Bridging The Distance Compilation

Ah, the cover…the staple that has ruined and made many a band. Bob Dylan got his start here, covering old folk songs, and later provided fodder from everyone from The Byrds to Jimi Hendrix to Guns & Roses.

Nowadays, the cover is a touchy subject. Reimagining someone else’s music has become so cliche that only the very good can pull it off with any conviction, and sometimes not even then. Note for note remakes are boring, but going too far can be disrespectful.

Bridging the Distance matches 22 Portland-area bands with 22 rock tunes from the ’70s and ’80s. It’s an ambitious effort, and for a good cause. Proceeds benefit p:ear, an organization that “builds positive relationships with homeless and transitional youth through education, art and recreation to affirm personal worth and create more meaningful and healthier lives.” Bringing in Portland stalwarts like The Decemberists, Dandy Warhols and new transplant Britt Daniel certainly helps.

“Bridging the Distance” could be read as the ultimate study in the variations that cover songs can take. The 22 tracks range from excellent to awful. We’ll start by looking at the excellent.

The album kicks off with The Decemberists with Colin Meloy taking a shocking step back on a rollicking version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Think About Me”. The Mac sound has popped up in a few albums lately, Midlake’s “The Trials of Van Occupanther” and Guster’s “Ganging Up On the Sun” to name a few, but actually cribbing a Christine McVie standard is absurdly cute and works here. Pat McDonald follows this up with a less-vocally impressive version of Jimmy Cliff’s “The Harder They Come”, but it still goes well due to a pleasantly dirty bassline. It would’ve turn out better if Guster (two Guster mentions!) hadn’t already recorded a cleaner version a few years back for one of their fan-only releases.

The Snuggle Ups take their shot at The Boss’s “Dancing in the Dark” which is oddly winning despite some overwrought computer bleeps. The key to this track is the passion, which makes the transition nicely.

From there, Christopher Walla does a decent job with “Shattered Dreams”, The Minus 5 make Skynyrd’s “That Smell” a sparse glimpse at addiction, a theme the original sweltered in Southern rock. The Minders don’t do much with ELO’s “Don’t Bring Me Down”, but it sounds good just the same. Blitzen Trapper turn Heart’s outstanding “Crazy On You” into a bouncy dance track with good results. Lacktherof’s Danny Seim (the drummer for Menomena) pulls off a near flawless vocal imitation of Michael McDonald on “What a Fool Believes”. I couldn’t stop thinking of Kenneth on “30 Rock” and his version, though.

There are three highlights that especially stand out. I’ll tell you two now, go into the bad stuff, and end on a high note, just the way we’re told to offer criticism.

The first I’ll mention is Britt Daniel’s take on Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home To Me”. Daniels pulls off soul better than any white rocker I can think of, and it’s on this track that he puts it up against the greatest. The sparse arrangement and muted guitar show are up to the challenge of such an ambitious choice, and the result is sublime.

I’d never heard of Jason Merritt’s pseudonym, Whip, and I never thought I’d enjoy Billy Idol’s snarly “White Wedding”. Echoing Songs:Ohia front man Jason Molina, Merritt pictures the track as a banjo-picked folk melody, and the tale a shotgun marriage seems better off in the hills of Appalachia, which is exactly where Merritt takes it.

Some of the bad tracks don’t bear mentioning, but the key to imitation is a genuine fondness for the subject matter. The Kingdom falls short with their version of “Sister Christian”, smacking a bit too much of wink-wink irony. Swan Island’s take on “Free Money” never gets going. The Thermals playing Led Zeppelin’s “Tangerine” sounds like an automatic success, and I liked the muddy production, but the attempt ultimately falls flat. The Dandy Warhols stick to pool edge with The Cult’s “She Sells Sanctuary” and the result is boring as all get out.

Back to the kind words…

The best track on the album is worth the price alone: Viva Voce’s stunning rendition of “Eye In The Sky” from The Alan Parsons Project. Building from an impressive classic rock intro, the cover maintains all of the original’s menace and updates it with a wall of sound and perfect vocals from Kevin and Anita Robinson. It’s everything a remake should be.