Saturday, June 8, 2013

Saturday Shuffle: Maiden cover, Annihilator, Willie Nelson, Whiskey Myers, The Misfits

This week, a group of really good musicians do a really bad job on Iron Maiden, and we throw in a little classic country, Southern rock, Canadian thrash and punk...


Chuck Billy/Craig Goldy/Rickie Phillips/Mikkey Dee, “Fear of the Dark.” From the album Numbers from the Beast (2005). Yeah, this is one of Iron Maiden’s coolest songs, and this version just really doesn’t work for me. An overly effects-laden vocal performance from Chuck Billy might be cool in another use, but I miss the dark Bruce Dickinson delivery. Musically it’s pretty faithful, but as much as I love Testament, this isn’t the venue for Billy.



Annihilator, “Death in Your Eyes.” From the album Annihilator (2010). After two fantastic albums, Annihilator has really been a roller coaster ride over the years with very good albums and pretty bad ones. I really liked this self-titled album when it was released, but it faded quickly. This is a good Jeff Waters tune, though, with thrash and some of those quirky melodies he’s known for.


Willie Nelson, “Always on My Mind.” From the album Always on My Mind (1982). An absolute classic. I’m no fan of love songs, but it’s hard to go wrong with Willie Nelson and a piano.


Whiskey Myers, “Song for You.” From the album Firewater (2011). Two love songs in a row? What’s going on here? This isn’t one of my favorite songs from Firewater, but I like the scratchy, vinyl feel of it.



The Misfits, “Last Caress.” From the album Collection II (1995). Like many kids of the 1980s, my introduction to this song, and the Misfits, came through the Metallica cover of this song on Garage Days Re-Revisited. It was years later before I heard the original, and while I love the Misfits, I still have to admit I prefer the Metallica version. 

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