Most times that a group records an album comprised of nothing but cover tunes, the finished product falls short of expectations. And it's not always the band's fault; it can be hard to top the originals, and even harder for the listener to not compare the two versions. Artists can either take the approach of
David Bowie's
Pin-Ups, which included strictly well-known songs, or
Metallica's Garage Days Revisited albums, comprised of interesting obscurities.
Outrageous Cherry uses the latter's approach on their
Stereo Action Rent Party album, recording a full-length of mostly obscure covers (the most well-known of the bunch are still pretty obscure --
Television's "Days" and
the MC5's "Miss X"). By not including any list of who recorded the original versions anywhere inside the CD booklet, the group makes each song completely their own. "Sign of the Times" kicks things off on a carefree note, the already mentioned "Days" stresses the original's beautiful guitar interplay, while "Ring Around the Moon" contains lots of rock & roll attitude. The band recorded the whole album at a friend's house, with the album's low-tech cover artwork fitting O.C.'s approach to the project perfectly. ~ Greg Prato