Kiss My Grass - A Hillbilly Tribute To KISS

Hayseed Dixie

Dualtone, 2003

http://www.hayseed-dixie.com

REVIEW BY: Paul Hanson

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 03/18/2008

What a fun release! Covering KISS songs is not new. Miscellaneous bands have taken KISS songs and made them their own – Poison's "Rock and Roll All Night" comes to mind -- but no one has ever had the courage, until this release by Hayseed Dixie, to change KISS' material into bluegrass, complete with fiddles and banjo. John Wheeler (voices, guitar, fiddle, bass), Don Wayne Reno (banjo), and Dale Reno (mandolin) have taken the KISS songs and made them their own.

my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

The uptempo opening riff of "Calling Dr. Love" starts this release with their treatment of old-school KISS. The syncopation of the instruments is as powerful on fiddle as on electric guitar. The guitar solo in the next track, "Detroit Rock City," cements this band as beyond competent musicians. Then, diving into "Christine Sixteen," the voiceover of Wheeler talking about seeing "her come out of school that day" adds another level to this release.

Tackling more recent material with "Let's Put The X In Sex" was not a good choice. Even when sung by KISS, this song is terrible, its blatant disregard for intelligent lyrics with the "Let me by your private eye" line crossing the invisible line between tolerable bad lyrics and intolerable bad lyrics. It joins the ranks of anything by Meat Loaf (all of his material is intolerable.)

The disc recovers nicely with Hayseed Dixie’s best, "Love Gun," the track I keep coming back to.Their version of "Lick It Up" is faster than the original version and showcases some finger dexterity on the banjo. Following that track is the always silly "I Love it Loud," a song that seems out of place for Hayseed Dixie to tackle; when Wheeler sings, "Rock on, I want to be president," you can't help but smiling.

While the gimmick aspect of Hayseed Dixie is overpowering -- you can't forget, this is bluegrass music -- I'm convinced this band has talent and should be recognized for their achievement. Previously, Hayseed Dixie paid tribute to AC/DC. While I would like to hear their take on other legendary bands -- I would only mention Black Sabbath or Rush as being present on my top 10 list -- I found this release refreshing and, frankly, a good shift from the other material I've been spinning lately.

Rating: B

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


Comments

 








© 2008 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 Dualtone, and is used for informational purposes only.