Tuesday, September 14, 2004

Captain Kirk covers Pulp classic

I had a lot of time for Ben Folds Five, and have no objection in principle to the hilarity-inducing project Ben Folds has just completed with William Shatner ("Has Been"). As Jonathan Ross said on his Saturday morning Radio 2 show, when asked if he thought Shatner's forthcoming album would be like the previous musical massacre, "We can only hope." Anyone who has listened to Shatner's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" knows just how beyond bad Kirk's 'musical' interpretations were capable of being. So I was a tad disappointed to discover that Joe Jackson - a bona fide rock singer, "Don't You Know That It's Different for Girls" - had added his voice to Shatner's hysterical rendition of the Pulp hit "Common People."

Whilst the main vocal line features some appropriately jaw-dropping inability to handle phrasing - he seems almost astonished at the story of the song - the overall effect is diminished by Jackson's harmoniously 'straight' contributions as the song progresses. Its a pity, but actually the cover is not quite BAD enough to actually be as funny as it could of been. Shame on you Joe Jackson!

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