Hailing from Australia,
THE NEPTUNE POWER FEDERATION is an eclectic conglomeration of musicians with strange names and immense talents. Having been around for a decade or so, they have honed a sound and crafted a look that is both entertaining and interesting. With a combination of Alt-Rock type themes and Shock Rock attitude, they released “
Can You Dig – Europe 2020”, a four song EP of cover tunes, on July 24, 2020 via
Erotic Volcano Records.
The first two songs on this record are covers of
RAINBOW, one of those bands whose talent was staggering. The songs chosen were from the early days, featuring the inimitable
Ronnie James Dio. Both “
Kill The King” and “
Long Live Rock’n’Roll” are among some of the most enduring songs in the Classic Rock realm. As a fan of those songs, and really liking the originals, I thought this might be dangerous territory. Thirty seconds in to “
Kill The King”, my fears were completely allayed. While not copies of the originals, they are true to the song.
The other two covers are from
QUEEN, one of the mainstays of any Classic Rock station. While “
Son And Daughter” may not be one of the more oft-played songs by
QUEEN, “
Tie Your Mother Down” definitely is. Again, these songs are done with a slightly harder edge than the originals, but not overdone or abused. Both are instantly recognizable, which is a must for me when listening to remakes of favorites. I don’t want a direct copy, which doesn’t happen here, but I don’t want the cover to go so far afield that I question if it is the actual song.
TNPF nail it!
These sings are played with nuance and texture. I’m comfortable placing this effort on the same level as some of the heavy-hitters of covers.
W.A.S.P. did a fantastic cover of “
Paint It Black” in the mid-80’s,
THE LOVEMONGERS (
HEART) and
GREAT WHITE did excellent covers of
LED ZEPPELIN, and both
METALLICA and
HALESTORM have made part of their living from off-cycle cover records. This collection of remakes is as good as any of those in my opinion.
THE NEPTUNE POWER FEDERATION definitely knocked it out of the park with this one!
Songwriting: 10 (Song Selection?)
Musicianship: 9
Memorability: 9
Production: 9
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