Search - Bettie Serveert :: Plays Venus in Furs & Other Velvet Underground

For fans only

06/10/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"An easy album to sum up: If you like Bettie Serveert, the Dutch alt-rockers with the sweet female vocals backed by a noisy Dinosaur Jr./Neil Young-influenced guitar sound, you'll enjoy this album, just for the novelty of hearing them perform cover songs by a very different (darker, more experimental) kind of band. If you're a Velvet Underground fan, you might enjoy hearing an slightly odd spin on the favorites you've heard a million times. An essentially friendly, upbeat band with a female lead singer like the Betties is not the obvious choice to cover "Black Angel's Death Song," "Venus In Furs," or "European Son." The band's musical chops are up to it, but Carol van Dijk's unnaturally low vocals are occasionally laughable in her attempt to sound menacing. The later-period Velvets songs like "Beginning to See the Light" and "What Goes On" are a less awkward fit. At times, the tempos and vocal phrasing are slavish imitations; it would have been nice if the group had reworked the arrangements a bit more. Still, one could argue Bettie Serveert does at least as good a job with these songs as the VU did during its brief reunion for a '93 European tour.Not essential listening, but it's fun, and worth seeking out for the diehards."

A Pointless But Fun Romp Through The Velvets' Songbook

06/15/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Pop Kulcher Review: Just as every lame high school cover band has to get its start by making a stab at "Louie Louie" or "Twist & Shout," every alternative band (at least since the rise of R.E.M.) has to have an obligatory Velvet Underground cover in their repertoire. In late 1997, Dutch alterna-grungesters Bettie Serveert took it a step further, going on a brief tour playing nothing but Velvet Underground songs. This disc is a nifty little souvenir from that tour, offering 10 VU tunes from a November 1997 gig in Amsterdam. Stretching beyond a single song works well, giving the band a shot to move beyond the obvious choices ("Rock & Roll," "Beginning to See the Light" and "What Goes On") to the noisier, more free-form elements of the VU songbook ("Venus in Furs," "European Son," "Black Angel's Death Song"). The latter tunes fare best, giving the band a chance to stretch its Crazy Horse-like distortion workouts beyond the confines of the band's own, poppier songs. Also nice are a rollicking "I Can't Stand It" and a touching "Stephanie Says." The only downside is the length of the disc; while it clocks in at a respectable 60 minutes, the setlist illustrated in the liner notes shows that 6 songs got cut. But that's a minor gripe; all in all, this is a terrific gesture, giving fans who couldn't quite make it to Holland for the concert a chance to hear the show."