VARIOUS – VIRUS 100
(ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES)
This is a very solid 16
band 16 song compilation released in 1992 of some genuinely great bands
covering Dead Kennedys tracks. It was
made to celebrate the 100th release by Alternative Tentacles and its
10th anniversary.
The Dead Kennedys was
always a strange band with a sound that didn’t necessarily comfortably fit in
with either the classic punk of the late seventies or the emerging hardcore
scene in the early eighties, their guitar sound was almost. However with Jello Biafra at the front
spouting political discourse and rhetoric the band were both pioneering and a
pain.
It says a lot that
represented on this compilation are thrash metal, funk, rap, grunge, indie, country
and all girl bands doing all kinds of variations on DK songs ranging from
hip-hop to skiffle to acappela by acts from Brazil, France, England and Canada.
The song list is
instantly recognisable as bands don’t shy away from the hits. “Holiday In Cambodia” is tackled by Sub Pop
act Sister Double Happiness who unfortunately do not necessarily bring much to
the plate with their odd brand of alternative rock. Elsewhere Michael Franti and The Disposable
Heroes Of Hiphoprisy completely rework and nail their take of “California Uber
Alles” which features samples of Biafra ’s
vocals sped up suddenly sounding like Feargal Sharkey.
Probably the best
known cover on this compilation is the Faith No More rendering of “Let’s Lynch
The Landlord” which later appeared as a b-side on their single “A Small Victory”. With a huge sense of fun and adventure the
track becomes a skiffle song driven by the sound of an accordion as Mike Patton
chooses to ape the vocal range of Elvis instead of Biafra . There
is some very Nick Cave
As far as genre
hopping goes, many of the acts do a fine job remaining both faithful to the
songs and their own style. It is not
hard to imagine what Napalm Death and Sepultura do to “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” and
“Drug Me” respectively. Likewise Mojo
Nixon brings his customary meta redneck approach to “Winnebago Warrior”. It’s a perfect fit.
The most striking
departure comes from NoMeansNo and their almost barbershop approach to “Forward
To Death” which feels quite the inappropriate juxtaposition.
Tribute albums tend to
be tough work as limit source material can clash with shoddy line-ups. There are no such issues here. This is fresh fruit.
Thesaurus moment:
panegyric.
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