Search - Tribute to Mars Volta :: String Quartet Tribute to Mars Volta

Not really worth the price, but has memorable moments.

Joshua Chandler | Springfield, MO USA | 03/15/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Interpreting The Mars Volta's complex, spastic musical arrangements from their original shape into a much more string-oriented format has to be an excrutiatingly difficult process. In order to make most of the songs work, compromises in terms of arrangement and sound must often be made. Because of this, I can't be too hard on the artists who recorded this CD. With it, they genuinely tried to reproduce a sound far removed from the tradition of their respective instruments, and quite impressively all of the songs are recognizable and for the most part quite faithful to their original forms (as heard on The Mars Volta's masterpiece debut, De-loused in the Comatorium).



However, most of the songs are simply not written to be played in a minimalist string section format, and it is this heavy burden that drags against the music in more than one place on the CD. Yet in spite of this, some of the recordings, especially "Eriatarka" and "Televators", shine brightly and seem almost as enjoyable here as they are in their original forms. So sure, it really is no De-loused. But it is worth a listen or two if you get the chance."

No love.... no tribute paid

MLK dreamer | Milwaukee, WI | 02/09/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I would expect a tribute album to express, through playing the same songs, a personal style that addresses feelings about the original artist/album. "Paying tribute" to the original that spawned this music here...



This strikes me as a cover album. And a bad one. A bad copy.



The soul and intensity of the original is gone. The unpredictability and pacing of the original is gone. Its just a slow weak anticlimatic arrangement of notes similar to Deloused. Which makes me wonder... Why? These are someone else's songs played in a different style, without any hint of soul and feeling. Robots could play this.



Creative? No. No WAY!!! A big waste of time I feel.



Classical music fans might enjoy it. I probably would if you didnt tell me it was a volta cover album. Its got an attractive sound in general. But a fan of the unique sound and extreme depth of Deloused, will question the decisions leading to the creation of this 'tribute.' Who is it paying tribute to?"