Customer Reviews

Cover Up

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is an o.k. collection. It's not as bad as a lot of the reviewers are saying. At the same time, it's not going to be my favorite Ministry album.

The new covers: There's a real mix bag of classic rock covers here from the Rolling Stones, T Rex, Deep Purple, Mountain, ZZ Top, Golden Earing, and Ram Jam. The covers are good. Not the best that Ministry have done, but quite listenable. It's a decent enough selection of songs, and their cover of Louis Armstrong's "What a wonderful world" is pretty hilarious.

The old covers: This is the annoying part. They include three tracks that most all Ministry fans already have. There's The Doors "Roadhouse Blues", which appeared on "The Last Sucker", the band's most recent album. They also include "Lay Lady Lay" from the "Filth Pig" album and "Supernaut" from the 1000 Homo DJs album (which Ministry just reissued in 2004 on a CD called "Side Trax"). These are all great tracks, but it is annoying that the band reissued three songs that are very easy to find and two songs that were released within in past four years.

What's missing? First, and most important, Ministry's cover of Skinny Puppy's "Smothered Hope" from the B-side of the "Burning Inside" single. This is a live track from the tour when Skinny Puppy's Ogre joined Ministry on stage, and it is -in my opinion- the finest cover that Ministry ever did. As a huge Skinny Puppy fan, I will even admit that I find the Ministry version of that song to be far superior to the original. It would have been a great inclusion because it is still a very difficult track to find. Some easier to find, but glaring omissions, are also missing from this CD. First are the Rev Co covers of "(Let's Get) Physical" and "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy", and also the Ministry cover of Magazines "The Light Pours Out of Me" from the mostly ignored Animositisomina album. I'm sure there are others that I am not thinking of now.

Another thing missing from the album is a diversity of sound. My one (and only) complaint about the post-Paul Barker years of Ministry is that all of the albums after his departure have a singular sound to them. When Paul was in the band, there would be the occasional track that would slow things down and let the songs open up, as opposed to the consistent sonic assault of the post-Paul albums (a.k.a. the "Bush Trilogy"). "Cover Up" suffers from the same problem as those albums, where a lot of the songs bleed into each other with the same wall-of-sound that's encompassed Ministry's last three albums. For me, that Ministry wall of distortion doesn't always fit with the classic and iconic riffs that they are covering.

All in all, this is a very o.k. CD. I can tell this is a CD that is going to grow on my with future listens. At this point I just don't know if I'm going to grow more fond of it, or if I'm going to grow to really not like it at all.

Some many people have been giving Al and company crap for this release saying it is not the same Ministry as they know and love. Well DUH!!!!!! it is a covers record, not an album about politics or drug problems. Just sit back and listen to there version of some great rock classics.

"Radar love" and "Bang a Gong" are my personal favorite of the newer covers. "Space truckin" is fun as well with Tommy Victor on vocals. The only complaint I have is that they included "roadhouse blues" on here which is stupid because that came out last year on "The Last Sucker."

It is a fun rock/metal record of covers, have a beer and enjoy.

Some cover cds just suck. Like those terrible cleopatra records ones with like 50 goth bands doing bad spooky versions of the songs we love. This however is different. Fantastic covers, some songs oyu may not like you'll like, and Burton from FF and Ascention of the Watchers is on here too. I guess a little added treat. Also al let's us off with a cover of it's a wonderful world. Again, and again, and again. Each a little differnt. One half easy listening half aggressive, one all aggressive, one all easy listening. Makes you kinda choke up and cry really. With ministry it really IS a wonderfull world. Now that they're done, and once his tour is over, well, what's there to life for?

I didn't like this album much on the first few listens but it's grown on me. It's good fun and the pumped-up, heavy, wall-of-sound versions of songs sound great. Especially good is "Bang a Gong" (it makes me laugh hearing, "What the **** does Bang a Gong mean?" at the end. Marc Bolan would surely have enjoyed it.

"Radar Love" and "Space Truckin'" also sound very good in this late Ministry style. "What a Wonderful World is OK but why not include what is, in my opinion, Ministry's best cover, Magazine's classic "The Light Pours Out of Me," instead of extra versions of that.

Frankly, I enjoy this more than the three anti-Bush albums-- one would have been enough(and Al is naive if he really thinks the US's political problems ended with Obama.)

The Good
Okay, so The Last Sucker was exactly the last Ministry album. It was the last studio album though. Cover Up however, is the last release by Ministry. "Under My Thumb" (Rolling Stones) is creepy and intense at the same time. The song is so addictive that it ropes you into the entire album. Fuzzy vocals and electric riffage breathe new life into "Bang a Gong" (T.Rex / Power Station). It seems every rocker has to cover Deep Purple. Ministry is no different with "Space Truckin'" Not being a fan of Deep Purple, I wasn't looking forward to it, but Jourgenson made it more enjoyable. Some purists will prefer the blusey tones of "Black Betty," (Leadbelly) but if you want more energy and layered guitars, you can't go wrong with this version. I guarantee that you've never heard a version of "What a Wonderful World" (Louis Armstrong) like Jourgenson's, and you'll hear it more than once on the hidden tracks.

The Bad
As energetic as it is, I prefer White Lion's version of "Radar Love" (Golden Earring). Despite it's thrash metal delivery, you can hide the fact that "Roadhouse Blues" (The Doors) was a lousy song to begin with. This is minor, but most of these songs appeared on previous Ministry albums.

The Verdict
One of the most fierce covers albums you'll ever hear. Nothing like going out in a blaze of glory.

Great album: takes the old tunes to a higher lever yet maintains the integrity of the original, ie the "feel" of the number. Like the heavy sigh in Bang a Gong. Like the cow-bell in Mississippi Queen. Like the harmonica in Roadhouse Blues. Like the actual beauty of Lay Lady Lay. The album art is terrific. Band members as JKO, Lee Harvey, and especially the Jack Ruby shot with the prostitutes. Very cool.

This is a covers album of classic rock songs performed by Ministry. Some of the songs have appeared on previous albums but there are some brand new covers on the album as well. Highlights for me are :"Under My Thumb", "Supernaut", "Roadhouse Blues", "Just Got Paid", and "Its A Wonderful World". There are some hidden tracks that are really unnecessary. This is not an essential album by Ministry but is a fun album nevertheless.

I've loved Ministry for a very long time now and I was saddened to hear about their possible break up. I was under the impression that there were going to be no more Minsitry albums so imagaine my suprise when I stumbled upon this release. The cover art immediately caught my eye and when I flipped it over and realized it was a whole album of covers I rushed to the check out line.

The best thing about this album for me was that Al Jourgensen stayed relatively true to the originals while giving them a distinct Ministry spin. Under My Thumb, Bang a Gong, Radar Love, and Mississippi Queen all sound like heavier versions of their originals. A sound more akin to Ministry of old is still heard on Black Betty, Roadhouse Blues, Supernaut, and Lay Lady Lay. The only missteps in my opinion were Space Truckin and Just Got Paid, although I admit that there may be some bias involved because I am not a fan of the originals either. Al ends the album of with an incredible cover of What A Wonderful World. He mixes up the tempo and style a few times throughout the song and it is just amazing.

I will admit that when I bought this album I kind of thought that it was going to be something of a parody. That I would laugh when I heard his covers and show them to people so they could see how crazy Al Jourgensen is to try and pull off these songs. I was certainly not expecting an entire album of pretty faithful covers with a Ministry edge. I was taken by suprise in a very good way. This album is completely worth it for all Ministry fans and anyone looking for a new spin on some old classics.

unless you are hard core you probably won't want to listen to this every day but if you love music like i do and music is like food for your soul , buy this . they have covered many songs and did them in a style as unique as minstry . the cover i like the most is "what a wonderful world" by louis armstrong .

The Cover Up cd is the last chapter in Al Jourgensen's main musical project. Now, he's gonna push other artists through 13th Planet Records. If you're a fan of rabid, angry, fast and thunderous music, this a is a cd you definitely have to buy. Good work in the covers, and the special guests list is brilliant.