The secret to doing a remake worthy of respect is approaching an old hit from a fresh perspective instead of copying it. The Marcells did it when they redid "Blue Moon," a Rodgers & Hart ballad, as high energy doo wop. Bette Midler did it when she turned "Do You Want Dance" from teen-pop into a seductive ballad. Producer Calvin Soling used that same approach here with this collection of 12 classic oldies that he's recorded with artists from genres far removed from the places these songs originally came from. ‘Pigs Fly’ soars
"When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear"
with fresh remakes
Various artists (Xemu)
By John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.comThe most impressive of these mix-and-max experiments are the ones that fall farthest from the original hits. One of the best cuts is Don Ho's lounge-music-meets-rock arrangement of "Shock the Monkey." It doesn't copy Peter Gabriel's original hit, and Ho, one of the most distinctive voices in American pop music, puts his own stamp on it.
Two others also stand out as original ideas that also maintain the emotion of the original hits. Devo's electro-rock take on "Ohio" is a far cry from Crosby Stills Nash & Young in style but conveys the same feelings of outrage. The Fixx's dark and brooding version of "These Boots Are Made For Walking" gives the song an ominous subtext never envisioned with Nancy Sinatra's hit in 1966.
The Oak Ridge Boys neatly convert Kansas' "Carry On Wayward Son" from rock to a solid country-rock anthem, but several other selections don't stretch enough to fit the "when pigs fly" concept. If Roy Clark is the first country artist to record "What A Wonderful World," the arrangement still isn't sufficiently different from Louis Armstrong's to offer any fresh ideas, and the Neanderthal Spongecake's remake of "Get It On (Bang A Gong)" is too close to the original T.Rex hit to count as more than copywork (Soling is the latter group's founder).
In short, some of Soling's ideas fall short of true "when pigs fly" genius, but those who enjoy the inventiveness of remakes will find an inspirational treasure trove here. Even the marginal tunes are interesting.
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