Shivaree ‎– Tainted Love: Mating Calls And Fight Songs CD

With songs penned by Mötley Crüe, Chuck Berry, R. Kelly, Spade Cooley, Ike Turner, and Gary Glitter, Shivaree's notion of what comprises a gorgeous album of love songs is radically different than Frank Sinatra's or Tony Bennett's. But vocalist Ambrosia Parsley--the Air America network's singing newswoman--is nearly as distinctive a stylist, with a sweet breathy timbre that coats lyrics with fragility, wanting, innocence, or wickedness at whim. That plus Shivaree's textural command make their fourth album more interpretive than a mere collection of covers.

A growling industrial-punk treatment pushes the pedal down on Berry's "I Wanna Be Your Driver," and Parsley's warm cooing is the wanton, feminine flip side of Kelly's machismo in "Half on a Baby." Some of the best tunes, like Tanya Tucker's 1974 hit "Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone)," undergo otherworldly transformations worthy of Ennio Morricone via Shivaree's taste for colorful electronics. And others, like Glitter's "Hello! Hello! I'm Back Again," stay closer to text.

But Shivaree are best when they're surprising, and the cocktail lounge arrangement of the Crüe's "Looks That Kill" and the New Orleans-brass-band-from-Saturn treatment of Ike Turner's "My Heart Belongs to You" are entrancing and utterly inspired.

Label: V2 ‎– VVR1047312

Country: Europe

Media Condition: Near Mint (NM or M-)
Sleeve Condition: Near Mint (NM or M-)