My love of cover songs is well documented among those who know me; I currently have over 700 covers on my drive and the number is constantly growing. Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates, then, is aimed squarely at my sweet spot.
The Bird and the Bee have been making airy, jazzy synth-pop for a few years now (this is their third studio full-length). It stands to reason that Hall & Oates would be an act that sits very high in the California duo’s hearts, having based their career on making carefully crafted soft-rock confections that are both sweet and surprisingly filling (like a good cannoli). Inara George’s husky vocals and Greg Kurstin’s sprightly synths should make for a good match with Hall & Oates’ melodies, as well as The Bird and the Bee’s general playfulness.
However, there is an art to good covers. The basic trick is to make someone else’s song truly yours while at the same time conveying the heart of what the original artist produced. Cake are the masters of this (see their truly inspired version of “War Pigs”), and to a slightly lesser extent Joan Jett (apologies for low quality). It can be a delicate balance between going too straight (Faith No More’s “War Pigs”- yes, people will attack me for that one) and going too outlandish (Collide’s rather terrible “Creep”). The other half of it is song selection; the mixture of unexpected and playing to the band’s strengths.
The Bird and the Bee hit close to the mark on both counts. As expected, their sound is a natural for the Hall & Oates catalog. Light, breathlessly airy, and pleasantly mild throughout, Interpreting the Masters changes the originals’ light soul into a sort of drum machine ether haze, making classics like “Kiss on My List” sound sunny and fun. The pair of darker tracks – “I Can’t Go For That” and “Maneater” – have a fantastic brittleness to them, shimmery synths over crisp beats that practically sparkle. Even “Rich Girl” gains new life, and might be the best rendition on the record.
But there is a bit too much of the bland side of Hall & Oates (which they are justly derided for) that doesn’t get improved. ”Sarah Smile”, always my least favorite H&O track, is done very straight (read: boring), and The Bird and the Bee manage the incredulous task of making “One on One” even more soulless than the original. ”Private Eyes”, rightly a #1 single in its time, is rendered so vanilla as to be almost unlistenable (especially when remembering the original). As I listened, I kept hoping the next song would be “Say It Isn’t So” – which would have been brilliant with the same treatment as “I Can’t Go For That” – but left the album disappointed.
Final Grade: B. It’s easy to tell that George and Kurstin truly love Hall & Oates. Their cheery, chirpy approach works very well with much of the material presented. However, some poor song choices and less-than-stellar treatments can’t be fully rescued by the good half of the record. Download “Rich Girl”, “I Can’t Go For That”, and “Kiss On My List”.
Your Shitty Record Won't Review Itself 