Various Artists
Cyber-Punk Fiction
(Re-Construction/Cargo)
When a friend of mine first told me about this album, I laughed, partially because I didn't know what to expect, and partially because I figured that it probably wouldn't be very good. The concept behind the whole thing is one guy thought that it would be fun to completely re-construct (hence, the label name) the Pulp Fiction soundtrack with an industrial / cyber electronic theme. It isn't simply a cover album, but a complete re-creation, as all the dialogue snippets on the original have been re-written with the new twist as well. An example of one of the new bits is:
"Whose keyboard is this?"
"It's not a keyboard baby, it's a sampler"
"Whose sampler is this?"
"Chemlab."
"Who's Chemlab?"
"Chemlab's dead, baby. Chemlab's dead."
Basically, you either get it or you don't. If you're into industrial music and computers, it will probably make you chuckle a bit with it's strange references. If not, it may have you shaking your head.
The music on the disc is really hit-or-miss. While none of the groups on the disc are huge names in the genre, some of them turn in very memorable remakes. "Son Of A Preacher Man" and the instrumental "Bustin' Surfboards" sound particularly ruthless in their new, abrasive formats. Overall, the good music on the disc outweighs the not-so-good and the novelty value of friends saying, "What the frig?" when you play it is alone almost worth the price.
Note: I think that this release got halted by legal matters before its true release. I have a promo copy and I can't seem to find it anywhere on the web. Sorry.
Rating: 6.5
