Post by rtbuck on Jun 17, 2008 11:14:38 GMT -5
Nash the Slash – Inna - In-A-Gadda-Da-Nash
Label: Indie
Review by Bucky for Rock n Roll Universe
In 1984 a few friends & I went to Toronto for a couple of days of partying on the well known Yonge Street strip. Yonge Street was a wild atmosphere where it seemed like the layout of the strip was repetitive with a club, a record store, & a Mr. Sub on every block. The street was loaded with people of all races going in & out of little shops & clubs while street musicians played for handouts & “Ladies of the night” approached everyone asking if they needed a “Date”. In between chugging a few Carlsberg ales & eating an endless amount of Aero & Coffee Crisp bars I stretched back in my bed at the Sheraton & turned on the TV. On the tube was some Canadian music show which played the video for “New Girl Now” by Honeymoon Suite which was the first time I ever heard of them & I thought it was a great tune but the next video that was to be played on the show shocked me & blew me away. I wasn’t really paying too close attention & just thought I was hearing the theme song from American Bandstand. I looked up at the screen & saw a man with an Uncle Sam top hat, a red & white striped shirt, a blue jacket, with his entire face & head wrapped with bandages of the American Flag playing what appeared to be an electric mandolin while performing a synthesized version of Grand Funk’s “We’re an American Band”. I was so amazed by this wild version of this classic rock smash hit that I had to go out & buy the record right away. I waited for the song to end & found out it was by Nash the Slash & it was off to Sam the Record where I picked up the new Nash the Slash album ‘American Bandages’, his ‘Children of the Night’ album & a couple of import albums by the Sensational Alex Harvey Band. I really enjoyed both the Nash the Slash albums & loved the synthesized cover versions of tunes such as “Born to Be Wild”, “Who Do You Love”, “Hey Joe”, “Psychotic Reaction”, “!9th Nervous Breakdown”, “Dead Man’s Curve”, & “Dopes on the Water”(Nash the Slash’s take on the Deep Purple Classic.
Nash the Slash is back in 2008 in full force with his latest effort ‘In a Gadda da Nash’ which is available at itunes, Amazon, & his own website www.nashtheslash.com. The new album features Nash the Slash putting his original twist on 8 classic remakes of songs by Pink Floyd, the Scorpions, King Crimson, Gordon Lightfoot, the Who, Killing Joke, the Residents, & Iron Butterfly.
The first track is “Astronomy Domine” which was originally done by Pink Floyd & happens to be one of my all time favorite Floyd Tunes. Nash doesn’t change it much from its original form & definitely does the song justice both musically & vocally. Next up is a heavy synthesized 5 minute version of “21st Century Schizoid Man” which sounds great & totally blows away the embarrassing remake Ozzy Osbourne butchered a couple of years ago. A dark heavy sounding remake of the Scorpions “Animal Magnetism” is up next followed by a cool cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. I’m really impressed with the synthesized cover of the Who’s “Baba O’Reilly” which vocally is probably the best track on the album as Nash the Slash does a great job handling the duet vocals of Daltrey & Townshend & his electric violin never sounded better. Killing Joke’s “Follow the Leader” & the Residents “Constantinople” are also great covers but the highlight of the CD has to be the near 9 minute cover of the Iron Butterfly classic “Inna Gadda da Vida”. Once again Nash’s vocals are dead on to those of Butterfly’s Doug Ingle & the heavy synthesized cover even features a small synthesized drum solo before finishing the classic remake.
Overall I feel this is an interesting & strong album from the man who has been behind the bandages since 1979 after he first left his former band FM.
www.nashtheslash.com
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Bucky