The Muppets are slowly having a resurgence in popularity right now. The parody trailers for their upcoming movie have had good buzz around them, and now, last week, comes a cool new album -- Muppets: The Green Album. It's a dozen classic Muppets songs, re-recorded by a variety of current artists.
The results are a bit hit-and-miss, though more hit than miss. The album kicks off with OK Go's rendition of the "Muppet Show Theme Song." (It being OK Go, there is of course a YouTube video to go with it.) It's a bit quirky and strange sounding, but that's the band's style. And it does work for this song.
The hits keep coming in the next few tracks. Weezer is joined by Hayley Williams (of Paramore) for "Rainbow Connection." That's always been one of my very favorite Muppets songs, and it's fantastic here, sweet and emotional. Then there's Denver-based rock group The Fray, serving up the always-fun "Mahna Mahna." Their version is quite authentic to the Muppets' original, but I don't think I'd have it any other way.
Things slide downhill through the middle of the album. Part of it is obscure song choice. Unless you're a fan of Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, you probably don't know "Our World," and My Morning Jacket doesn't do anything to give you a strong opinion of it. Amy Lee (of Evanescence) does a version of "Halfway Down the Stairs" that absolutely ruins the sentimentality of the original; her vocals are alright, but the weird techno-esque soundscape of the cover does. Not. Fit. And later there's "Night Life," by Brandon Saller (from Atreyu) and Billy Martin (from Good Charlotte). I never cared much for this disco-y song from The Great Muppet Caper, and hearing it hard-rocked-up here doesn't make me like it any better.
But then there are more great tracks near the end of the album. Andrew Bird's version of "Bein' Green" is solid -- no Kermit (or even Ray Charles), but still well worth listening to. And Matt Nathanson does a fun take on "I Hope That Somethin' Better Comes Along," from The Muppet Movie.
I just wish the album didn't end on a sour note. "I'm Going To Go Back There Someday" is the last track, a brilliant song from The Muppet Movie that's simultaneously mournful and hopeful. Gonzo sings it in the movie, and it's an unexpectedly powerful scene. The puppeteer behind (under?) Gonzo, Dave Goelz, sang it at Jim Henson's memorial service to even more powerful effect. But on The Green Album, Rachael Yamagata performs the song, and basically substitutes raspy, breathy singing for emotion. It's almost an insult to the original.
Still, the good tracks on the album are very good, and should find a spot in any Muppet fan's MP3 collection. Cherry-pick the album for an A-; buy the whole thing for a B-.
2 comments:
That's about my opinion as well, although I didn't mind Back There Some Day - it sounded like they were going for a "trippy" vibe that just didn't work out.
But I do wonder what they were thinking when they picked the songs for mid-album - they're pretty obscure.
I recently had a chance to visit the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria (Queens) NY, where they have a Jim Henson exhibit wing that just opened. it was amazing. there were even pencil sketches on school-lined paper. I'll warn that it's sadly a "no photographs" part of the museum, but as a big Muppet fan I was thrilled regardless. (the Henson exhibit is open through Sep. 30th.)
oh, and to keep this more relevant to your album review, the Mahna Mahna Muppets were on display :)
the mole
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