Customer Reviews

Uptown Avondale

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This EP, their last recording for the label Sub Pop, is comprised of four classic R&B covers, plus a remix of their "hidden" track from the album Congregation (called "Milez is Dead" there, "Rebirth of the Cool" here).

The EP opens with the sizzling "Band of Gold," the classic Freda Payne tune. The Whigs have a tendency to redo all of their covers in a minor key, and this fact, accompanied by the howl of Greg Dulli and Rick McCollum's guitars, make this unforgetable. "True Love Travels on a Gravel Road" is absolutely haunting, turning the Elvis Presley song into a melancholy- bordering on morose- piece. The cornerstone of the EP, though, is the cover of the Supremes' "Come See About Me." I can't really describe it, but it's one of the few covers which I think is on par with the original (which is an excellent song to begin with).

The album begins to wind down with Al Green's "Beware," a great, if slightly haphazard tune. This track immediately heads into the only real downside to Uptown Avondale: the remix of "Rebirth of the Cool." It drags on much too long (a problem plaguing the original), and the percussive dance beats and vocal shifting downplay the rage embodied in the original.

Uptown Avondale is a great collection of covers, and one fairly decent remix. This is an excellent recording of the Whigs paying homage to the R&B roots they embraced.

With this collection of covers, The Afghan Whigs have once again proven that they can take any song and make it their own. From the soft crooning on "True Love Travels On a Gravel Road," to the aching modern day update of "Come See About Me," singer Greg Dulli and the band successfully introduce classics to a new audience. The one original "Milez Is Dead" has been re-mixed and gets under your skin and becomes addictive. Yet another must have Whigs release, absolutely nothing compares to this band.

"Uptown Avondale" is the last of the Whigs' releases on Sub Pop, and while somewhat of an oddity compared to the rest of their albums, it nevertheless is a great addition, and generally overlooked.

"Uptown Avondale" (5 tracks, 21 min.) contains 4 R&B covers and one Greg Dulli song. The best covers here are Freda Payne's "Band of Gold" and the Supremes' "Come See About Me". If you didn't think that grunge-meets-motown can sound gorgeous, the Whigs prove it right here. The only Dulli tune is the 6 min. "Rebirth of the Cool", which made me think of the Stone Roses' "Fool's Gold", another classic song.

This EP may not be "essential" in the Whigs' catalogue, but it contains some really great songs. BUY IT!

(Incidentally, in case you wonder about the title of the EP, "Uptown Avondale" refers to a neighborhood in Cincinnati, which of course was the home base of the Whigs for most of their 15 or so years.)

The boys prove themselves to be great once again on this disc. These aren't mere covers: they actually manage to put their own spin on established classics. claiming them as their own. Never mind all the bad metal groups trying to put on "evil" airs -the Whigs are downright sinister in their coolness. Literate,witty, everything Morrissey would be if he ever got over himself. Rank among the Placemats as the greatest real bands.

Other reviewers have given most of Uptown Avondale good coverage. However, they have all overlooked something: "Beware" is the best track on this EP!

Who else but the Whigs could turn a typical Al Green ballad--pleading, sensitive, soft--into a twisted and demented warning?

Dulli whines and howls over a slimy and mesmerizing drone, threatening to MAKE somebody love him (Al would make somebody LOVE him, right?). It feels like running into Nosferatu, late at night, and he chases you into a dark alley...and then asks for a date. Creepy...weird...terrifying!

One star off because "True Love on a Gravel Road" sounds tossed off to me and the "Milez Iz Ded" remix doesn't add much to the album version. Don't let that put you off though; this disc is well worth seeking out.

For a band with such mind-blowing originals, the Afghan Whigs do the most stunning covers. Just when you think they couldn't possibly do anything better, they do. Go figure. The first song, "Band of Gold" is an updating of the 1960s unconsummated marriage classic. It's got a melancoly little swing to it. "True Love Travels on a Gravel Road" follows, and it has a similar feel. "Come See About Me" is absolutely funky and fab. Greg twists that song around and makes it totally his own. "Beware" is a cover of the Al Green song, a sad and scary little croon (a remix is available on the Blair Witch Project soundtrack). The disc closes with "Rebirth of the Cool," one of my all-time super-favorite Whigs songs. It crawls inside your brain and rattles around incessantly. One of the sexiest songs ever recorded. I was tempted to give this c.d. four stars, but then I realized that was just because I was upset it didn't last longer. Short as it is, Uptown Avondale earned all five stars. Don't wait until you've snagged all the full-length Whigs albums before you treat yourself to this pretty treat. . . buy it as soon as possible.

This EP set the tone for all of the off album release the whigs were to release...covers playing on Dulli's menacing crooner image.

1992s 'Uptown Avondale' is the first thing the Afghan Whigs released after their debut 1989 album, 'Up in It'. This EP screams the thing which that album only implied under its grungy exterior - and that is that these boys were driven by 60s soul, not by a desire to be lumped in with the grunge movement. It is the first time that you notice they are truly unique.

The production is basic and raw, but the commitment, passion and attitude soars as Greg Dulli croons over cool dirgy takes on 'Band of Gold' (made famous by Freda Payne), 'True Love Travels on a Gravel Road' (Elvis Presley), 'Come See About Me' (The Supremes) and Al Green's 'Beware'. The five song set ends with Greg Dulli's ode to Miles Davis, here entitled 'Rebirth of the Cool, which resurfaces as a rerecorded bonus track on the CD of the album 'Congregation', which was released later that year.

A must for Afghan Whigs or Greg Dulli fans.

"The Rebirth of Cool" has to be one of the greatest re-interpretations ever. To call it a cover song is to shortchange the artistic brilliance. Not always consistent in their intensity across the span of a full-length this EP suspensefully builds into its final tune and demands that you keep the replay programmed into your player. I would argue that this stands as the Afghan Whigs best.

A great collection of old Motown R&B covers updated by the greatest band in rock today. "Come See About Me" is worth the purchase price alone----I never thought they could take such a recognized classic and make it so their own--even slightly sinister. GET IT NOW!