When I interviewed Ministry’s Paul Raven shortly before he passed away, he had expressed some excitement over this record. Essentially, the band had been assembling the songs that they would like to cover with the intent of putting them all together on a compilation. It’s an elegant and exciting concept -- who doesn’t love a good, cheeky cover tune? -- but for whatever reason, I don’t think the project reached its full potential.
Some of the songs are outstanding, or at least they hit the level one wants in a covers record. Ministry and Co.’s take on tunes like “Radar Love,” “Black Betty,” “Mississippi Queen” and “Roadhouse Blues” are exactly what they need to be – revved-up jams on the originals, done the way Ministry should be doing them. They’re neither surprising nor groundbreaking, but they are fun, and they play out just as they should.
Unfortunately, some of the songs seem to miss their mark by a long shot. “Under My Thumb” is a weak, clubby rehash that leaves me scratching my head, and “Bang A Gong” takes a classic rocker of a song and… really doesn’t seem to expand upon it at all. It still rocks, but not in any new way.
Another headscratcher is the album’s closer. Jourgenson’s take on “What A Wonderful World” is both bold and sad, running a full four minutes into the seven-minute version before the listener gets the joke. Unfortunately, when you finally got the joke, it's not that funny, and really not worth the wait. Besides, Joey Ramone did it first and better,
I think the album’s biggest detraction is the amount of old material here. Three tracks are old tracks that have appeared elsewhere, and two of the three are the best tracks on the record. They are “Roadhouse Blues” from The Last Sucker, and “Supernaut,” an industrial classic from 1000 Homo DJs (an old Jourgenson project) that long-time industrial fans will probably own on at least one album, compilation or mix tape, if not several. If you don’t own anything with “Supernaut” on it, that song alone is worth getting the album, but if you already own “Supernaut,” you’ll understand when I say most of the rest of the album doesn’t match that intensity and really leaves you wanting more.
Therein lies the record's dilemma; this record will appeal most to people who love Ministry most, even if it's not their best work. But then, those people who love Ministry most will be bummed about the repeated tracks that could have probably been replaced with some other new tracks, and those same diehard fans will walk away with the impression that some of the album's other tracks were sort of phoned in.
Release Date: April 1, 2008
