Search - Blues Traveler :: Cover Yourself

Hit and miss affair on re-workings of old material

Alex Kleinwachter | Chicago, IL USA | 11/01/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a huge BT fan for a long time. Their last studio effort, "Bastardos!" was a little bit of a new sound for them, and I have to admit that it was the first BT album that I just couldn't get into. There were some good moments but I felt they sacrificed solid songwriting in favor of experimentation in a lot of places. But hey, when you've been around as long as these guys have, you need to keep things fresh, and I applaud them for stepping outside of the box, even if it didn't completely work.

That brings us to "Cover Yourself", a new collection that finds BT doing just that...re-working their own old material into newer "cover" versions in an attempt to breathe some new life into songs that they've been playing for, in some cases, as long as 16 years or more. The big hits are here..."Runaround", "Hook", "But Anyway", "The Mountains Win Again", "Carolina Blues"...and they're mixed with some deeper album tracks from their catalog as well, like "Defense and Desire", "NY Prophesie" and "100 Years". It's an interesting concept, but as you might expect, it's a hit-and-miss affair.

In general, the songs that work the best are the lesser-known ones. "100 Years", a longtime fan favorite from their self-titled debut, is a wistful ballad that has been re-worked into a more mid-tempo shuffle with very cool results. Another cut from the debut, "NY Prophesie", is probably the most impressive cut on the disc, morphed from the original's frantic energy into a loping funk groove with a killer bassline that will surely get your foot tapping and head bopping. "Defense and Desire" from the "Save His Soul" album and "Reach Me" from 2001's Bridge are also given makeovers that give them a new, fresh energy and will be interesting to see in a live setting.

The other side of the coin mostly lies with the new versions of their biggest hits. I understand that the idea of the record was to give a facelift to some of the most "worn out" tracks from their catalog, so their inclusion isn't a surprise, however I think the album as a whole would have worked a lot better had they stuck with deeper album tracks across the board. The problem with re-working staples like "Runaround", "Hook", and "But Anyway", etc. is that these songs were hits for a reason: they had strong melodies and identifiable hooks as their biggest traits. The new versions of the deeper tracks work well because they were able to retain parts that made them good songs in the first place while still putting a fresh spin on them. When you try to re-work a song like "Runaround" for example, how are you going to change that hook and come up with something just as infectious? It just doesn't work as well.

For BT enthusiasts, this is definitely an interesting addition to your collection and you'll certainly find a lot to like, despite it's unevenness. For people new to Blues Traveler, I would recommends starting with the greatest hits record, the debut, or the wildly underrated "Travelers and Thieves"."

New Spin on old Fave's

oregonbowhnter | Oregon | 06/16/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A fan since the beginning (Travelers and Thieves). I must say for me, I enjoy this album. I like the idea of putting a new spin on some classic material. Hook, But Anyway, etc. are classics which made them MTV and Top 40 popular, but BT has a multitude of GREAT music that spans 20 years, going well beyond the "MTV hits". With so many artists putting together a "greatest hits" album, This is a refreshing change to doing so. It's classic BT using both well known and lesser known material, changing up the songs considerably and giving the fans a new version of something old. For me, this album works well. From the new riffs on Hook, to the bluesy version of Mountains Win Again this album is a great addition to your BT collection. If you are looking into BT for the first time, I would not recommend this album. If you have been a Fellow Traveler for years, what are you waiting for? I'd like to personally thank your mom."