EYE COLOR? REALLY?

You know, there's more than a few reasons to record a cover.  Sometimes it might be because the original version isn't very good.  It could be an excellent song, but poorly produced, or recorded at a tempo that just doesn't nail it.  Sometimes (well, actually quite often), there's a whole bunch of covers all thrown together on a tribute album.  Those usually bite, because a good cover, a really good cover can't be done on demand.  Sometimes a cover, especially of a well known song, is done just to get noticed.  Whatever the case, if Alice Russell hadn't have recorded the White Stripes "Seven Nation Army," chances are I wouldn't be cognizant of her.

Check the video above.  It you look at the whole get-up, you might just think schmaltz, but try thinking of it in terms of the Issac Hayes does Bacharach thing.  It's much cooler that way.

Here's a couple from her latest, with Quantic and the Combo Barbaro.  "Pushin' On" is a funky number, and "Traveling Song" is a bit mellower, almost a Dionne or Petula vibe to it, what with the strings and all.  (I gotta say that the violin solo just makes me want to hear Don & Dewey, but we can touch on that another time.)  The other two cuts are two different versions of her covering "Seven Nation Army" with Nostalgia 77, the reggae version of which I believe is a remix.  There's also an older Quantic cut down there, with Spanky Wilson on vocals, that's adequately tight.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen: 
Quantic & Alice Russell with The Combo Barbaro - Pushin' On mp3 at Rollo & Grady They may disable direct linking, if so, you know what to do: go there to get it. 
Quantic & Alice Russell with The Combo Barbaro - Travelling Song mp3 at HillyDilly 
Alice Russell and Nostalgia 77 - Seven Nation Army mp3 at 365 Days of Music 
Alice Russell - Seven Nation Army (Reggae Version) mp3 at Audio Muffin 
Spanky Wilson and the Quantic Soul Orchestra - I'm Thankful mp3 at Ear Hole