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 It seems like the mashup
is starting to approach critical mass these days, eh? You’ve probably
heard of such a beast at one point or another in one genre or another
and have strong opinions on the result. My take is this: Rap and
hip-hop showed us decades ago (yes, it’s been that long) that you can
take existing popular music and craft something new and unique despite
the dismissive attitude that you’re only recycling material you had no
hand in creating. Advocates say it’s a legitimate art form that
deserves its due credit, while detractors may claim it’s just lazy
opportunists cashing in on someone else’s work and thumbing their noses
at copyright law. I don’t know who’s right, but I do know when I like
something. And regardless of who wrote what, at the end of the day, I
just want to hear good music.
Rock Sugar
is good music. Seriously.
There is a wealth of music from the hard rock/metal boom of the late
80s and 90s such that one can easily find material to use for a good
mashup, but the real genius comes from blending songs from different
musical genres and making the final result actually pleasurable to
listen to. A lot of credit goes to lead singer Jess Harnell,
who is better known as the voice of many popular animated characters
such as Crash Bandicoot, Ironhide (from the Transformer movies),
Captain Hero (on Comedy Central’s Drawn Together), and Spyro
the Dragon. His training as a voice actor has no doubt helped him on
tracks like Don’t Stop The Sandman, Heaven and Heaven,
and You Shook Me Like a Prayer where his ability to emulate
the vocal characteristics of James Hetfield, Bryan
Adams, Steve Perry and Brian Johnson
adds to the experience without sounding like another cheap parody.
The rest of the credit goes mostly to guitarist Chuck Duran
who does for guitar what Jess does on vocals, seamlessly weaving
signature tones and styles from some of hard rock and metal’s most
popular guitarists into his own sonic blend.
What makes this, and other mashups work is a simple formula: You
can’t just take any two songs and mix them together. They have to have
a common rhythmic background, but even better if their distinctive
melodies can harmonize. But even more importantly, you have to take
what your doing seriously and commit to the vision that you are making
something new and enjoyable. This isn’t about getting a laugh. While
not every song is gold on Reimaginator, when the
formula works, as it does on Don’t Stop The Sandman (a mix of Metallica’s
Enter Sandman and Journey’s Don’t Stop
Believing) and You Shook Me Like A Prayer (Madonna’s
Just Like A Prayer and AC/DC’s You Shook
Me All Night Long), it’s amazing; like a trying a dessert you’ve
never heard of before where you put it in your mouth and think “holy
shit, where did this come from?”
It gets even better on tracks like Here Comes The Fool That You
Wanted where an artful mix of the Eurythmics‘ Here
Comes The Rain Again and Bon Jovi’s Wanted
Dead or Alive is topped off with a layer of Cinderella’s
Nobody’s Fool. Crazy? Give it a listen.
The Bottom Line: Fans of mashups will enjoy a
heavier version of the genre than normally heard, while hard rock/metal
fans of the bands involved may experience their favorite songs on a new
level. Either way, Rock Sugar is a talented group of guys who know
their music and their enthusiasm translates into great tunes. This
album is pure fun.
Standout Tracks: Practically the whole album. And
check out their videos on
YouTube!
By Allan Athans The Right To Rock
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