Imitations
Mark Lanegan’s solo career has taken his voice to places The Screaming Trees could only have dreamed about. As King of the Pacific Northwest Blues Singers, he’s recorded with an impressive array of underground stars and has released several solo albums, only one of which (*I’ll Take Care of You*) featured a stack of covers. For *Imitations*, he goes back to his childhood and his parents’ record collection and finds Frank Sinatra’s “Pretty Colors,” Neil Sedaka’s “Solitaire,\" and three Andy Williams songs, including “Autumn Leaves.” Turning to contemporary songs, he opens with Chelsea Wolfe’s “Flatlands” and performs a restrained rendition of Nick Cave’s “Brompton Oratory”; he turns Cave’s bluster into a warm croon that outclasses Cave without the fussy suits. Lanegan’s talents as a singer have never been in doubt. That here he has arrangements that complement his interpretations makes *Imitations* the real deal and not an ironic indie rock knockoff.
Mark Lanegan's new Imitations is a self-effacingly-titled collection of reimagined cover songs featuring tunes from Frank Sinatra, Hank Williams, Chelsea Wolfe and more.
Mark Lanegan meets easy listening? Sounds wrong on paper, but mainly great in practice.
As bands from Seattle's early '90s glory days trudge on, the Screaming Trees are noticeably absent. That's because, after 15 years of brilli...
Album review: Mark Lanegan's 'Imitations' is a wonderful covers collection from the ex-Screaming Trees man, featuring songs by Nick Cave and John Cale
Mark Lanegan's new pipe-and-slippers album features perfectly pleasurable versions of songs made famous by Andy Williams, Nick Cave and others, writes <strong>Michael Hann</strong>
Grouchy ex-grunger sets the controls for old-fashioned mellow on a set of covers. CD review by Thomas H Green