Customer Reviews

Tuxicity

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I happened to be wandering through Caesar's Palace Hotel-Casino in South Lake Tahoe (Stateline, NV) in 2004 when I heard some really swinging music coming from the Stone Street Bar and Grill. I had never heard of Richard Cheese, but now realize that with TV appearances (including Leno), RC has a cult following. The great thing about his music is that it is swing with a sense of humor. It pokes fun at the overly-serious and heavy handed sound and lyrics of modern rock music-- by doing the tunes in the exact opposite manner than the artist intended. It creates a fun-loving mood, and musically, the band and Mr. Cheese's voice are very enjoyable.

Some time ago, the squeaky-clean Pat Boone came out with an album "In a Metal Mood" that was meant to be a joke-- on it he swung Ozzy Ozbourne's Crazy Train, and that became the theme song to the TV show "The Osbournes." Richard Cheese expands this concept.

Words cannot do this album justice. It's strange to hear lounge versions of modern songs, but after the strangeness (and hilarity) wears off, the songs grow on you and a couple aren't too bad to groove to. Until you've heard the lounge version of "Shake Ya *ss" by Mystikal, you haven't really lived. Mr. Cheese is the Poet Laureate of the our generation. Even if you don't care for lounge music, you've absolutely got to hear the talented Mr. Cheese's covers. I highly recommend this album.

Just play it during a party in the back ground to see if any gets the joke. I love it.

I will go through the various stages that my mind catapulted through while listening to the various songs on this album.

First and foremost, utter shock at what this album actually is. A collection of lounge covers of some of the weirdest, hardest, and most shocking rock, rap, and...Britney Spears??? This is absolutely the worst idea I've ever heard of! Now don't get me wrong, I've heard of Richard Cheese before. This isn't the first time I've been graced with that name. I guess I just never had an excuse to force myself before. The songs were too short, too varied, and there was no possible way he could actually expect people to take him seriously.

But of COURSE not. That's the whole point, right? Now I'll focus on the instrumentation. It is typical jazz fare, no real spark or anything of real mention. Well, they DO manage to capture the point and essence of just about every song they do musically. That is rather uncanny. I mean, consider "Chop Suey". They pretty much nailed every aspect of that song. And in less time than the original, no less. I am vascillating between complete awe and complete disgust.

His voice is nothing spectacular. Again, typical jazz fare. But what he can do with his voice and the music with these songs is, again, rather impressive. I have *never* liked "Fell In Love With A Girl", but his rendition is both easy to listen to and easy to understand, which has always been an issue with White Stripes, in my opinion.

And now I talk about song choice. With "Chop Suey" and "Fell In Love With A Girl", he was lucky. I mean, those songs had something going for them and he picked up on that. But..."Shake Ya Ass"??? I really have to question someone's credibility, opting to turn songs like that, and other rap songs, into lounge songs. I found myself, instead of laughing, cringing at the utter horridness that is his rather loyal lyrical transition from thumping hip-hop to smooth lounge. But then something occurred to me. If you listen to those songs enough, the true meaning of them comes through with the subtlety of a flying brick. Just how horrid are those lyrics anyway? Everyone accepted them in the context of the original song, but transplanted overtop a jazz band just exposes them for what they really are. True accounts of pop culture. And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is where the true genius of Richard Cheese is. He has the ability to strip down everything that makes a song popular and expose it for the trite farce it truly is. "Down With the Sickness" may be a fun song, but in no way is it lyrically intriguing or intelligent. The same follows for the majority of those songs. In fact, Richard Cheese even comments on it with the beginning of "Crazy", Britney Spears' tune, when he says that Britney is a true artist. If anyone should ever listen to this album, it is because of what it says. And what it says is pure lyrical dumbness.

I give this album a nice big B.

Remember in the Dawn Of The Dead (2004) remake...that scene where the lounge version of "The Sickness" was playing??? Well look no further...this disc is the disc which carries that song!

If you're wondering whether this disc is worth it...just remember those scenes from the movie and once you start laughing...you'll know this disc was worth it!

(Note: if you're not a REAL MUSIC FAN, but just a casual radio listener, you may want to pass on this. This disc is for people who have a REAL appreciation for music as an art form)

I can't believe there's only one other review for this album. Richard Cheese is the sickness! I've only heard two of his albums (the other one has covers of NIN's Closer and Nirvana's Rape Me), but this one's my favorite simply for the first 8 tracks. Hilarious. His covers of Baby Got Back, Down with the Sickness, Shake Yo A**, and Fell in Love with a Girl (bad scatting at its best) make me giggle madly. And I love his smooth, smarmy voice.

If you like to get a little silly with your music sometimes, if Weird Al Yankovic has ever made you smile, or you thought Gunther's Ding Ding Dong song was funny, you'll get this. Sooo much fun!

I just love Richard Cheese! His renditions on these classic songs are a crack up. I listen to a lot of the original songs that he covers so it just makes it funnier for me to hear his versions. Especially "Down With the Sickness" which actually plays at the very end of the comedic movie Shaun of the Dead (They put Dawn of the Dead on the track listing, which really wouldn't make sense if it were correct). Not only does he do a great job of turning the majority of these alternative rock songs into some great swingy jazz lounge music but he can belch out some great notes! Just for S & G's give this album a listening to, I'm positive you'll laugh!

Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine have done the obvious, obviously. While not strictly as bad as William (Bill) Murry's obnoxious lounge act, nor as over-the-top as the late Andy Kaufman's Tony Clifton persona, `Richard Cheese' keeps his performance within the character's velvet rope guidelines, and instead minimizes and only slightly deconstructs the classic lounge song. This is neither Sinatra nor Bennet, nor is it your little brother doing a bad imitation of them. This is serious lounge, yet alternative. Like waking from a familiar dream, Richard Cheese's renditions are still recognizable, yet obviously something "other", and yet as pure as the originals.

Richard Cheese and Lounge Against The Machine, therefore, are not tribute creators in another style, like Dred Zepplin, for they are members of their genre. They also are not a joke on the genre within the genre, as was the lamented "Nig Heist" within the touring "Black Flag" shows of the early 80s. Neither do they make `lounge' more `lounge' with overproduction, digital techniques, and rich strings. Indeed, minimalism and limited range are the bywords. Or perhaps it is driven by a small production budget.

And the obvious question must be answered: is Richard Cheese "Cheesy?" Only in the sophomoric dimensions of a joke as obvious as a goiter, where we cry out "Dick Cheese!" in the same breath that we call "Mike Hunt!" over a smoky crowd of strapless cocktail dresses, and elicit a few titters. Cheesy, yes, but the music does compel repeated listening, like Alex Chilton covering "More" with Bobby Darrin's shade speaking through the whisky, there is something there, there.

But Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine are not cocktail classics to spin when you have the smoking jacket on and the new recruits from the secretary pool dropping by your place after the show, for this lounge set speaks more to the `cocktails made with codeine' set of cool.

And yes, I am dying to know what Sir-Mix-A-Lot thinks of this version of "Baby Got Back."

This is one of the funniest CDs I have ever heard. Some may consider this album insulting to the original artists, but Cheese's "loungization" of each is so perfect that one has to appreciate the time and effort put into the process. All Cheese albums are technically parodies, but each song is done with such style and precision that it comes off as more of a quirky, left-handed homage to the bands he covers. This is for those (like me) who love heavy, "alternative" bands, and who don't take their music--or themselves--too seriously.

But the arrangements are so dead-on perfect, and the voice is a pleasure to listen to; so if your sound is out-of-style,have fun with it. Put-on, maybe, but definitely not fake.