Customer Reviews

The Bobs Cover the Songs of...

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This is the Bobs' second album of cover songs, done in their inimitable a capella style. If you have heard the Bobs before, you know what to expect. Swinging a capella voices with a large dose of humor. My personal favorites here are "White Room", "Is That All There Is", "Lonely at the Top", "Bird on a Wire" and "Particle Man". They also managed to sneak one original composition on here, which is "Mess Me Up Again". It's a country song where the singer begs his slob of an ex-girlfriend to come back home. It is also of high quality. I recommend this CD to fans of a capella singing, and people who like music with a sense of humor.

According to the liner notes, the Bobs recorded this album in a single session, just for fun. The result is predictable to all who know the Bobs well from their previous cover album and from their live shows: light-hearted interpretations, musically interesting but at times sparse and hardly complex. This is neither the best (Songs for Tomorrow Morning) or the Worst (Shut up and Sing) of the Bobs; it's good, and you'll like listening to these a capella versions of well-chosen songs you already know, but this isn't the kind of album you end up listening to over and over again -- you're more likely to like a given song if you love the original, where a truly strong cover album should make you appreciate the originals all the more, IMHO.

Especially fun tracks include the bouncy "Disco Inferno," the especially well-suited TMBG favorite "Particle Man," and nice but unspectacular covers of Hendrix, Grateful Dead, and Jack Bruce tunes. A few cuts have appeared in the same form on previous albums, notably "Strawberry Fields Forever" and the half surf-punk "Bird on a Wire." They are worth owning again, I guess, but like everything else on this album they are solid but unspectacular; I still prefer the earlier, rawer days of better Bobs Beatles' covers such as "Helter Skelter" and "You can't do that."

This album is exceptional in its creative interpretation of some of pop musics greatest hits. This eclectic ensemble takes songs you thought were perfect and makes you hear them in a fresh, original way. Favorites are White Room, Disco Inferno and Strawberry Fields (how do the Bobs create that weird Beatle's sound at the end?).

Track listing:

1. White Room
2. First There Is a Mountain
3. Unchain My Heart
4. The Wind Cries Mary
5. The Golden Road
6. Is That All There Is
7. Disco Inferno
8. Lonely at the Top
9. Bird on the Wire
10. Particle Man
11. Searchin'
12. Mess Me Up Again
13. Strawberry Fields

1994 German import on Tradition & Moderne label. T&M 003. Digipack edition.

This is their 6th album (1994). It's not in the group of their first four albums that are simply stunning (s/t, My I'm Large, Song for Tomorrow and Sing the Songs of). I've wondered why I don't listen to this covers album of theirs as much as I do their first one. Well, it's simply because they don't get the groove thing going nearly as often here.

Yes, 'White Room' and 'Wind Cries Mary' are marvelous. It helps that I'm a huge fan of both those bands so hearing virtually any clever cover of them makes me happy and, in fact, these are the two strongest interpretations on the album. As is typical of the BOBS after their first four albums, there's always something great on every album, problem is, this is about it here.

'Is That All There Is?' and 'Unchain My Heart' are pleasant but unspectacular interpretations, that is, fairly predicable versions that don't stray significantly from the original. Nice enough but nothing to swoon over and I've swooned, despite being a hetero man, many a time over many of their unbelieveably great songs on those first four albums.

The rest of the songs here just miss the mark. As is the case with all their albums numbers five through twelve (not counting the two best of compilations) most of the songs on those six albums are just not hits, not striking, not inspired. I find I never listen to those other songs.

'White Room' and 'Wind Cries Mary' are immenently listenable. The rest, really, just are a big notch below. chrisbct@hotmail.com

This is MORE BOBs gold! There are SO manny great a cappella covers it'll make you head spin. The purity of thier voices and the fun that is pouring out of them will make you listen to the album over and over again! White Room, Is that All there Is?, Strawberry Fields Forever, Particle Man(yes, the one by They Might be Giants!) and Disco Inferno Just to name afew, PLUS an original BOBs "Acapella Country song" Angells of Mercy. A great album overall. Buy it and let the FUN begin!

This acapella group rocks!!! Music created and performed with excellence. They write it and they go with it.