John 5 Remixploitation
by Alissa Ordabai
Staff Writer
The record’s cover may be a direct reference to Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland”, but its content owes more to Rob Zombie and Al Jourgensen than to the all-time guitar god. Rather than paying tribute to his hero, on this album John 5 shows that he has not only managed to transform Zombie’s sound once he joined his band back in 2006, but that he also received from his band leader as good as he gave. If anything, this release is where industrial metal meets punk in the best tradition invented by Rob Zombie all those years ago.
The best tracks from John 5’s six-year solo career were chosen for this CD to undergo drastic rethinking and restructuring. Anyone who is sceptical about the idea of paying for a remix album will change their mind with the opening sounds of this opus because here John 5 gives his old material an entirely new latitude and a new angle.
A lot of skill and fire went into weaving the familiar barnburner guitar parts around the punctuating spoken word samples and tying them to pulsating electronic grooves. All this brilliantly confirms how strategically placed dashes of electronica can turn a rock artist into a completely different beast, and how a sampler can give another meaning and direction to your typical rock game. In a way, this is also a sequel to something that Jeff Beck has proven so convincingly back in 2003 with his album “Jeff” – that instrumental rock guitar genre can acquire a wholly new dimension when mixed with electronica. Six years on we see John 5 play out this already verified paradigm on his own platform, the stage of his own little theatre of horror.
Standouts include “Eat It Up” where female voice samples make you wonder if an audio track can be classified as pornographic, groaning and whimpering over firework guitar in a percussive succession of raunchy throbs. “Unbelievers” doesn’t trail off my much featuring spaced-out guitar blossoming against the background of pious classroom chants brining together notions of heaven and hell.
The only musical reference to Hendrix is found on “2 Bullets” where psychedelic guitar passages echo “Moon Turn the Tides” off “Electric Ladyland”, interrupted by break-neck speed of John 5’s signature fretboard pyrotechnics. But a tribute to the greatest guitarist who’s ever lived is not the point of this release. Instead, what we find is the 21st century guitar virtuoso experimenting with fresh approaches, a new language, and an innovative sound. His newly found methods can now be added to his pro-size portfolio of skills he’s been building ever since he’s decided he wanted to be known for being able to do it all. And with each album we see John 5 getting closer to his goal. This time he lets us know that he can now marry rock guitar and electronica the way he could always marry goth chic with superhuman instrumental craft.
Band:
John 5 – Guitars, Bass, Banjo
Tommy Clufetos – Drums
Jeff Mc Donogh – Remixed Tracks 1, 4
Bob Marlette – Remixed Tracks 2, 5, 7, 9
Chris Baseford – Remixed Tracks 3, 6
Sid Riggs – Remixed Tracks 8, 10
Track Listing:
1. Dorsia
2. Monsters and Gods
3. Say Goodnight To Your Soul
4. Sin
5. Eat It Up
6. Unbelievers
7. Shoot the Dog
8. 2 Bullets
9. Plastic
10. How Do You Like It
Hardrock Haven rating: 7/10