Frank Bennett- Five O'Clock Shadow

This is the 1996 debut album from Frank Bennett. The theme of jazz covers of pop songs makes it somewhat a predecessor to Richard Cheese. However Frank's approach is more of a quirky re-interpretation rather than the overblown comedic style of Richard Cheese. Let's see how it goes.

Pearl Jam's Better Man is a pop classic, universally appealing yet strongly emotive. Maybe I feel that it's sacrilegious to mess with the song, because this cover doesn't do much for me. The arrangement feels a bit cobbled together, and just going through the jazz motions, rather than injecting any real interest. Similarly, Disarm has limited appeal for me, being novelty value only.

The version of Radiohead's Creep is built on the same foundations but this time it hits the mark perfectly. It manages to preserve the dignity of the original, while adding the novelty of a new genre. The backing instrumentals are very good in their own right, thanks to some great hooks and layering. And the icing on the cake is the contrast of the bouncy style with the achingly lovesick tale.

The Frank Sinatra-esque style is a great fit for The Way You Make Me Feel. As does Poems fit nicely into the latin style. So it's a shame that neither style really appeals to me in general. While I'm whingeing, Love Is Back To Stay is ruined by poor musicianship. The horns are out of tune and the playing is quite sloppy at times. Which is really disappointing, because otherwise it would be a nice little instrumental.

Speaking of audio quality, most of the time it's pretty good. On a couple of songs, however, listening with headphones has a lack of overall envelopment and poor cohesion between instruments (like they were recorded as separate tracks).

You're Just Too Hip is fantastic. The cool, understated style works a treat, particularly the way the song briefly swells, before returning to the wonderfully laid-back groove.

The soul groove of Black Stick sets a very cool scene. Somehow it makes for a fantastic oddball combination with The Cruel Sea's lyrics.

Another brave re-interpretation is Constant Craving. Before hearing the cover, I wasn't familiar with K.D. Lang's original, and thought Frank Bennett's version was "just" a fantastic instrumental. It has completely turned the song upside down, and it works a treat. The saxophone melody is totally 1980s cheesy, and brilliant!

Under The Bridge brings a great twist on the funk-rock classic. While the style is completely changed, the same emotions are still loud and strong. I really dig the ending, which is brimming with energy.

Favourite songs

You're Just Too Hip, Creep, Black Stick, Constant Craving, Under The Bridge

Worthwhile?

(Next in the playlist for this blog is a Richard Cheese album. I've deliberately avoiding listening to it before this post is finished, because they're different styles and shouldn't really be compared... however...)

When browsing through albums of swing covers to listen to, there is no doubt that Richard Cheese's over-the-top approach is more tempting most of the time. However, this is still a great album of swing songs (that just happen to be covers).