What quality is it that might make a covers album good? They do exist (in fact, 99 Songs Of Revolution: Volume 1 is one of them), but what is it that qualifies one covers record as good and makes another bad? Is it song selection? Is it performance? Is it a combination of those things, in addition to very good timing on the band's part? A covers album is probably good because at least a little of each of those variables exists in it; that's certainly why 99 Songs Of Revolution works as well as it does. With Streetlight Manifesto's unique brand of high-octane, Tex-Mex-infused ska already blazing as the band opens with a cover of Mason Jennings' dippy hippy anthem “Birds Flying Away,” Streetlight Manifesto sets the tone for this record really appropriately as it lives up to the album's title; these are indeed anthemic tunes but, unlike other such releases (like those by Mefirst And The Gimme Gimmes), Streetlight Manifesto doesn't just choose from the Top 40 charts of years gone by for laughs and irony, they're choosing songs that it's plausible the band members all actually like; as a result, what comes forth on 99 Songs Of Revolution: Volume 1 is certainly a mixed bag of material, but a mixed bag done with heart because the band is clearly relishing in the opportunity that the idea of this record represents.
Now, again, like any covers album, each listener will have different favorites in the run-time (mine happen (mine happen to be the takes of “Just” by Radiohead, “Punk Rock Girl” by Dead Milkmen, “Linoleum” by NoFX and “Red Rubber Ball” by Paul Simon) but, looking at the set as a whole, it's pretty impressive to hear just how daring the band gets with some of the covers they do. On “Just,” for example, SM's horn section does a fantastic job of filling out the meltdown at the end of the song, while that same horn section turns “Punk Rock Girl” into an even greater parody/farce than the Dead Milkmen's original version was and a mostly-acoustic version of “Linoleum” that would likely make Fat Mike proud. In each case, of course, there is a fluffy air because it is a bunch of covers but, to Streetlight Manifesto's credit, they never phone a performance in or fudge it; singer/guitarist Thomas Kalnoky creeps up and attacks listeners with some genuinely fantastic Tex-Mex-by-way-of-Jamaica acoustic guitar lines that might be the most anthemic unplugged instrumental parts (honorable mention to Ed Hamell) committed to tape in years. It's pretty awesome how it works out like that, and even more so given that the band is able to make it work eleven times without getting boring.
That's right – Streetlight Manifesto beautifully modifies eleven songs on 99 Songs Of Revolution: Volume One because that's how many are present; this is obviously going to be a serial title. Volume One is good bait to get listeners on-board for the series though, because it is so unique – because the choice of songs and the performance of them is so strong it'll leave appetites wet to see what comes next; all Streetlight Manifesto has to do is figure out how to top themselves eight more times.
Artist:
www.streetlightmanifesto.com/
www.myspace.com/streetlightmanifesto
Album:
99 Songs Of Revolution: Volume One is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
