In 2016, proggy jamband Umphrey’s McGee released an overlooked album of mashups titled Zonkey, which combined various covers by disparate artists (Metallica with Gorillaz, Bob Marley and the Wailers with Chicago). I enjoyed that record but admit I haven’t played it in years. I suspect I’ll feel the same way about the ajjancy’s … to be arranged in 2032. For now, though, I’m enjoying the hell out of this seven-track release that (like UM) pairs up songs by Metallica and Chicago, as well as Taylor Swift, Glenn Frey, Michael Jackson, Daft Punk, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, The Moody Blues and more.
For the record, and before we go any further, the ajjancy is the stage name of this outfit’s mastermind and vocalist, and he’s supported by Fernando Perdomo on guitars and Mellotron, Dan Feiszli on bass, Terry Branam on drums, Matt Lebofsky on piano and Jeremy Nesse on Chapman Stick. There’s also a smattering of horns from “Horns for Hire,” strings from “Hamstrings” and a variety of male and female vocalists.
In the ajjancy’s own words, this record “aims for surprise by mashing up radically different tunes with similar underlying chord structures and rhythms to offer a fresh take on well-known songs.” That said, the musical counterpoint to The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” in opening track “Baba’s Bizarre” is OMC, a one-album wonder from New Zealand whose first single was 1996's long-forgotten “How Bizarre.”
From there, though, things pick up tremendously. “Roundabout Thriller” is self-explanatory, with slowed-down-but-still-funky versions of the Yes and Michael Jackson classics, and “25 or 6 to Stronger” blurs Chicago with Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” and Kaye West’s “Stronger.” (It’s better than you think.) Of the remaining four mashups, the finest also is the mellowest: “Babe, You Belong,” featuring Glenn Frey’s “You Belong to the City” and Led Zeppelin’s “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You.” But the most bonkers track here is “Frame by Style,” inexplicably but ingeniously pairing “Frame by Frame” by King Crimson with “Style” by Taylor Swift. You need to hear it to believe it!
Sure, there’s a novelty factor involved with hearing these songs, and the ajjancy appears to know that. In the liner notes of the disc he sent to reviewers, he wrote: For each person who enjoys it, a purist will bristle at the very notion of a mashup cover. Much appreciation to those who cherish the original works of these seminal bands as much as I do. I love your hate of my sacrilege. Such critiques, however, betray an inherent irony: absent the penchant of these artists themselves for radically altered covers that fed the beast of innovation, their music might never have soared to the heights that captivated our spirit in the first place.
Well said.
Plus, the ajjancy made videos for every song!
Track Listing
1. Baba’s Bizarre
2. Roundabout Thriller
3. 25 or 6 to Stronger
4. Babe, You Belong
5. Nothing Else in White Satin
6. Frame by Style
7. Stairway to Ashes
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