Sponge 1994 CD Review

Those who know me best understand that I was a bit lost throughout the 90’s as far as music was concerned. The 90’s had very few stand outs and those that do stand out are often attached to memories that are less than – my drug usage wasn’t pretty, and my choices were even worse. Despite that, the Alternative band Sponge does stand out as they released their brilliant debut Rotting Pinata in 1994 and I do have a specific memory attached to the album – I picked it up the day I purchased my now wife’s engagement ring. So, the whole day leading up to asking my girl to marry me I was cranking on the album. Nice story, right, wrong – my drug usage once again showed up in the next few months and wrecked everything like always. Yet somehow, we made it through and here we stand 30 years later. Not just us, Sponge is still kicking too, which is a bit surprising to me, I completely lost touch with the band after the first album. I did check out their 2^nd album, Wax Ecstatic and the 3^rd one, New Pop Sunday, but they didn’t kick the same way that Pinata did – Pinata had a Punk swagger to it while making you feel something other than angst and I still admire the album a lot.

To honor the 30^th anniversary of Rotting Pinata, the band decided to release an album of covers from the same year it was released. That’s a really cool idea, although I’d be lying if I said I knew all of the songs on the album, I don’t, I was out of touch in the 90’s remember?! Those of you that listened to whatever billboard pumped out back then will feel right at home with this album. For me, it’s strange, but fun in a weird way. I can tell the vibes are from back in the day so I can really get off on the nostalgia aspect of it, and the band captures the same essence/feel of the Pinata album which is what matters the most to me.

I’ve never been a fan of Morrissey, he's just my thing at all, but the cover of “The more you ignore me, the closer I get” heard here is fantastic. As opposed to meandering around like Morrissey does, the band attacks the song and gives it a big pick me up and it moves along like a warm summer day. I urge all to check this one out, it’s a great cover. The band also does a great rendition of Urge Overkill’s version of “Girl you’ll be a woman soon”. I really liked this track back in the day, it was strange enough and it felt good. Sponge injects a bit more angst into it than UO did, but they still maintain the overall feel of the song. And of course, you can’t do a 90’s cover album without having one or two of the biggest acts on the planet from that era. So, the band has included STP’s “Interstate Love Song”, while a good performance, nothing really stands out, it sounds close to the original, I get that, there’s not much you can do to change up the track, I’ve tried in some of the cover bands I’ve played in through the years, it doesn’t work unless you massacre it. The same can be said of “No Excuses” that’s also included on this album, not much of a change to be heard, but you can tell this is a cover due to the vocals and the lead break. Alice In Chains had a sound all on their own due to Cantrell and Staley’s vocal melodies. The next stand out track is without a doubt my favorite off the album as it showcases the band’s musicianship and creativity as well as the song they chose to cover – Mazzy Star’s “Fade into You”. The vocals and melody lines here really stand out and I can’t lie, this performance is almost as good as the original. Certain aspects of the vocal melodies remind me “Rainin” off the Pinata album. It’s graceful and laid back and drives home the band’s choices in their musical approach. The spooky kids will also appreciate the cover of Danzig’s “Can’t Speak” which is about as moody as Danzig’s without so much fuzz and vocal affects. It’s not better than Danzig’s mind you, I can’t say that I’d have my Halloween card pulled!

If you’re a fan of 90’s Alternative music, billboard music or the band, Sponge, this album will be a much-welcomed addition to your collection. It has all the nostalgia feel from that era of music and the band do everything right in my opinion – they don’t overplay their hand and try to reinvent the wheel on any of the covers on this album. As a fair weather fan that hasn’t really been into much the band has released since Rotting Pinata, this is a lovely return to where it all started, and I hope the band carries the same thought process into their next effort.

~Black Angel