Greg Dulli...I hardly knew ye!

I'm going to put this out first...was never a big Afghan Whigs fan back in the day (I JUST bought 'Gentlemen' about 3 months ago) but I respected the Dulli and the rest of the gang because they were clumped in that Replacements, Mudhoney realm and I grew up in a town with an amazing college radio station (KZSC...holla at the UC Santa Cruz banana slugs!). That being, late last year I got into Greg Dulli's post Whigs project, The Twilight Singers, kinda like his version of what Josh Homme does with the Desert Sessions, but I digress. When I was digesting it I was like damn, old chap has got some feeling in those chops of his and hell let me work some back catalog action now...after that got the above mentioned Whigs album and it was on.

Well now it has been taken to a new level. The latest Twilight Singers album, 'She Loves You' , not only boasts my man Mark Lanagan (if you care anything about amazing vocals on an ferious rock track check out Queen of the Stone Age's "A Song for the Dead"...he massacres it) but it also boasts a collection of the most eclectic covers ever. Dulli covers everything from Bjork ("Hyperballard"...trust, me it works) to Mazzy Star (sans the shoe gazing) to Nina Simone (for real, black is the color of true love's hair) and so much more. What laid me out was his cover, along with Mark Lanagan's backing vocals, of "Real Love"...yeah, that "Real Love" the Mary J. "I got cut in the face and don't want to talk about it" Blige one that had you knowing all about the 411! Indie rocker says what? Let me tell you I was as shocked at as the next fool but goddammit if it doesn't work well as a mid tempo rock ditty that could would have fit perfectly in an episode of "My So Called Life". Seriously, I totally picture it being played when Brian "Crackhouse" Krakow is about to tell Angela Chase how he truly feels about her. If it HAD I swear she would not have left with Jordan Catalano during the series finale and rolled with the boy that was going to treat her right, but when you are 15 you want to be treated like shit. Wow, I almost teared up there...that was THE show and there will NEVER ever be another teen show so fucking gut wrenching. Back to the subject at hand...

A few years ago I found a live version of the Afghan Whigs covering Prince's "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" and they took it home and back. There is lot of soul in the Dulli...don't let the melonin fool you. And when I say soul I'm not talking about the "Wow, he sound like he's all colored and whatnot", no, I'm talking about the kind of soul where you just get it...you ain't trying to be anything but what you are and just get IT...that might friends is real soul, and my man is working it out.

There is also a Marvin Gaye cover "Please Stay (Once You Go Away)" in which the backing vocals have that old school shimmy/do wop vibe...subtle but you feel it and you know that you are dealing with musicians that love music and give it back like they got when they fell in love with that shit back in the day.

Anyhoo, it ain't that deep...but popping in this album made me happy and you got to love some white boys that give Mary her dues...this ain't no ironic indie rock bullshit, it's an homage.

On the cover tip: Angela McCluskey of "Breathe" fame (that breezy track that was all up in that Mitsubishi commercial awhile back) released an album in May titled 'The Things We Do' that has a cover of The The's "Love Is Stronger Than Death". This is one of my favorite songs in the canon of modern music and when Matt Johnson sang it I was like okay, you are probably right, it seems pretty strong. When Ms. McCluskey takes it on I'm NOT doubting her at all. Baby girl makes it her own. If you want to get your download on--check out more of her vocals off of the Telepopmusik album 'Generic World' and go right to "Love Can Damage Your Health"...just sexy as all get out...nothing else needs to be discussed.