Customer Reviews

String Quart Tribute to Nine Inch Nails

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

They didn't always mirror what Trent did, but then again, it's hard when you have only four voices and Trent has like 437829742. They weren't able to achieve the wall of sound effect, but with a string quartet, that's ok.

Let's take it track by track:

"Piggy" took a couple of listens before I started to like it.

"Heresy" had awesome energy, especially in the beginning. I loved the v2, viola and cello together.

"Just Like You Imagined" seemed made for string instruments. It was impressive.

"The Fragile" was stunningly beautiful. Excellent pizzicato on the chorus.

"Into the Void" was, well, amusing.

"Closer" was all right, but I think I like Spiralmouth's a cappella rendition better.

"Something I Can Never Have" wasn't bad, but the original was so hauntingly beautiful that most anything else will pale in comparison. This paled in comparison.

"Suck" didn't suck. The verses were sweet, but you don't really get that "HOW DOES IT FEEL" feel.

"Eraser" oh my, they almost pulled off the wall of sound in the beginning. I felt like 3 more seconds of build-up would have done the trick.

This album captures none of the mystery and darkness of Nine Inch Nails' music. I love classical music. I love string quartet music. I love Nine Inch Nails. String quartet music can be dark and mysterious--listen to some of the stuff the Kronos Quartet has recorded. The interpretations on this album are extremely literal, and that's not a compliment. The players shouldn't be attmepting to make their instruments into electric guitars, they should be interpreting the music using the excellent qualities of their own instruments. Most unimpressive. The string quartet people have put together tribute albums for a number of other artists I like, but I won't be checking them out due to the low quality of this album.

I can't believe some of the bad reviews this album has. I happen to think this is a great CD to listen to when you want to listen to some NIN done in a lighter style. I'd compare it to the 2nd disc of Halo 17, Still. These are basically the same songs, but without the harsh synthesizers and metal.

1. Piggy 4/5
While it's missing the drum and bass feel of the original, it provides some excellent playing. It's very different, but still recognizable. It really needs some kind of percussion, though.

2. Heresy 5/5
It's kind of an odd choice for this album, but it sounds just how it should, and I applaud them for that. A good translation, and it's played well.

3. Just Like You Imagined 5/5
The original was already well suited to this style, and it shows here. This isn't just a cover, though. The lead player does a lot of interesting soloing not in the original version.

4. The Fragile 5/5
Being a fairly soft song to begin with, it works well unplugged, as shown on Still. Doesn't really deviate much from the original, but it's one of my favorite NIN songs, so that doesn't bother me.

5. Into the Void 4/5
I found this to be an odd choice. Into the Void was pretty much a louder version of La Mer, which would've worked better, I think. It's a good track anyway, though. Stays fairly close to the original.

6. Closer 5/5
You would think a song with so many layers might sound not so great played by four instruments, but it's clearly not the case. It's a really an odd choice, but it works suprisingly well. Also suprising is how close it stays to the original. Other than the intro, which would've sounded bad anyway, all of the important parts are here.

7. Something I Can Never Have 5/5
This was a good choice to translate to strings. It's been a bit more arranged than other tracks, but it's for the better. I wish it had some kind of representation of the vocals, though. I also think they should have done the Natural Born Killers version. Great track anyway, though.

8. Suck 4/5
I was quite skeptical of a string version of Suck. The song was a cover to begin with, and in general it seemed like a bad choice. When the opening player started up, it sounded strange, even though I knew what he was mimicing. By the time the bass came in though, I liked it. The "vocal" line sounds a bit odd on this one, though. Another faithful reproduction, overall.

9. Eraser 5/5
That opening build up is great. While it's not exactly what Trent did in his version, it pulls off a similar effect. The rest of the song is a cover that's true to the original and sounds delightfully dissonant towards the end, which is how it should be.

10. Bonus 5/5
There is an extra track which no one has mentioned. This is an original track, but it's definitely true to the feel of Nine Inch Nails. Being written for strings, it ends up sounding better than a lot of the covers on here, and it sounds a bit like a darker Head Like a Hole.

I only have a few complaints. One is that they didn't do more songs. So many Nails songs could sound great played on string quartets. Where are songs like A Warm Place and The Great Below? They would be really easy to transpose and they would sound great. Percussion is also sorely missed.

Other than that, I think it's great. I think people who complain about these tributes, need to learn that they aren't supposed to sound exactly like the originals. Also, if you don't like strings, then don't expect to like the string quartet versions just because you like the band.

Also, apparently this has been sucessful enough to warrant a sequel. Vitamin has released a second volume, which came out April 19. This one is specifically devoted to Pretty Hate Machine. They've also released a piano tribute, but it isn't especially great.

I didn't think it was all that bad, then again, perhaps it could have been better. The adaptations were okay for the most part, yet hearing the violin sort of made some of it, (especially on Closer, sounds more like a fiddle) feel like square dance music or something. Quite funny! I guess it would be difficult to try to make the songs sound as intense as the originals and perhaps fans do expect too much. Strings really does bring a different sort of moodiness to the music, sort of a more chaotic feeling. I'm not so sure how to rate this! 3.5 stars, I guess. It is different and it is a tribute to NIN which does make it worth while. I would listen to it again just for the novelty of it.

I'm actually really pleased with how these tunes work as a string quartet...Like the Tool String CD I entered into it expecting a dark sort of Eastern European string vibe to the recording....and that is indeed what I got and I am pleased indeed...I don't think the intent with things liek this should be to recreate but rather to reinvent for a different format...and the darkness of the stings and the arrangements do exactly that...Resnor meets Part for a recital....not too shabby at allllll.

This is about what you would expect. They are tribute songs. If you are a NIN fan, you can easily recognize the songs. But I'd choose the real thing over these any time. It was interesting the first time through but I don't think that I'd miss the cd if it went missing...

If you like Nine Inch Nails, you will definitely like this tribute. Their version of "Just Like You Imagined" is not as intense as I was hoping it to be though. At any rate, it's a great album!

Classic arrangements of Pop/Rock Songs NEVER work, like novelizations of movies and games. Here even less with Industrial. Apocalyptica screwed it and this album follows in their steps pathetically. Desipte of the technical skill which is apparant, these fiddlers lack the total vibe of the original. It is not that an interpretations of a song may push not it into completely different direction or that a remix might be even bettet than the original. But the leaving sense of what to do with your instruments is the apparent lack here and recreating the VOCAL LINES with a single INSTRUMENT LINE is the most common FAILURE one can achieve with the instrumentational transscription of a vocal based song. HINT: Stick more to the harmonics themselves and your on the rather safe side. But this record turns out to be fiddle-fiddle album with no direction or inspiration at all and not worth remembering. WHY THIS? Why not create own ideas, invent something which had to be invented by now but no one seems to dare. Why Reznor had allowed this, I'll never know. When you are into speedy strings buy a CD with Irish Folk Music and you have a lot more fun and vitality.

I thought that this was a verry well done cd. I love nine inch nails but somtimes its nice to hear somthign alittle different. its verry relaxing to be able to listen to some of your favorite songs in a different way. I loved what they did with this and im glad that trent agreed to it. well done

I don't like writing reviews so I'll just say that I consider myself an NIN fan. NIN is my favorite artist and I bought this a little reluctantly because I was really disapointed with the other tribute albums. But this album is great. I can listen to it many times a day and still enjoy it very much. It pulls off each song very well. These are skilled musicians who know what they are doing and anyone who appreciates that will enjoy the album, I believe. Turning NIN's compositions into classical interpretations works great and I think any NIN fan who can also enjoy classical music (not too necessary) would enjoy this.