Originally posted in The Black Planet.

Picking a bunch of songs, so different in nature, and making them sound as if they are your own, that’s always an exciting concept; it’s the outcome that may turn out outrageously disappointing. Like this “Skeletons”. Mr. Glenn Danzig made a hell of a job murdering some classics here.

Although his deep, baritone voice is still unmistaken, Danzig seems to have lost a bit of control over it, not being able to keep the pitch variations on-key, sounding broken. Of course, with so many auto-tune devices out there nowadays, one must wonder if this isn’t an intentional wild, raw effect. Whatever the case, it’s a downer. Take the opening track, for instance. The original “Devil’s Angels” is a late sixties fuzz/garage rock instrumental piece; if Danzig hadn’t thrown in some ragged vocals, the punk version he came up with would’ve been brilliant.

But it’s ZZ TOP’s “Rough Boy” that’s probably the poorest cover, given the dull tone in which Danzig sings it. It’s a ballad, true, and he kept it as such in terms of tempo, but there was surely another way to express the lyrics’ emotions rather than whining – it doesn’t suit him. Maybe a cleaner timbre, like he used with THE EVERLY BROTHERS’ “Crying In The Rain”. The latter is, in fact, the most decent cover in “Skeletons”, but pop trio A-HA did way better back in the early nineties…

Apart from the sharpening of the guitars, BLACK SABBATH’s “N.I.B.” and AEROSMITH’s “Lord Of The Thighs” stay very loyal to the originals, so not that much of a treat. But then again, there’s still something off about the faster and harder versions of songs such as Paul Wibier’s “Satan” or THE TROGGS’ “With A Girl Like You”. No, “Skeletons” isn’t DANZIG’s finest moment.

Label: Nuclear Blast

Producer: Glenn Danzig

Tracklist:

1. Devil’s Angels
2. Satan
3. Let Yourself Go
4. N.I.B.
5. Lord Of The Thighs
6. Action Woman
7. Rough Boy
8. With A Girl Like You
9. Find Somebody
10. Crying In The Rain

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