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COUNTRY FAVORITES
(Turquoise Mountain)
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Led by moonlighting Outrageous Cherry singer Matthew Smith, these veteran Detroit scenesters have been making swanky, twangy, tremolo’d rock and roll for a decade now. This time around, the Volebeats put their distinctive stamp on inspired songs by artists ranging from Abba and Funkadelic to the 13th Floor Elevators and Serge Gainsbourg. For grins, they also reconstitute Slayer’s "Die by the Sword" as a menacing shuffle that splits the difference between the arid desert echoes of Calexico and the Western scores of Ennio Morricone. Okay, so maybe the world didn’t need a rambling, roadhouse-style remake of Abba’s "Knowing Me Knowing You," but the Voles’ loping country version reaffirms the strength of the original — the chorus still sticks in your craw. Smith’s own hopelessly lonesome "Standing Next to You," which follows, is a top-shelf closing-time tearjerker. That the covers sit so well alongside the originals says something about the Volebeats’ interpretive powers — or about the band’s tendency to expunge the distinguishing characteristics that made those numbers worth covering in the first place. The exception is Funkadelic’s instrumental "Maggot Brain," an old Eddie Hazel guitar-freakout showcase that they transform into prime country psychedelia. Like Yo La Tengo’s Fakebook or even Outrageous Cherry’s own Stereo Action Rent Party (which offered up covers of hits by everyone from 10cc to Prince), Country Favorites is part tribute and part joke: a wink, a laugh, and ultimately a very pleasant listen.
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