Firewater – Songs We Should Have Written / M. Hederos & M. Hellberg – Hederos & Hellberg
Collections of cover tunes tend to be viewed either as battery-recharging stopgaps (Giant Sand’s Cover Magazine, John Cougar Mellencamp’s Trouble No More) or a statement of artistic/conceptual purpose (Bowie’s Pin-Ups, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ Kicking Against The Pricks). Performers naturally tend to prefer the latter description, although why there should be any stigma associated with having some fun in the studio is beyond me. Generalize, however, we critics must, and here we have two disparate sets that represent both categories.
NYC theatrical rockers Firewater, given the tepid response to 2003’s ambitious The Man On The Burning Tightrope, probably needed a break from the write/record/tour grind anyway, and Songs We Should Have Written is low on conceit and high on cheek. Sonny & Cher’s “The Beat Goes On” becomes a hipster duet even snarkier than the original thanks to some lippy give-and-take between vocalist Tod A and guest Britta Phillips (Luna); the pair also teams up to channel Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra on a surprisingly reverent “Some Velvet Morning” (Tod nails that Haze druggy drawl).
On “Folsom Prison Blues”, Firewater sounds like a freeway pileup between the Waco Brothers and Bad Seeds — that’s a good thing, by the way — and Tom Waits’ “Diamonds And Gold” (from Rain Dogs) gets an elegantly twisted gypsy cabaret makeover. Among the album’s less successful tracks: the Stones’ “Paint It Black” (too gothic) and the Beatles’ “Hey Bulldog” (too skronky). Overall though, Dick, let’s give it an 89 ’cause you can definitely dance to it.
That makes Hederos & Hellberg the “serious” effort. It features Mattias Hellberg, ex-Hellacopters, on vocals plus Soundtrack Of Our Lives keyboardist Martin Hederos. (This album, originally issued in Sweden in 2000, was followed in 2001 with a second record, but in 2003 the duo broke up.) A spartan piano-and-vocals (and occasional harmonica) affair, Hederos & Hellberg walks a fine line between profundity and preciousness, but for the most part it’s a compelling listen.
Opening with a reverent, hushed version of the Velvet Underground’s “Pale Blue Eyes”, the record picks up steam with a jaunty take on Nick Drake’s “Been Smoking Too Long”, takes it back down a solemn notch or two on Waits’ “Soldier’s Things” (from Swordfishtrombones), then turns bleary-boozy for Randy Newman’s “Guilty”, Hellberg neatly copping Newman’s signature vocal tics. Gram Parsons’ “She” and Dylan’s “You’re A Big Girl Now” are unremarkable but well-rendered. While there’s no dancing allowed on this, for sheer bravery of purpose within the covers-album genre, we’ll award H&H a solid 95.