original Genesis clip, which featured the political puppetry of Spitting Image.
Compare to the original here.










HIM “Wicked Game” (Chris Isaak) — Although this Finnish band’s thundering rendition of Isaak’s ethereal pop song lacks the subtlety or fluidity of the original, Ville Valo’s crooning and the group’s electric energy imbued it with new life. They’ve actually recorded and remixed this several times between 1995 and 2000, and since HIM didn’t get big in the U.S. until 2005, this one slides onto the list.
Compare to the original here.





IN EXTREMO “This Corrosion” (Sisters Of Mercy) — This was the Sisters’ best song, an 11-minute dance epic with choral vocals, catchy hooks and a driving beat. Then a bunch of crazy Germans turned it into a shorter medieval metal number complete with growled vocals and high-pitched bagpipes. Awesome. The video features a headbanging harpist and fire, fire, fire!
Compare to the original here: Single version and uncut.





GARY JULES and MICHAEL ANDREWS “Mad World” (Tears For Fears) — A lot of young music fans will never have heard Tears For Fears’ dancey original — come to think of it, I hadn’t either before I constructed this list. Jules and Andrews’ gloomy acoustic rendition — a vocal, piano and cello piece recorded for the cult film Donnie Darko — is beguiling and fantastic.
Compare to the original here.





NO DOUBT “It’s My Life” (Talk Talk) — This is a fairly faithful take on the dramatic Talk Talk song, with Gwen Stefani’s sultry vocal stylings supplanting Mark Hollis’ elegant crooning. Part of what sold this rendition (which won a Grammy for its “Thin White Duke” remix by Jacques Lu Cont) was a hip, humorous video, in which femme fatale Stefani offs three lovers (her bandmates) in different ways before going to the gas chamber. Ironically, she departed for a successful solo career, and the band has not released a new album since 2001.
Compare to the original here.





QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE “Never Say Never” (Romeo Void) — It seems apropos that an eclectic hard rock unit like QOTSA would tackle this off-kilter cult song from the early ’80s. Beyond the obvious switch from female to male vocals, this Romeo Void remake enhances the discordant guitars and replaces the saxophone with a kazoo. Nice touch.
Compare to the original here.

Could you imagine this band without this frontman?

In the late Robert Altman’s satirical film The Player, Hollywood executive Larry Levy proposes that his studio can save money on hiring writers by developing scripts themselves, tearing ideas right from front page newspaper headlines. To which the film’s anti-hero, fellow executive and competitor Griffin Mill, retorts: “I was just thinking what an interesting concept it is to eliminate the writer from the artistic process. If we could just get rid of these actors and directors, maybe we’ve got something here.”

That same wisecrack can now be applied to lead singers — after all, who needs someone with a famous face to deliver the words? With the near departure of vocalist Steven Tyler from Aerosmith on the eve of their 40th anniversary, his bandmates immediately began contemplating who might take his place. That seemed like a rather hasty move, but then again this is a group that is in middle age and would not have years to wait for their frontman to decide to return. And these days famed rock gods, particularly vocalists, are becoming more replaceable than ever, something rarely heard of twenty or more years ago.

Replacing famous singers is not without precedent. When Bon Scott died, AC/DC brought in an equally distinct but different screecher in Brian Johnson, and they became huge. That’s a rare exception, but there are others. After Peter Gabriel departed Genesis, the British art-rockers soldiered on with drummer Phil Collins as frontman (so to speak), but he did make them more commercially viable and generated bigger hits. (For true progressive music fans, though, that was heresy.) Sammy Hagar’s turn in Van Halen allowed them to go more pop as well (not that everyone liked that). Hagar was also a star in his right when he joined VH, but lightning did not strike twice for them after he left their ranks. Remember the Gary Cherone era? Further, Ronnie James Dio kept Black Sabbath successful for two albums (and subsequent reunions) after they fired Ozzy Osbourne in 1979, and their music remained as hard and heavy as ever, even today under their new moniker Heaven & Hell. Dio also gained fame previously fronting Rainbow.

Van Halen reunited with Sammy Hagar in 2004.

My friend Eric Vitoulis went to see Journey three years ago at Jones Beach Theater on Long Island. Prior to the show it was announced that former Yngwie Malmsteen vocalist Jeff Scott Soto would be filling in for Steve Augieri, who was having vocal problems that soon lead to his departure after eight years with the group. A woman in front of Eric turned to her friend and said, “Steve Perry’s not here?” (Not since 1996, my dear.) That ironic statement is proof that many fairweather fans — i.e. the casual listeners who turn musicians  into platinum hit machines — do not really pay all that much attention to the lives of the artists they listen to. It’s what I call the “Rock Of Ages syndrome”. The opening night crowd for that Broadway hit were true ’80s fanatics, right down to their attire, while a subsequent audience months later was mainly comprised of suburbanites, many of whom clearly do not often listen to the songs that were performed nor always remember who performed what. But they love the nostalgia and kitsch factors that Rock Of Ages represents.

Alice In Chains with new frontman William DuVall (at right).

There are many Journey fans who would vehemently argue that no one could fill Steve Perry’s legendary shoes. Yet three vocalists have since, and the latest one, Filipino native Arnel Pineda, has helped boost their careers once again, both in terms of album and concert ticket sales. Journey are admittedly an anomaly, a beloved institution who do not seem to get sidelined for long due to limited warranties on replacment singers, two of whom have purposely sounded very close to Perry. Conversely, when revered metal bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motley Crue, Ratt and Black Sabbath replaced famous frontmen who left — in Sabbath’s case there were two — fans did not respond as well. They were still there but in diminished numbers. More commercial bands like Foreigner, Styx and others seem to be able to pull this off a little better. Queen certainly made it be known that they were not attempting to diminish or tarnish the legacy of the late Freddie Mercury by bringing in former Bad Company and Free singer Paul Rodgers, and fans responded favorably. They also performed songs by Rodgers’ previous groups to hammer home their point that they were Queen + Paul Rodgers, rather than with. Similarly, ’90s rockers Alice In Chains have soldiered on with William DuVall as original frontman Layne Staley died of a drug overdose in 2002. Like Journey did last year with their platinum Revelation, AIC’s latest album Black Gives Way To Blue hit #5 on the Billboard charts.

Could anyone truly replace Steven Tyler in Aerosmith? Of course not. When guitarist Joe Perry was gone from the band between 1979 and 1984, the group experienced a dip in popularity. Imagine what would happen with a Tyler-less line-up? Plus he has always been the singer. Groups that have experienced downtime between singers often were going through a quiet phase (the ’90s comes to mind for many) and were a little younger when it happened and thus have been able to cope with such a transition better. A decade after the departure of original frontman and songwriter Dennis DeYoung, Styx has persevered with vocalist Lawrence Gowan. Guitarist Mick Jones has been the lone original member of Foreigner since singer Lou Gramm departed in 2003, and they had been the two lone original members for years prior. And Perry hasn’t been in Journey since 1996, nor performed live with them since 1987. (And who knows when he’ll reemerge publicly.)

Styx ten years after with frontman Lawrence Gowan (at bottom center).

We should not begrudge a group that wishes to continue once a famous member, usually the frontman, departs. This is their livelihood. They deserve to make a living. And there are people who still want to hear the music, regardless of who sings it, as long as they’re good. The irony that the aforementioned Journey follower did not even know who she would be listening to onstage may be ironic — some casual KISS fans probably do not know that Ace Frehley and Peter Criss are long gone — but the upside of this situation shows how some fans really just want to hear the music. Purists will certainly argue that point and are certainly free not to attend the shows or buy the new albums. In terms of replacing iconic singers, the cliché business concept “what the market will bear” comes to mind — even if some people think the results are unbearable.