“Rubber Soul” Revisited
The CD: This Bird Has Flown (Razor And Tie)
Various Artists interpret the Beatles’ “Rubber Soul”
Tribute albums can be problematic. By their very nature, you’re forced to compare the new interpretations of familiar songs to the originals. The novelty of a bulk batch of cover versions of songs can wear off quickly. Then you’re left with the job of deciding if the new version of each tune brings anything fresh or exciting to the song. This is even more of a challenge when a tribute album is a track-by-track recreation of a milestone like Rubber Soul by The Beatles.
Rubber Soul is a key to the Beatles’ transition from the “Mop-tops” of Beatlemania to the serious songwriters that they’re recognized as today. It marked a major progression in the evolution of John Lennon and Paul McCartney as songwriters, and the emergence of George Harrison as a compositional force to be reckoned with. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of its release, Razor and Tie has gathered together some of the leading lights of today’s alternative music scene to recreate this classic album (with the original British running order), and the results, as usual with this sort of project, are a mixed bag.
A typical drawback with this type of tribute album is that some artists are too timid with the material, basically just copying the original version note-for-note. While this approach can be pleasant, and remind us of how great the songs are, it’s not very satisfying in the long run.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are the artists who crash and burn. They either try to do something drastically different and fail, or they are simply not suited to handle the material.
The trick is to strike a balance between the two extremes. The best cuts on This Bird Has Flown allow the artists to establish their own identity within the songs, without murdering them. Dar Williams does a respectable version of “You Won’t See Me” that manages to sound fresh without slavishly duplicating the original version. Yonder Mountain String Band manages to use bluegrass instrumentation on George Harrison’s “Think For Yourself” without sacrificing the original version’s sparkling arrangement. This is a truly striking accomplishment. Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals apply a light reggae touch to “Michelle” that works perfectly. Tad Leo takes on “I’m Looking Through You” with samples, a near-punk tempo and a truly hyper drumline that makes the song sound totally contemporary.
The album has a few contributions that are too respectful of the source material. The Donnas kick off the album with a version of “Drive My Car” that, but for the female vocals, could be the original recording. Ben Kweller’s version of “Wait” sounds so much like the Beatles’ recording that you might think it’s an out-take with fewer backing vocals.
We also have a few noble failures. Some of the artists (none of whom, I believe, were even born when Rubber Soul was first released) try to do something bold and new, and fall flat on their face. These are the “interesting” versions of the songs that only merit a curiosity listen. Nellie McKay attempts a lounge-jazz-samba arrangement of “If I Needed Someone” that totally destroys the beauty of the song. Sufjan Stevens apparently thought that Ringo’s country flavored showcase tune, “What Goes On,” would sound great if it were done up in the style of early-1970s Jethro Tull. It doesn’t.
For the sake of novelty and entertainment, there are a couple of absolute train wrecks on the album, too. In a “two lousy tastes that taste worse together” moment, the Cowboy Junkies, one of my least-favorite bands in the world, take on “Run For Your Life,” a song so bad that John Lennon later claimed to be ashamed at the abusive misogyny in the lyrics and called it one of the worst things he’d ever written. As usual, the Junkies run the song through their patented dirge-0-matic and create a recording suitable only for CIA torture sessions.
Surprisingly, that’s not the worst song on the album. The Fiery Furnaces turn in a very strange version of one of the Beatles’ most beautiful songs, “Norwegian Wood.” All I can say is that this recording is all the proof you need that stoned teenagers should never be allowed to listen to The Residents. This cut belongs on an album with recordings by William Hung and Moms Mabley.
Aside from the odd disaster, This Bird Has Flown is a typical tribute album. It can’t hope to compete with the original Rubber Soul. Face it, nobody does tributes to albums that aren’t already considered definitive. Still, it’s a happy little listen with a few outstanding moments, and except for some notable missteps, a fun trip through the Beatles’ “middle” era.
