Garage, Inc.

Metallica

Elektra Records, 1998

http://www.metallica.com

REVIEW BY: Paul Hanson

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 12/16/1998

(NOTE: This review originally ran on Consumable Online 12/7/98. Reprinted with the author's kind permission.)

The diehard Metallica fan already has disc two of this 'new' two-CD release. If you know what "Metal Up Your Ass" is all about, disc two will be familiar territory. It compiles the B sides to singles, Garage Days Revisited, and The $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-Revisitedmy_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250 . The only songs I had not heard before were three of the four Motorhead covers.

Disc one, then becomes the major thrust of this collection. It's good to hear Metallica bashing and thrashing again like a fish out of water. Like the bands covered on the earlier Garage recordings, most of the covers are by obscure (well, obscure to the mainstream, but maybe not you) artists like Mercyful Fate, Discharge and Diamond Head. It also, though, tosses in some more common bands like Black Sabbath, Bob Seger, Blue Oyster Cult, and Thin Lizzy.

The logical question, then, becomes, "How do the new covers compare to the old?" Well, "Die, Die, My Darling" was in my mind from day one of receiving this disc and opener "Free Speech For The Dumb" is growing on me. Nick Cave's "Loverman" and Diamond Head's "It's Electric" bring out the Load era. Bob Seger's "Turn The Page" explores the same theme as their own song "Wherever I May Roam." The video, however, for "Turn The Page," is a breakthrough video. Yes, I actually saw a video on MTV.

I enjoyed this disc immensely. Some of the highlights for me include finally having the obscenity laced "So What" on the same CD as "Green Hell." The star-studded "Tuesday's Gone" with a John Popper's harmonica is amazing. Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains, Les Claypool from Primus and Pepper Keenan from Corrosion of Conformity all join in. Black Sabbath's "Sabbra Cadabra" is cool too. The Motorhead covers on disc 2 are raw-energy. I like it when Metallica doesn't "produce" their music. "Breadfan" is probably my favorite "old" cover, followed closely by "The Wait."

I would recommend this disc to those of you that want to expand your horizon. The cover songs that Metallica selected for this recording are all cool. Metallica says in their press kit that they wanted to get the "garage band" feel back for this recording. They have done so successfully!

Rating: A

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


Comments

 








© 1998 Paul Hanson and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Elektra Records, and is used for informational purposes only.