Dread Zeppelin rock
I saw Dread Zeppelin back in the ealry 90s in a pub in Sydney. Was a great live show. Singer was dressed as Elvis but with a few extra pounds on him. They called him Tort-Elvis.
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Dread Right
DZ's debut 5,000,000 was unsurpassable mainly due to it's effect of shakinghard-core rock fans' sensibilities to the core. This album cannot claim to be a greatest hits collection for two reasons. First, as far as I know, DZ have never had a hit. Secondly, certain gems, such as their extremely loud and wonderful version of 'Stir it Up' are absent. I do think, however, that this collection will provide a good introduction to the band and contains a few gems itself. The rambling monologue in 'Kashmir' is priceless and the singalong effectiveness of the 'Heartbreaker' crossover shows exactly what this band are about. Anyone who hears only this collection will unfortunately have missed out on the band's inimitable take on both Bob Marley and The Bee Gees songs, so in my opinion, this is not truly representative of Dread Zepplin in all their myriad forms.
Trip-hop DZ remixes
I'm a huge Dread Zeppelin fan, and as much as I love this record, it's worth warning that this isn't their usual sound. For that, check out the live records, which is where the band shines anyway. Think of this as an album of trip-hop remixes, and you'll be fine. (To an earlier comment, there's plenty of Tortelvis...although it's a little more "Greg Tortel" than Elvis this time. Once you get past the joke, the fact is that these guys are amazing musicians and performers, who do indeed rock hard. Seriously, check the live records for that. Download this for a lovely, smooth and trippy trip.
I WANTED to hate it...
...but I couldn't. They somehow pull this off without horribly offending the zealous Led Zep fans. Something to pull out when you want something musically good but out of the mainstream.
Know What You're Getting...
Okay, Dread Zep is a one trick pony. It's a good trick, mind you, but understand, it does sound like Elvis singing Zeppelin while smoking way too much herb. That being said, when it all clicks it's hard to get out of your head. "Hey Hey What Can I Do" is hard to shake, and a few of the other tracks are also good. Check 'em out. On a strange side note, I've met Tortelvis, who's a friend's cousin.
Not sure why it's "Hard Rock"...
The categorisation on eMusic is often a bit weird, and this is no exception, because "hard rock" it ain't. The only two songs that could possibly fit that description are heartbreaker and Immigrant Song. This album is much more of a quirky mix of electronic, reggae, electrofunk and pop. Often a song will start out in one style and then completely morph into a different (usually reggae) style. It didn't do much for me, to be honest, although I did end up grabbing Rock and Roll, Going to California, 4 Jah People and Stairway to Heaven... As the other person said, make sure you use the preview button!
No Tortelvis???
I downloaded the whole album because I like the version the Immigrant Song that's on a earlier release ('unleaded', I think). I was disapointed to hear that this realse doesn't appear to have any Tortelivs at all on it, and the Immigrant Song is another version all together. There's some fun stuff here, but just not what I expected. I guess there's a reason the preview button is there....
