Silver Monk Time - A tribute to the Monks
0 Comments Published by Trev Lostmusic on Monday, August 27, 2007 at 10:12.
The Monks were a band that was made up of American GIs stationed in Germany in the mid-sixties. They began playing together in 1964, calling themselves the 5 Torquays. They covered Chuck Berry songs and played music inspired by the British bands of the time (The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Beatles etc). Over time the band began experimenting with their sound and moved away from the sound that they started copying. With this change, the band renamed themselves The Monks. The Monks are probably one of the biggest cult bands of all time. They're renowned for their punky and abrasive sound. Often cited as forerunners of the punk movement. They've influenced many bands down the years and the proof of this is shown in this double CD released on Play Loud.'Silver Monk Time' is 29 covers of Monk songs spread over 2 CDs. As with all tribute CDs it has the potential to be a mixed affair and the discs are markedly different in their approach. CD1 contains the more electronic take on The Monks sound with bands like 27 11 and Alec Empire upping the beats per minute. There are some interesting takes on the disc though as we get Jon Spencer and Solex doing a gritty little version of 'Complication' and Mouse on Mars doing 'Monks No Time'. But for me CD2 is the better of the two. Why? Simple. It is the one that brings the guitars to the fore. We get The Fall doing 'Higgle-Dy, Piggle-Dy' - which is fine slab of Fall noise as Mark E Smith growls 'Higgle-Dy, Piggle-Dy' repeatedly. Wonderful. Elsewhere Singapore Sling gives 'I Hate You' a menacing Jesus and Mary Chain make-over. The Halvetones take on 'That's My Girl' and win. I could go on - but CD2 is a rare treat, a tribute LP that I can like from start to end.
The double CD was originally released to raise funds for a film that Play Loud made called 'Monks - The Transatlantic Feedback'. Here is the trailer for the complete film.
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