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The Big Takeover, Issue no. 48 #29 from Jack Rapid's Top 40 picks As covers go, three of these seven are remarkable choices! It is a fresh idea for the Posies and Big Star vet to forego the 60's psych-pop classics his band has covered (Zombies, Bee Gees, Hollies, Chris Bell, etc.) and instead turn his attention to his less-recognized, but just as extraordinary underground contemporaries. Still, credit Auer with mega bonus points for doing such sweet, light and pretty reworkings of shockingly enough: 1) his old Geffen labelmates The Chameleons' 1987 Strange Times opus/zenith 'Tears' (Auer comes in right directly between the stunning original full band version and the lesser acoustic one); 2) Swervedriver's 1997 99 Dream ace 'These Times' (again somewhere between the better version from the original LP turned in by the Oxford powerhouse that Geffen then dropped, and the later re-recording for the Zero Hour version); and 3) in one more bit of synchronicity, the same song Swervedriver leader Adam Franklin did last September at the Luna Lounge, Grant Hart's indelible Husker Du 1985 Flip Your Wig gem 'Green Eyes.' What tremendous taste! Jon Auer is welcome to play any house party any of us might throw! That they're all such nice versions makes this CD a good deal of fun. Of the other four, the instrumental of Serge Gainsbourg's 'Bonnie & Clyde' is nondescript, and Ween's 'Baby Bitch' isn't much of a tune, but Madonna's 'Beautiful Stranger' works a lot more as an acoustic-pop love paean instead of an electronica-pop crossover. Likewise, the reverent, louder recreation of the Psychedelic Furs 1982 Forever Now classic 'Love My Way' is more in line with the primo stuff, lulling and in some ways nicer with Auer's dulcet tones in place of classic Richard Butler's sandpaper voice. All in all, if this is what Auer wants to fool around with in his scant free time, we can only reply, 'More please.' - Jack Rapid Magnet, June/July 2001 Don't overlook 6 1/2 (Pattern 25), a covers EP from Posie Jon Auer. The most fascinating: a balladesque, waltzing take on Ween's 'Baby Bitch'; the most unexpected catchy and reverent: a throbbing, power-pop reading of the Psychedelic Furs 'Love My Way'; the most unexpected pleasure: Madonna's 'Beautiful Stranger,' done up for acoustic guitars, organ, and strings. Elsewhere, Auer tackles Serge Gainsbourg, Chameleons, Swervedriver and Husker Du. - Fred Mills Devil in the Woods, Issue 3.2 For Posies fans, Jon Auer's voice is as pleasantly familiar as grandma's apple pie. That's why it's so interesting to hear him lend his touch to these seven diverse cover tunes, including Ween's 'Baby Bitch. The Psychedelic Furs' 'Love My Way,' and Madonna's 'Beautiful Stranger' (which sounds stranger with every spin. An acoustic version of Husker Du's 'Green Eyes,' stripped to it's core melody, is as beautiful as it gets. Not to be missed. - Frank Valish Amplifier, July-August 2001 Already this year we have had the likes of Mark Kozelek and Michael Carpenter proving the potential of all-covers recordings...now, we have Jon (Posies) Auer providing his own unique contribution to this 'genre.' Choosing songs that have already been given the full-bodied sonic treatment, Auer strips them down somewhat and layers a poignant sheen to interpret the same in his own distinctive manner. Most beneficial of this approach are The Chameleon's 'Tears' and Husker Du's 'Green Eyes,' both of which are transformed into rustic and folky affairs that tug hard at the heartstrings. However, the piece de resistance is Auer's handling of Madonna's 'Beautiful Stranger' (off the Austin Powers 2 soundtrack) with cello and mellotron-like synth. Elsewhere, the moody ambience of Serge Gainsbourg's 'Bonnie & Clyde,' the epic pretensions of Swervedriver's 'These Times' and the rather sing-a-long quality of Ween's 'Baby Bitch' earmark this EP as an item worth much more than it's inevitable novelty value. --Kevin Mathews. Pitchfork Media, August 27, 2001 Jon Auer has given us a lot over the years: a long tenure as one-half of the creative team behind the Posies, yielding a dragon's bed of understated pop gems, and an equally promising burgeoning solo career, not to mention time served in the 90's version of Big Star. So when he feels the urge to indulge himself, I'm inclined to let him, especially when such indulgences come in the form of 6½, a collection of unlikely covers selected and performed by Auer to be his post-Posies U.S. debut on his fledgling label, Pattern 25 Records. Starting out slow and spacy, Auer begins with the track that constitutes the 'half' of the title, a nagging and surreal instrumental cover of Serge Gainsbourg's 'Bonnie & Clyde.' While there's nothing wrong with the piece, per se-- with a short, looping phrase, it's the only keyboard-driven track on the album-- it's missing the one thing that makes most of the songs on this home-cooked project disc worth hearing: Auer's greatest asset, his lilting vox. Maybe he realized that, assigning it merely half-song status. But Jon dives into the pop soon enough with nods to influential Brits. The Chameleons' 'Tears' is a superb showcase for Auer's dolce vocce but doesn't really improve upon the original. A serviceable cover of Swervedriver's excellent 'These Times' follows. And while he does a fair job on each, I couldn't shake the notion that Auer was just warming up. He confirmed my suspicions. Perhaps the most interesting track on the disc comes next when Auer tackles Ween's vitriolic ballad, 'Baby Bitch.' Singing with such feeling, and from a source of loss in a personal relationship of his own (the conclusion of a nine-year marriage), Auer takes over the song completely, like a Martian pod. Cello and melodica lend a carefree drift to the track, in direct and stark contrast to the lyrics. Keeping his low-key vibe alive, Auer's take on Hüsker Dü's 'Green Eyes' was gentle and lulling enough to put my kid to sleep; likely the first time that's ever happened to a Hüsker song. Singing with unabashed optimism, as well as respect for the original, Auer reincarnates Grant Hart's words and melodies with new life, into a new body. By the time he reinterprets the Psychedelic Furs' classic, 'Love My Way,' Auer's ready to plug it in and pick it up. The result is an undercurrent of chugging, muted distortion throughout the song that allows it to take root in a way it wasn't able to the first time around. On top of that, his croon matched with Butler's words is enough to make you second-guess the original. For me, personally, this is the highlight. Closing the disc, oddly and perfectly is a left-field take on Madonna's 'Beautiful Stranger.' In the hands of Auer, all the 21st Century Madonnaisms are decanted, leaving only smart melody, direct lyrics, and absolutely no mental images whatsoever of Austin Powers' shag-rug torso gyrating in a come-hitherly fashion. The nice thing about 6½ is that each person who hears it will find a different standout; there'll be absolutely no consensus. All the covers are presented with an equal level of competence, lending a kind of two-way interactivity to the collection. You will connect with one (or more) of the songs on 6½-- which one is up to you. Since a disc like this would never have a single in the traditional sense, that decision is as personal as the ones Auer made when choosing which of these baker's half-dozen favorites of his to record. -- John Dark Splendid, May 28, 2001 As half of the songwriting end of legendary power-poppers The Posies, Jon Auer has penned some gloriously catchy songs ('Solar Sister' and 'Ontario' spring readily to mind). Rather than pull out the old notebook for this release, Auer has looked to his favorite artists, past and present -- not only for guidance, but for material. A collection of oddball covers, 6 ½ shows Auer to be a performer of considerable depth and range. His version of Swervedriver's 'These Times' is twice as pretty as the original (which is qu
About the Artist
As singer/songwriter/guitarist for The Posies, Jon auer is recognized as a renowned and distinctive pop craftsman. 6 1/2, a collection of masterfully personalized cover songs, is his first solo effort in the U.S. The mini L.P. contains seven cover songs ranging from Madonna to the Psychedelic Furs to Ween and the Chameleons UK. Each one experienced a radical reworking at the able hands of Auer.
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