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Orange Appeal's a cappella covers hit right note with harmonies
By Amanda Allison
Posted: 2/11/08, 10:39 PM EST Section: Decibel
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More varied than the latest edition of "Now! That's What I Call Music," the album features songs originally done by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Styx, James Taylor, Death Cab for Cutie, The Fray and even a medley of songs by Queen. The hottest track though has to be a remix/compilation of both Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls" and Ben E. King's "Stand by Me." (It's fun to watch too - YouTube it and look out for some sweet dance moves.)
The all-male a cappella group - who can belt out the high tunes of "Stand by Me," the near chanting of James Taylor's "That Lonesome Road" and then switch to low pitches of the traditional tune "The Battle of Jericho" - really makes its mark in its perfect harmonies and background and vocal instrumentation.
For example, while Death Cab for Cutie is known for lead singer Ben Gibbard's airy vocals, Orange Appeal's darker cover of "Steadier Footing" is just as good with its low vocal harmonies that melt into the smooth, poppy melody. All of this without instruments. The track lasts about two minutes and leaves the listener nearly stunned at the conclusion.
There are also a few moments that the live property of the album is not a good thing, and the extra studio editing could have made that pitch just right or cleaned up some slightly off rhythms.
The quality of the recording could be a little stronger, as it gets hard to make out vocals through enthusiastic fans, and some of the background vocal instrumentation is missed because of this. But, as with all live recordings, the addition of the cheering fans only adds to the energy of the album.
Orange Appeal achieved the perfect line up and ordering of a variation of songs that has prevented many an aspiring mix-tape maker from success. The darker "Steadier Footing" flows into The Red Hot Chili Peppers' breezy "Under the Bridge," then into the pop-favorite "How to Save a Life" by The Fray.
Top songs, though, would have to be the cover of "Stacey's Mom" - you thought you had escaped its catchiness - and "How to Save a Life," as Mike Kuhn's voice is near heaven and the cause of me putting this track on repeat for a good hour.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Orange Appeal fan
posted 2/13/08 @ 11:32 PM EST
What a great review! Well written, and an accurate description of the album. While I'm obviously a fan of Orange Appeal and love this CD, the minor negatives (few audio problems, etc. (Continued…)
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