No More Mr. Nice Guy - Boone, Pat (Cassette 1997)

I've heard the albums of Shatner rapping to "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds", his counterpart Spock doing "If I Had a Hammer", Joe Pesci's Italian-Mob-Guy-Sings, and other notables. I really rank this as my all time favorite off-the-wall recording.

When the media years ago broke the news of this album being released everyone portrayed it to say that Mr. Christian Pat Boone had gone to the "devil" and was now doing a heavy metal album. Well the only thing heavy metal about this album (other than some heavy metal guest performers) are the lyrics. The entire album is a cover of metal tunes in the sound of big-band-lounge-act-swing kinda deal.

This is an album that should bring a smile and laughter to anyone's face who is even vaguely aware of the original songs. I recommend this for twenty/thirty-somethings during a late weekend night card game. Giggles will abound.
Everyone with a sense of humor will start tapping their feet and snapping their fingers on the uptempo numbers such as Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" and GNR's "Paradise City." Soon, someone will start to interject
"Hey!", "Yeah!", or "Luv Ya!" in between verses.

The educational part comes when you realize the words to some of these songs which are almost incomprehensible in their original form. With the previous two mentioned songs you find out what Axl Rose is actually saying during the verse of Paradise City and what Deep Purple is saying with "Smoke on the Water" (and you realize that this song isn't a lyrical highlight.) I never thought I'd know all the words to "Enter Sandman" (another gut busting cover) but because of Pat Boone I do!

Production of every song is over-the-top, which is what you want on a kitsch album like this. I give this album 5 stars just because I don't think the strangeness of this concept album will ever be matched again.

While every song Pat covers I think are absolutely over the top hilarious there's also the part of me that wishes he didn't cover "Stairway" or Jimi's "Wind Cries Mary", these two artists and these songs I respect and it's hard not to think Pat's being sacreligious in a musical way.

I can just imagine that this album could be what bridges the generation gap between senior citizens and former (or current) metalheads. Sons and fathers or sons and grandfathers can find something to relate to this in a not-so-serious way. Perhaps in 30 years or so, this CD will be considered ahead of its time. Think about it: the 20 somethings who liked Metallica or Guns N Roses now, probably won't want to hear the songs in the same loud rock, power chord driven, scream-sing style. The 70 year olds of the future will want something easier to swallow, with a lot less spice and head banging. 30 or 40 years from now we'll be hearing lounge/big band versions on the (internet) radio of songs we bang our heads to now.

In the end, I can't believe Pat would want us to take this album seriously, I swear I could see him smile while singing "Love Hurts." It's unfortunate that he was almost burned at the stake by the more conservative religious groups who I think just heard about the album and thought he turned "evil". I think this album is just sacrelicious!