VARIOUS ARTISTS

Natural Born Elvis (Dam Good Promotions)

thE SOUNDS of Elvis Aaron Presley have been covered so often, and so badly (for the most part) that I felt a frisson of fear upon first hearing that 13 Irish acts were actually putting an Elvis covers album together. As it turns out, the disc is a killer, a brilliantly mixed bag of re-interpretations that generally attack the man’s songs and try to reach their deepest feelings, rather than approaching them with excessive reverence.

The album’s first four songs are virtually flawless, establishing a quality-control hardline that barely slips throughout the entire album. The disc opens in highly arresting fashion, with Loyko’s minute-long, string-soaked, almost Kurt Weill-ish version of ‘Devil In Disguise’ accompanied by sweetly crooned vocals from transplanted Canadian Darlene – then all hell breaks loose, as Whipping Boy attack the almighty fuck out of ‘Suspicious Minds’ in the way that Nick Cave or Jim Morrison would, lending the song a gorgeous, grotesque atmosphere of chilled junkie romance while completely nailing the spirit of the original and preserving every morsel of its surging power. Jack L then chips in with a suitably menacing version of ‘Lookin’ For Trouble’, with swirling horror-movie atmospherics and positively evil-sounding keyboards providing the dark background that’s needed to make Jack’s voice really work its magic, while his bluesy phrasing fits the song’s general aura of menace like a glove: by the time he gets to “I’m EVIL/So don’tcha mess around with me”, you’re in no doubt that he means every word.

What follows is more than a revelation, as Kildare popsters Juniper knock the listener for six with an astonishingly excellent version of the already godlike ‘I Just Can’t Help Believin’ (The Girl Is Gonna Stay)’ – crooned softly and gently as if Lou Reed met Stuart Staples down a dark alley, while the guitars swoon and surge and soar and slow down and explode again in an exhilarating rush. More than just Juniper’s finest hour yet, it’s one of those songs that cascade non-stop through your head from the break of day to the last stumble home, and if there’s a better four-minute single released anywhere on the planet this year, it’ll mean that the King himself has arisen from his pit.

Afterwards, there’s really nowhere to go but down. Versions of ‘Love Me Tender’ (from Yuma) and ‘Fever’ (Craft) add absolutely nothing to the originals, but that’s probably not the fault of the bands concerned – these songs have long since been done to death. Kilbarrack reggae merchants King Sativa apply their touch to ‘As Long As I Have You’, and while the results are pleasant enough in their own right, the song seems a touch out of step with the rest of the LP.

On the other hand, I defy anyone to sit through Kila’s ‘Hunk Of Burnin’ Love’ without grinning from ear to ear and playing it over and over again. In possibly the album’s bravest move, An Emotional Fish give an intriguing Tom Waits gone-trip-hop flavour to ‘Wear My Ring Around Your Neck’, aided by some fine guitar work from Seanie Foy – whom I would seriously have liked to hear apply his full-belt rockabilly vocal to ‘Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby’ or ‘Stranger In My Own Hometown’, but you can’t win them all.

Natural Born Elvis is one seriously entertaining record, while it might just as easily have been a disaster, it is particularly recommended for parties; and since all the proceeds go to Children at Risk in Ireland, there’s no excuse for not buying it. No excuse at all.

Craig Fitzsimons