Sean Twisted

I've never been a big fan of Puddle Of Mudd. Their first album, "Come Clean" was decent, as who doesn't love "She Hates Me" or "Control" (Aka "The Smack My Ass song")? But, after that album, I really didn't pay much attention to them. Some people love them, I just never saw what the big deal was. Talented musicians yes, but not really my cup of Tea, and to me they often had the "Nickelback effect", where i had trouble differentiating songs and figuring out if it was NEW material or old. They all ran together. I Think one of the biggest deciding factors on WHY i never got into them is, quite honestly, I really don't care much for Wes Scantlin's Vocals. They've always been too nasaly for my taste - as anybody knows I am a VERY critical person when it comes to vocals..

So what would inspire me to pick up their latest release? It's a covers album. What more reason do I need? SO, weather I love it or hate, I'm going to go through it track for track. You may agree, You may not, but hey - I'm not in this to be kissin' anybody's ass, right? :laughing:

Off the bat, the title of the album is Re: (Disc)overed. and it opens up with their take on the Rolling stone's "Gimme Shelter" which I surprisingly loved. That gives me immediate hope for the album. Vocally, this is probably one of Wes Scantlin's stronger songs, The music was tight, accurate. I listened to it a few times, and I still enjoyed it after the fact.

Next up is Neil Young's "Old Man" which, was OK at best. The music was good, Wes didn't completely go out of his range, and at certain points you can definately tell he was trying to channel Neil.

After that, you have AC/DC's "T.N.T." Which I absolutely hated. I love the original, But Sorry, boys..You don't get to pass "GO" on this one. The music was tight, but it think you would have better off with "If You Want Blood" Rather than "T.N.T."

Fourth was a take on the Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks duet "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" Which all in all, this could very well end up being my favorite track off the album. The guitar work is solid, It's gruffed up just enough, BC Jean certainly helps this one right along, too. I really need to research some more about her. My favorite part about this track? No Stevie Nicks. :flipoff:(Oh yes. I went there.)

Then there's Track 5. Steve Miller's "The Joker". Now maybe I'm just biased here, But there ain't anybody around who's going to do this song justice other than Steve Miller. It's one of those songs that you leave alone, you don't cover. Kind of like Metallica's "Enter Sandman". Or KISS's "Rock & Roll All Night" - nobody's gonna do it justice. It just doesn't feel like it belongs.

Next is Billy Squire's "Everybody Wants You" which I'm not gonna lie. I'm not a huge Billy Squire fan, and am thankful they didn't try to cover "The Stroke" - but For what it's worth, this IS a good take on the song. Wes's vocals still bug me, but If I just pay more attention to the actual music and tune him out, It's all good.

Elton John's "Rocket Man" just plain sucks. It Feels forced, and it feels as if they sat around and said "You know what? We need a song that Bill Shatner sang.." Because, I don't care who you are - if you have EVER heard the William Shatner version of this song (Or The Stewie Griffin version) you'll never be able to listen to it the same again. Although i will say Puscifer's version goes against that rule..

I Enjoy Paul Rogers, and so does Puddle of Mudd, because they covered two of his songs back to back with Free's "All Right Now" and Bad Company's "Shooting Star" which, I can group together.. Both great songs by themselves, But I think this was a poor decision on the producer's parts to include two seperate songs from two seperate bands who had the same vocalist at the time of recording. Just because it starts making me wonder if this started out as a Paul Rogers Tribute album. The Music is sold on both, the band is tight, But they both come off as very cliche..

And then there's the Led Zepplin classic, "D'yer Maker". I'm not even sure if i have the words for how much i did NOT like this version. The Band was solid, as they have been on just about every tack. But Wes's vocals COMPLETELY kill this from the start. If they would have turned it into some kind of instrumental jam track, that would have been awesome. But Wes, while he doesn't come off as trying to emulate Robert Plant, he just doesn't fit "Oh, Oh, Oh...Stop it, please."

And then there's the token James Gang cover. The song that everybody has done. "Funk #49" Which believe it or not, is another one of the stronger tracks on the album. Wes finally found a song which his vocals seem to fit pretty well. I really can't complain at all about this track at all, and i was TRYING to find a reason.

There are two bonus tracks floating around, which I haven't listened to and to be honest, I probably won't because i can already tell my opinion based on their work with the other covers on the album. Those two Songs are The Beatles "A Little Help From My Friends" and the JJ Cale classic made famous by Eric Clapton, "Cocaine". My expectations are incredibly high thanks to Joe Cocker's uncanny version of "A Little Help.." and I'm too much of a die-hard Clapton fan to even consider giving it a chance. Sometimes I can be Unbiased, Sometimes I can't. :shock:

All in all, To me, this album is a mixed bag. When it's good, they're kicking ass. But the tracks that I don't like completely take over for the good ones, and ultimately won't have me running to buy Tickets for their next concert. Better luck next time, boys.

Puddle Of Mudd Is:
Wes Scantlin
Paul Phillip
Doug Ardito
Shannon Boone