Away Team

SIN-ATRA
Various Artists
Armoury Records
7 out of 10







Who doesn’t love Frank? Seriously, who out there doesn’t like at least a little Frank Sinatra? If you don’t, you probably haven’t really listened to him. And if you haven’t ever sat down and really listened to Mr. Sinatra then do yourself a favor and grab a CD of his and sit down and find out for yourself what all the hub bub is about.

When I first heard about SIN-atra the rock/metal tribute to Frank Sinatra I was very excited. I thought it was a great idea. And when I heard all the names attached to the project, I was even more excited to hear the album.

Upon hearing the album I was surprised and disappointed at the same time. Some of it worked, but most of it kind of left me scratching my head.

You have one of the greatest song writers of a generation, one of the most popular singers of all time supplying the material, then you have such great voices like Glenn Hughes, Geoff Tate, Time Owens, Eric Martin, and Dee Snider to belt out the great tunes. How could this go wrong?

There are two schools of thought about doing covers. One is to make the song ‘your own’ and change it up a little or a lot. The second school of thought is to stay true to the song and redo it note for note. Both are valid, but I have found that when a band or artist ‘reinterprets’ a song, it is usually to the detriment of the song. Just my opinion, but that’s why you’re reading this, to get my opinion.

The artists on SIN-atra have for the most part taken the songs and put their own touches on them. For the most part the songs are recognizable as the originals, but the arrangements and vocals throw a new spin on old classics. Some work, sadly for me, most didn’t.

The stand outs for me were Dee Snider’s It Was A Very Good Year (for the simple balls out vocal performance), Jani Lane’s That’s Life (last song on the disc, and may just very well be the closest to the original, Kudos to Jani for a great performance here), and Dug Pinnick’s I’ve Got The World On A String (for another great vocal performance).

The best laughs were the over the top performances of Franky Perez’s High Hopes, Elias Soriano’s Love And Marriage, and the tripped out and possibly best song on the album Robin Zander’s Fly Me to The Moon. And when I say best laughs, I don’t mean they are so bad they are good, I mean they are so over the top they are good. Very tongue in cheek, nudge nudge, wink wink, and if you get it, you can enjoy the hell out of it.

I was disappointed in Geoff Tate’s Summerwind. The man has an amazing voice, but the arrangement of this song was flat and uninteresting. It was one of the most anticipated songs for me, and there for almost the most disappointing. But taking the cake was certainly Joey Belladonna’s Strangers In The Night. Completely out of his range, he should have picked a different song to perform. Just a completely horrid song. So bad it is bad. But… it wasn’t the worst cover I’d hear today… for that gem (or turd) you’ll have to read my review on Stryper’s new album The Covering.

Great attempt here, but a few too many misses to be a great album. The disc is worth picking up for Dee Snider, Robin Zander, Franky Perez, and Elias Soriano’s performances alone.

Check out AOL’s listening party where you can listen to the album online right here.

You can pick up SIN-atra right here.

On March 28th, Eagle Rock’s Armoury Records is releasing the truly unique SIN-atra album. This is another mind and genre-bending triumph from the team that brought you We Wish You A Metal Xmas and, put simply, is the world of heavy metal’s tribute to the genius of FRANK SINATRA.

Featuring a great line-up of artists, SIN-atra offers a set of totally original versions of classic Frank Sinatra songs. The album features twelve songs made famous by Ol’ Blue Eyes which are given a radical and individual new treatment from some of the finest voices in rock including members of ANTHRAX, TWISTED SISTER, DEEP PURPLE, QUEENSRŸCHE, MR BIG, WARRANT and CHEAP TRICK with the backing of a superb band led by guitarist Bob Kulick (KISS/MEAT LOAF).

Tracklisting:
New York, New York (Devin Townsend)
I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Glenn Hughes)
Summerwind (Geoff Tate)
It Was A Very Good Year (Dee Snider)
Witchcraft (Tim “Ripper” Owens)
Fly Me To The Moon (Robin Zander)
Lady Is A Tramp (Eric Martin)
I’ve Got The World On A String (Dug Pinnick)
Love And Marriage (Elias Soriano)
Strangers In The Night (Joey Belladonna)
High Hopes (Franky Perez)
That’s Life (Jani Lane)

These classics are re-imagined musically by the SIN-atra house band which features Bob Kulick (guitar); Brett Chassen (drums); Billy Sheehan (bass); Doug Katsaros (keyboards and orchestrations); Richie Kotzen (lead guitar on That’s Life). The songs are known to everyone but you’ve never heard them quite like this before!

To pre-order your SIN-ATRA click here.

MICHAEL MONROE, iconic rock‘n’roll frontman and founding member of hugely influential Finnish outfit Hanoi Rocks, has entered into a recording agreement with Universal Music. The first fruits of this international deal will be a brand new live album, ‘Another Night In The Sun/Live In Helsinki’, set for release on September 27th 2010. This 15-track outing will be made available through Universal subsidiary, Spinefarm Records.
Says Jarkko Nordlund, Managing Director, Universal Music Finland “Michael Monroe is a true international rock star, and Universal Music’s international network is extremely proud to be working with him. Spinefarm Records is the best home for this rock‘n’roll legend, as both label and artist share the same degree of professionalism and passion.”
Mixed in LA by Niko Bolas (whose credits include Neil Young, Frank Sinatra, Keith Richards, Kiss, Spinal Tap and more) and mastered by Grammy winner Richard Dodd (the man behind Tom Petty and Dixie Chicks), ‘Another Night…’ – recorded on July 6th at the Tavastia Club, Helsinki – features key tracks from Monroe’s solo career spiced up with selected Hanoi classics, some well-chosen covers, plus two brand new, unreleased songs.
Says Monroe: “No excuses, it is what it is, and will probably end up sounding great with all its clunks and flaws, once it’s mixed and finished. Obviously, we’re not doing any overdubs, so you’ll have a very raw ‘rough and ready-or-not’ live recording of another rockin’ night in the sun in the beautiful Finnish summer!”
In the wake of the album’s release, Monroe (plus regular band: Wildheart’s mainman Ginger on guitar, ex-Hanoi member Sammy Yaffa on bass, Steve Conte of New York Dolls & Company Of Wolves fame on guitar, and Karl ‘Rockfist’ Rosqvist on drums, a Swedish/Finnish drummer who has played with both Chelsea Smiles & Danzig) will head out on tour in Finland & Sweden before heading over to the UK to Special Guest with Motörhead on their 35th Anniversary tour in November.

For more MICHAEL MONROE click here.

Members of METALLICA, MACHINE HEAD, DEATH ANGEL, FORBIDDEN, SKINLAB and D.R.I., as well as former members of EXODUS, OVERKILL, S.O.D., POSSESSED, SACRILEGE B.C. and STEREOMUD, are among the musicians who made an appearance at a special event to celebrate the life of Debbie Abono, a well-respected and much-loved manager and promotional machine behind some of San Francisco Bay Area’s strongest metal bands (POSSESSED, FORBIDDEN, EXODUS, VIO-LENCE, SKINLAB), who passed away on May 16 after a battle with cancer. She was 80 years old.

According to an obituary published in the Contra Costa Times on May 30, 2010, “Debbie was in her mid-fifties when she plunged into the Bay Area’s heavy metal/thrash metal music scene. She quickly [started working with] some of the Bay Area’s strongest metal bands (POSSESSED, FORBIDDEN, VIO-LENCE, EXODUS, SKINLAB) as well as Chicago’s BROKEN HOPE, Florida’s OBITUARY and CYNIC, Ohio’s SPUDMONSTERS, and from Texas SKREW. Many of these members who have gone onto further success with their careers with Debbie‘s constant guidance. She is known around the world not only for the work she has done for countless musicians, band crew members and their families, but more so for her heart and generosity and her ability to uplift, motivate and empower all those around her to always be honest and to be their best.

“After recently learning that Debbie was gravely ill, James Hetfield of METALLICA, another Bay Area legend, gave a verbal tribute before singing the hit song ‘Nothing Else Matters‘ at a performance in Belfast, Ireland. Alex Skolnick, guitarist for TESTAMENT, posted the following statement: ‘In the mid-1980s when most folks over forty were afraid of metal, there was Debbie Abono, a kind, sophisticated woman in her 50s. She saw right through the pentagrams, upside-down crosses, leather and spikes and recognized that some kind souls lay underneath the anger reflected much younger, often-misunderstood group of metalheads and became manager to some of the heaviest bands. By doing so, she helped us realize that older people weren’t so bad either.’ TESTAMENT also dedicated the song ‘Alone In The Dark‘ [to Debbie] during the band’s May 16, 2010 performance in Enschede, Netherlands.”

Debbie‘s love for music from Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin through METALLICA and MACHINE HEAD inspired her to set up a music scholarship through Mechanics Bank.

Donations can be made through this web site and via check payable to “East Bay Community Foundation” and should be accompanied by a note designating that the gift is for the Debbie Abono Memorial Fund for Music. Contributions should be mailed to The East Bay Community Foundation, Attn: Giles Miller, 200 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612.

Former HANOI ROCKS singer MICHAEL MONROE‘s live album will be released in Europe and Japan on September 22nd. The album was recorded in early July during a private concert at the Tavastia club in Helsinki. The album will be mixed and mastered by Niko Bolas in LA, who has worked with NEIL YOUNG, FRANK SINATRA, KEITH RICHARDS, KISS and SPINAL TAP to name a few.

The live album, Another Night in the Sun, features the highlights of Michael Monroe‘s solo career as well as a few Hanoi Rocks classics as well as two brand new songs: ‘You’re Next’ and ‘Motorheaded For A Fall‘.

Michael Monroe comments on the live album:
“Me and the guys in the band decided to record a live album – something for the fans to have, while they’re waiting for our actual studio album, due to be released in the early part of next year. We also wanted to capture the live set we’ve been playing recently, pretty much as it is, before we start playing more of our newly written material live in the future.
The show was at the legendary Tavastia Club in Helsinki and the audience was mainly people from our fan club and street teams, plus some friends we invited. The setlist was basically songs from my solo albums, the Demolition 23 album, some old Hanoi Rocks and some of our favorite cover songs, as well as a couple of our new, previously unreleased songs. It’s a very raw, ‘rough and ready-or-not’ kind of live recording that I’m sure the fans will be pleased to have.”

For more on MICHAEL MONROE click here.