There's a cover song on the upcoming second Velvet Revolver album, Libertad (due for release July 3 in the U.S.) and, initially, I thought it was an odd choice.
"I Can't Get It Out Of My Head" was (I'm guessing) ELO's second chart hit (again, in the U.S.), after "Roll Over Beethoven," from their finest overall album, Eldorado. The song, like the album in general, was a satisfying realization of Jeff Lynne's mission statement for ELO (once he pulled a McCartney with the group over Roy Wood's Lennon), to pick up where "I Am the Walrus" left off.
Actually, the better ELO music was much more satisfactory than if they had realized Lynne's goal. They evoked the late-period Beatles arrangements and songwriting without seeming too derivative.
Nothing about ELO seems to lend itself to covering by Velvet Revolver, the love child of Stone Temple Pilots and Guns 'n' Roses. (While I expected VelvRev to sound like GnR with a singer -- my disdain for Bill Bailey and his "singing" is deep -- both their albums sound more like STP.) And then I recalled how well STP did Beatlesque with "Lady Picture Show" and the ELO cover made a little more sense.
What doesn't is the cover itself. It doesn't lend itself to the VelvRev sound, nor does the band fashion an arrangement that brings anything new to the song. And if you're going to cover a song, why not try to get the lyrics right?
This misstep aside, the new VelvRev album is in the vein of the first, with some nice riffs, strong vocal work from Weiland, a strong set of 21 century hard rock.
Do you suppose the July 3 release date and the album title are coincidental?
'Cause, you know, in the U.S. July 3 is Libertad Eve.
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