VARIOUS ARTISTS
A Tribute To Rod Stewart And The Faces
(Dressed To Kill)
Reviewed by Bill Holmes

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This record is really more of a tribute to Rod Stewart than the band, as only four of the twelve tracks are songs from Faces records. The collection is almost evenly split between rockers and slower tracks, and--as most tributes are--between decent tracks and total washouts.

The Butchers fare the best here, ripping into "Miss Judy's Farm" as well as the album's best track, "Pool Hall Richard." They capture the controlled chaos that defined the appeal of Wood, Stewart and company through the early 1970s. Becky Bond also contributes two good performances, rocking "Stay With Me" with enthusiasm and doing a credibly bluesy version of "In A Broken Dream." Others worth hearing include The Lesbeefriends (yes, you read that correctly) kicking up "Hot Legs" and Eddy Bop's bar band version of "Maggie May."

Unfortunately, Gary McKenzie's horrible vocal sinks "Cindy Incidentally" like a stone, ditto the turgid "I Don't Want To Talk About It" by someone named Lisa (who was wise enough not to use her last name). The weaknesses on the record are pretty much due to the vocals, as even on the clunkers the music is performed well.

I was impressed enough by The Butchers that I would seek out their records, but that may never happen. As they usually do, Dressed To Kill saved some money by leaving the inside of their booklet completely blank, so the only information is a track listing. No band information is available at D2K's website either. Still, six bucks is a small price to pay to enjoy a few good tracks.

© 2000 - Bill Holmes