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THE MARIANNE FAITHFULL FOR THE 21st CENTURY

Jeff Pattison | SHALIMAR , FLORIDA USA | 05/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Usually , whenever an "established" group attempts to record a TRIBUTE album (that is , an album composed of "covers") , the end result is mixed (at best) ... MOD TEA DIARY is the exception to the rule !!! The real genious here is the "choice" of "material" ... which truly runs the gamut ... from Patsy Cline to The Pixies ... HIGHLIGHTS include : a "polished" rendition of "Out of Hand" (by The Mighty Lemon Drops) , a "justified" stab at "Hair" (by PJ Harvey) , a "confident" rendition of Tom Waits' "Gin Soaked Boy" , a "traditional" old-school delivery of The Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers" (probably the most AUTHENTIC "re-interpretation" of this track ever recorded) , an "upbeat" rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Tower Of Song" , a "countrified" take on The Pixies' "Here Comes Your Man" ... and , an "accapella" restructuring of Patsy Cline's "She's Got You" (The HIGHLIGHT of the HIGHLIGHTS) . Now , round that out with an OBSCURE little gem "My Only Friend" by Opal (a pre-Mazzy Star outfit featuring Kendra Smith and David Roback) and you've got yourself the PERFECT listening experience . Zoe Fronheiser (the group's vocalist) is more than "qualified" to handle the task at hand ... and she pulls it off in spades !!! Kim Fowley (the "original" Mayor of the Sunset Strip) deemed her "The Marianne Faithfull for the 21st Century" ... a valid "compliment" indeed !!!"