To celebrate the 40th anniversary of David Bowie’s legendary 1972 album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Toronto’s Paper Bag Records (PBR) recently released a free cover compilation by multiple artists from the label. For Bowie fans, this may appear to be an exciting event—except for the perennial issue that arises whenever bands attempt Bowie covers. These re-imaginings often end up sounding like mediocre karaoke, because any given Bowie song is already so expertly crafted and timeless that even the most promising modern bands usually produce something flat and uninspired by comparison (e.g., War Paint’s “Ashes to Ashes”).
Unfortunately, PBR’s rendition largely failed to dispel this stereotype. The approach most artists took to covering these epic songs was to mumble lyrics over synthed-out versions of the melody. In nearly every case, this is monotonous, and simply makes the listener long for the original.
However, among all the warbling were a few bands who opted for more interesting interpretations. These are the covers that are worth a listen, and include The Rural Alberta Advantage’s high-energy, post-punk version of “Starman,” as well as The Luyas’ appropriation (it can hardly be called a “cover”) of “Lady Stardust,” in which the vocals are spoken (not sung) entirely in French.
If you are a huge Bowie fan, tone down your expectations for this release. And if you are only a modest fan, or are unfamiliar with Bowie’s music, get your hands on the original first.
