Why So Blu?

Powerman 5000 – Copies, Clones and Replicants (CD Review)

I was surfing Amazon.com for some random stuff to buy when lo-and-behold I ran into one of my favorite band’s latest musical offerings.  Powerman 5000 just released a cover album of tunes, and I didn’t even know about it.  How could this happen?  I’m usually in the loop.  I proceeded to quickly scoop up a copy and have been jamming out the last few days with the latest tunes.  That was also the catalyst for me to write this review.  Considering the band had just released a full length album not even two years ago, how does Copies, Clones and Replicants measure up to their past releases.  Come with me to Somewhere On The Other Side Of Nowhere and find out.  😉  

 

So, as I mentioned at the beginning of the review, I was cruising the Amazon website when I came upon PM5k’s latest album entitled Copies, Clones and Replicants and was pretty stoked to get my grubby fan boy hands on the album as soon as possible.  I purchased the MP3, and it was on!  Keep in mind this was also at one in the morning.  It didn’t matter, because the album is less than forty minutes long.  It’s a quick listen, and it’s chalked full of high energy. I knocked the entire album out in one listen.  Did I mention that this is a complete cover song album?

I was actually surprised by that, but wasn’t quite phased by it, because Powerman 5000 have done covers in the past, so it wasn’t necessarily a big deal that they actually cooked up a full length album of covers this time out.  I made mention of this to some friends and they quickly commenced to drinking the haterade, because they don’t like cover albums at all.  That’s all fine, but I don’t quite get the hate for cover albums by established bands.  Honestly, I can’t even tell you which bands have done cover albums without me having to do some research on it.  Is it that common for bands to make entire cover albums nowadays?  I’m leaning towards no.

As far as the meat and potatoes of Copies, Clone and Replicants go, there’s a nice blend of new wave, rock ‘n roll, synth, and metal equally distributed throughout the album.  It’s obvious that PM5k has been influenced by quite a variety of artists from the past ranging from David Bowie, Van Halen, Devo, and Twisted Sister, to more mellow artists like INXS, etc…  Can you even call INXS mellow?  The Clash?  No, it’s an eclectic roundup of musical choices, that’s for sure.

My favorite tracks off of the album are: We’re Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister), Jump (Van Halen), and are quickly rounded out by the synth-new wave covers of Electric Avenue (Eddie Grant), Pop Muzik (M), and Candy-O (The Cars).  Whip It (Devo) is also pretty cool along with Devil Inside (INXS).  The two songs that are a bit of a head scratcher, are Space Oddity by David Bowie and Should I Stay Or Should I Go by The Clash, because they sort of bring the album to a halt.  They’re SLOW songs.  I don’t have a problem with slow songs, but when you’re in the middle of some high energy tunes and a slow song comes on it sort of kills the buzz, in my opinion.  They’re nicely constructed songs, and I am a fan of musicians who create cover songs that improve or challenge the original.  Why create a cover song if you’re gonna make it sound like the original?  If I wanted to listen to a cover song that sounded like the original I would listen to the original.  So…yeah, the David Bowie and Clash covers are the weak links in an overall great product.  Maybe if the latter songs were placed in a different order on the album?  Anyways.

Copies, Clones and Replicants is a pretty good album that should hold the fans over until the next full length original album hits the marketplace.  I hope it doesn’t take too long.  In the meantime, I will see about getting some tickets to catch these cats live.  It’s been far too long since I’ve seen the Worlds Collide.  Are you ready to go?

 

Track Listing

1. 20th Century Boy

2. Electric Avenue

3. Whip It

4. Jump

5. Space Oddity

6. One Thing Leads To Another

7. Candy-O

8. Devil Inside

9. Pop Muzik

10. Should I Stay Or Should I Go

11. We’re Not Gonna Take It

12. Under The Milky Way

 

Order Copies, Clones and Replicants!