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ApologetiX ReviewsSpoofernatural | ||||||
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| Disclaimer: If you don't like Rock music, you won't like ApologetiX. That being the case, why waste your time reading this stuff? It would be much better for you to go praise the Lord in a way that is acceptable to you rather than get all caught up in the emotions associated with this subject. | |||
| Spoofernatural (Released 2000) Tracks: 1. Play That Funny Music (parody of "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry) 2. Fishin' on a Pier (parody of "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi) 3. Pray Now/Lost Art (parody of "All Star" by Smash Mouth) 4. Elijah (parody of "Elvira" by the Oak Ridge Boys) 5. Sin Can Be Resistible (parody of "Simply Irresistible" by Robert Palmer) 6. Trooth (parody of "Smooth" by Santana) 7. La Bible (parody of "La Bamba" by Ritchie Valens) 8. I Want in That Place (parody of "I Want it That Way" by the Backstreet Boys) 9. Crowd of Foreign Girls (parody of "California Girls" by the Beach Boys) 10. Choirboy (parody of "Cowboy" by Kid Rock) 11. Every Crown Has Its Thorns (parody of "Every Rose Has Its Thorns" by Poison) 12. Livin' What Jesus Spoke Of (parody of "La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin) 13. I Love Apostle Paul (parody of "I Love Rock and Roll" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts) 14. Jonah Jonah (parody of "Mony Mony" by Tommy James and the Shondells) 15. Learn Some Deuteronomy (parody of "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard) 16. Last Night (parody of "Last Kiss" by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers) 17. Once Livin' Twice Died (parody of "Once Bitten Twice Shy" by Great White) 18. Rock This Tower (parody of "Rock This Town" by the Stray Cats) 19. Genny 22 (parody of 867-5309" by Tommy Tutone) | |||
| Spoofernaturual was ApologetiX' fifth CD and Karl's production skills were beginning to shine on this CD. Though not up to the quality of "Keep the Change" the production was a bit better than previous efforts. There are a couple of spots where a signal was overdriven and wound up slightly distorted, but you have to listen closely to find these. Lyrically, J. Jackson continued to mature with this album. Vocally, the band really pushed the envelope with this CD, choosing a wide variety of styles and vocal ranges for the tunes. There are some weak spots ("Fishin' on a Pier" has a certain amount of "cringe factor" associated with it), but the fact that the vocals are as good as they are on such a wide range of material is amazing in and of itself. Play That Funny MusicLyrics: fair to good Comments: Well, I didn't particularly like the original song and I don't like meta-songs (songs about songs or songs about the band singing songs); so this tune should fail on both accounts. However, it is catchy and I do admit that I listen to the song every time I play the CD. So I can't really complain too much. Fishin' on a PierLyrics: good Comments: Well, J. Jackson isn't quite Bon Jovi. J's vocal strength and range are put to the test on this tune. Anyone who is familiar with the original tune is going to immediately notice the weakness in the vocals. Of course, if you listen to the song about a dozen times you'll get past this problem and accept the vocals as they are. This is another meta-song (a song about the band singing parodies like this one). The second verse introduces the band and is an example of what can go wrong with this type of song - Fred (whose name appears in the song) is no longer the ApologetiX drummer. Oh well. I will give J's vocals some credits though, I couldn't sing this song even after transposing it down a whole note! Jon Bon Jovi has got an incredible range and it takes guts and talent to take on a song like this. Maybe Karl should thrown in some more reverb in a remix to smooth things out. Pray Now/Lost ArtLyrics: good Comments: Somewhere I read a review about this song where the reviewer said "ApologetiX out-Smash Mouth's Smash Mouth. Don't know that I'd go that far, but this is a good production and a very good cover of the original song. Great message folded in here, too. Shrek's popularity probably hasn't hurt the band on this tune, too (now all we need is "I'm a Believer..." to complete the Shrek Greatest Hits parade [okay, see the "Grace Period" CD -- rlh 09/10/2002]). ElijahLyrics: fair to good Comments: This is a story that ApologetiX has visited before (Elijah and the prophets of Baal). Personally, I prefer "I've got Elijah Fighting Baal" from the "Radical History Tour" CD. Maybe it's just the tune (Elvira), but this one didn't do a whole lot for me. Sin Can Be ResistibleLyrics: fair Comments: Here's another song that I just couldn't get into. I like Robert Palmer's work and I like "Simply Irresitible." This parody, however, excites me not at all. TroothLyrics: fair to good Comments: Not having heard (or, at least, remember hearing) the original tune, I can't judge this parody well. Listen and decide for yourself. La BibleLyrics: Straight From the Bible Comments: One of the more incredible tunes ApologetiX has ever done. They sing the books of the Bible to the tune of "La Bamba." This requires some creative pronunciation, and the rhymes sometimes break outright, but they still pull it off brilliantly. Too bad that this song is so difficult to sing; it would be a great number for teaching kids the books of the Bible. I Want in That PlaceLyrics: good to excellent Comments: I'd barely heard of the "Backstreet Boys" before my niece handed me one of her "Backstreet Boys" CDs and asked me to do some parodies of some of their songs. "I Want It That Way" was actually a nice tune (and one I did create a parody for, see "There is But One Way"). Although there is no mistaking J. for one of the Backstreet Boys, his vocals on this tune are quite good (far better than anything I've been able to approach when leading the songs in our Children's Church program). Unless you just hate everything about the Backstreet Boys, you'll probably like this excellent parody of that song. Even if you do hate everything about the Backstreet Boys, you'll probably still like this tune. Crowd of Foreign GirlsLyrics: poor to fair Comments: Okay, this one just doesn't work. There are some great lines in this song, but it really stretches the limits of what a listener is willing to accept in order to get words to rhyme. Nor is the story particularly true to the problems with Solomon's wives. Of course, trying to do Beach Boys harmonies is going to put just about anyone into a bad light as well. At some point, J. should redo this song with a different story. It has potential, it just doesn't work with these lyrics. ChoirboyLyrics: fair to good Comments: Hip-Hop, Rap, etc., are a bit outside my tastes, so I'm not a big fan of this song. So I'll just pass on further review of this number. Every Crown Has Its ThornsLyrics: fair to good Comments: This is a reasonable parody of Poison's original; for some reason, however, I get the impression that the story ended before the song. By that, I mean that it sounds to me like several lines were inserted as filler in order to completely cover all the lines from the original song. Other than that and a gratuitous reference to "Choirboy" (above), this song is pretty good. Livin' What Jesus Spoke OfLyrics: fair Comments: I've only heard the original a few times (in the dim past, on top of that), so it's difficult to review this song with respect to the original. This is another one of those songs that doesn't do too much for me; so I won't say much more about it. I Love Apostle PaulLyrics: excellent Comments: Well, if you like Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, buy this CD just to get this song. This is probably my favorite ApologetiX tune and I can certainly attest to the fact that this tune is very popular with the kids in the Children's Church program were I've led music. This one is a real rocker. Of course, now that Britney Spears has remade "I Love Rock 'n Roll", the kids like this tune even more (my nephew can in one day and announced "Britney Spears copied ApologetiX!" I'll bet J. would really smile at that one). Jonah JonahLyrics: fair Comments: "Mony Mony" is a difficult song to parody. I tried it myself and did not like the results I obtained (note: I disliked "Holy Holy" so much that I wound up writing a second version that I like much better, see "Phony Phony" on the Parodeities page -- rlh 09/10/2002). ApologetiX did their own version and the main thing I can say about it is that it's better than mine. Still, this isn't a very good treatment of this story and the lyrics and rhymes are strained in a few spots. This song does have a few bright spots, however, like explaining why the Fish barfed up Jonah on the beach. Still, if you listen to Mark Bradford's rendition of this story (to the tune of the theme from the "Flipper" T.V. series) you'll discover how well this story could be done. They do a bang-up job of this song live, however; they invite a bunch of people up from the audience and have a lot of fun with this song. Learn Some DeuteronomyLyrics: fair to good Comments: This is another great ApologetiX song. One thing that has always amazed me about J. Jackson's talents is his ability to take some word and fit it into a phrase from some other song and make it sound like it belongs there. Singing "Deuteronomy" instead of "Pour some sugar on me" is one of the classic examples. That fact alone makes this song funny (even though the message is completely serious). Another great rocker. Last NightLyrics: fair Comments: I wasn't particular excited by the original, I wasn't amazed by Pearl Jam's remake, and ApologetiX rendition (though an attempt to be true to Pearl Jam) really doesn't excite me. Oh, the song is listenable, but the lyrics kind of turn me off. Once Livin' Twice DiedLyrics: fair to good Comments: This is a relatively good parody of "Once Bitten, Twice Shy." The lyrics are a bit strained at times, but that's just a minor blemish on this otherwise well-done song. Live, this is a fun number to watch because Bill and Mark swap instruments when playing this tune. Rock This TowerLyrics: good to excellent Comments: Another great ApologetiX tune. If you like the Stray Cats or Rockabilly, you'll want to buy this CD for this song alone. This is one of those ApologetiX tunes where the story fits in perfect with the tune. Genny 22Lyrics: good Comments: Another great ApologetiX tune. The lyrics could sometimes be criticized as weak, but it turns out that they work real well for this song in a campy kind of way. Overall, another big winner. | |||