Michael Lee Firkins - Decomposition | ||
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Album Cover:
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Label: Nuerra Records Producer: Michael Lee Firkins Year: 1999 Total Playing Time: 41:53 m:s Review date: 26 October 1999 |
| Web site: www.nuerra.com
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| Rating: 7 | ||
| Verdict: Well executed cover versions. | ||
| Michael Lee Firkins is a name you many of you might be familiar with as he has released albums on the Shrapnel Records label. This association is precisely why I've steered clear of him until now. I had him labeled as yet another 'fretboard racer'. I had him pigeonholed and I hadn't even heard one of his albums. Now I can make a more considered judgement.
This is an album consisting almost entirely of cover versions, with only one original composition. The merits of such an undertaking can be debated, but it should be remembered that Metallica produced their most worthwhile album, in my opinion, when covering other peoples tunes. Helping Michael out are Sonny Reece on vocals, Trevor Thorton on drums, John Purtle on bass and Neil G. Ives also on bass. You'll recognize the most of the song titles, so I guess you've figured out by now that this is a blues-based album. When it comes to this style of music Stevie Ray Vaughan would be my main source of exposure, although I've obviously heard the originals of the Jimi Hendrix and Lynyrd Skynyrd originals. On an album so obviously guitar orientated you might expect the vocals to be a bit of an afterthought, but Sonny Reece does an excellent job and certainly holds his own against the guitar heroics on display. What can I say about the cover versions? They are well executed and I didn't get the 'why bother to cover that' feeling when listening to the album. When watching the cartoon, I've always found the Pink Panther theme tune to be slightly annoying, so I was therefore very surprised to find myself enjoying this 'bluesified' version. The original composition, "The Window", fares well amongst the more familiar material and until you become more acquainted with the album provides you with something fresh to think about. This was a welcome diversification in my listening habits as I haven't heard any blues in quite a while. A great deal of blues music is created by borrowing from the early blues men, so against this backdrop perhaps covering some modern tunes is perfectly understandable. I personally would have like to have seen a couple of more original compositions on here. | ||
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