Sunday, November 4, 2012

The Fastbacks: Tributes (1991-1998)



One consequence of the CD glut of the nineties was the dawn of the so-called 'tribute album', in which a a range of modern exponents of a genre (especially underground ones) would record a cover from a formative artist like The Ramones or Nick Lowe or The Shaggs or what have you. Typically, the results of all this tributing varied all the way from mediocre to middling. No matter how good the original band and no matter how many good newer bands they'd cobbled together, most of these collections just came off as throwaways. (It's indicative that that the only CD I ever kept from this sub-heading was one called Tulare Dust which featured alt.country acts doing Merle Haggard).





One band who could always guarantee to liven up these dull albums was Seattle's The Fastbacks (more HERE). Partly it was that the band was just on a roll around the time these tributes began mushrooming up but mostly it was because, as a band who'd put out their first single in 1981, Kurt Bloch & co were a rocking link between the first wave of punk and the nineties underground explosion. Hence this MRML compiled collection of Fastbacks covers, MOST of which are from some long out-of-print, fly-by-night label's half-baked tribute CD.




So, MRML readers, what's your favourite Fastbacks cover song? Let us know in the COMMENTS section!
           
                                                     
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31 comments:

  1. jeffenNovember 4, 2012 at 8:17 AM

    Thanks for the late-rally in the COMMENTS
    for the last Fastbacks post.
    that said, some feedback on your favourite Fastbacks cover would be rally appreciated!
    https://rapidshare.com/files/2438137150/Fbx%20Trbts.rar

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 4, 2012 at 9:43 AM

    I have to disagree. I love tribute CDs. Its a surefire way to find new artists. The first one I recall owning was the Victoria Williams 'Sweet Relief' tribute. I was introduced to so many new bands that way.

    Thanks for posting this. Make me download #11.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jeffenNovember 4, 2012 at 2:33 PM

      Damn, Sweet Relief was another great tribute I forgot about.
      There were definitely some highlights for sure but I always felt the 'okay' ones outnumbered the good ones by a wide margin.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousNovember 4, 2012 at 9:45 AM

    i like this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousNovember 4, 2012 at 10:06 AM

    I've never heard most of these, but I look forward to hearing them. Kudos for TWO Zombies covers!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. HåkanNovember 4, 2012 at 10:08 AM

    Ooooh! "Rocket Man"! :)

    I think your spot-on in your description of the tribute album. That being said, I wouldnt have discovered Ministrys version of "lay lady lay" without them so all is forgiven. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jeffenNovember 4, 2012 at 2:35 PM

      I must re-listen to Jourgenson & co's version of my least-favorite Dylan hit.

      Delete
  6. AnonymousNovember 4, 2012 at 10:26 AM

    either the pixies or the buzzcocks, the damned cover is so awful i forgot i own that compilation and had it nestling downstairs
    Phinky

    ReplyDelete
  7. ScottNovember 4, 2012 at 12:25 PM

    This looks amazing! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  8. ksnNovember 4, 2012 at 12:33 PM

    stoked for this, excellent post!

    ReplyDelete
  9. LesterNovember 4, 2012 at 1:12 PM

    Fantastic cover choices. Love The Fastbacks. Great share -- thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  10. lee DucatNovember 4, 2012 at 2:30 PM

    Obama and liberals are for shit!! There's your comment

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jeffenNovember 4, 2012 at 2:36 PM

      Wow, both pissy and incoherent - nice combination!

      Delete
  11. AnonymousNovember 4, 2012 at 4:07 PM

    Thanks Jeffen. Love the Fastbacks -- you introduced me to them way back when. And it's still paying off.

    Finchy

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    Replies
    1. jeffenNovember 10, 2012 at 9:44 AM

      Always ecstatic to introduce people to the Fastbacks!

      Delete
  12. AnonymousNovember 4, 2012 at 6:12 PM

    cool stuff there friend....also check out kim warnick backed by victoria,bc legends bum - singing the modernettes strictly confidential

    ReplyDelete
  13. DaveNovember 5, 2012 at 9:17 AM

    Tribute CDs are crap, the only '90s one I've bothered to hang onto is the Sinatra double-CD tribute (because Prisonshake's on it) and it's unlistenable.

    Someone put out a Replacements tribute (1-2-3-4 Go!, maybe) which might've been decent, but I haven't heard it all the way through.

    My favorite Fastbacks cover version is "Space Station #5", which isn't on a tribute CD.

    ReplyDelete
  14. theodoreNovember 5, 2012 at 10:33 AM

    don't forget, FBX are ben weasel's favorite band! hahaha... we won't hold that against them. ;)

    thanks for pulling this collection together. top-notch, as usual.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jeffenNovember 10, 2012 at 9:45 AM

      Even assholes can have good taste in music ;)

      Delete
  15. JayNovember 5, 2012 at 11:44 AM

    It's pretty impossible to pick a favorite, but the three UK Subs covers on the split with the Meices -- Rat Race, Live In a Car, and Telephone Numbers -- are so great as a single piece. I love that Kim, Lulu, and KB each take turns singing lead on those. So good.

    There's probably another 17 FBX covers not included in the collection above. Sweet, Pointed Sticks, Cheap Trick, Bum, Guided By Voices, Mott the Hoople, The Who, Supersuckers... just off the top of my head.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jeffenNovember 10, 2012 at 9:46 AM

      Yeah the list is long, I tried to stick (mostly) to tribute CD's to keep this from being a box set!

      Delete
  16. slovenlyericNovember 5, 2012 at 7:35 PM

    I apreciate your putting this together.

    The best covers from my point of view are where the band covering the tune sounds most like themselves, so "Rocket Man" or "Ramblin' Rose" are not particularly good ones. While "I Can't Hide" and "I live in a Car" are much better. Sometimes a song is just so great it really does not matter, like with "Waterloo Sunset".

    I think that generally, I like the Fastbacks more when they are playing their own material.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jeffenNovember 10, 2012 at 9:47 AM

      Yeah the cover of 'Ramblin' Rose' is my least fave here.

      Delete
  17. AnonymousNovember 9, 2012 at 10:22 PM

    Loving "Go All The Way" as I type this. Some pretty awful tribute albums out there. "Tulare Dust' is great. I also really like the Tom T Hall Project. Thanks for this.

    ReplyDelete
  18. siNovember 18, 2012 at 8:42 AM

    thanks enyoy the 90s

    ReplyDelete
  19. EastvanJune 7, 2013 at 10:32 AM

    Any chance you might re-up this?

    Anyway, I agree with you. With very few exceptions (usually on a song by song basis), tribute albums sucked. Why would I want to hear some crappy punk band's version of a DK's song when I could listen to the original? That said, the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy's version of California Uber Alles is one of the great moments of Tribute culture.

    I hung on to a few of the albums...
    The Bridge (Neil Young)
    Here Ain't The Sonics (The Sonics)
    20 Explosive Dynamic Super Smash Hit Explosions! (K-Tel)
    Tulare Dust (Merle Haggard)
    Oh Canaduh! (Old Canadian punk)
    World of the Zombies (The Zombies)

    And one of these days I probably get around to picking up This One's For The Fellows.

    ReplyDelete

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