Album Review: The Raveonettes — The Raveonettes Sing…

As I (and plenty of others before me) have observed before, an artist’s choice of covers can tell you a lot about that artist. Copenhagen duo The Raveonettes (Courtney Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo) have long worn their influences on their sleeve; a marked sweet Everly Brothers vibe coupled with a darkly malevolent Velvet Underground feel — applied to original material, of course – has made for some compelling music. As of 2017 the duo had released eight albums, six EPs and a stack of singles; they’ve also contributed to numerous film soundtracks and various-artists compilations.

But only occasionally have The Raveonettes covered other artists. Yet when they did, the results were never less than interesting: John Lennon (“One Day at a Time”), The Angels (“My Boyfriend’s Back”) and The Doors (“The End”) all got The Raveonettes treatment.

Cleopatra Records has long been known for tribute releases; it was that label’s Doors tribute that featured The Raveonettes’ reading of “The End.” So a Raveonettes covers album on Cleopatra makes sense. And as is the duo’s wont, the choices of songs ranges from the sublime and obvious to the (if not ridiculous then) slightly unexpected.

“I Love How You Love Me” sounds like the original crossed with The Jesus and Mary Chain, filtered through an episode of Twin Peaks. True, that’s what one would expect in this case, right? The garage classic “Goo Goo Muck” is spare and skeletal; solid, but it would have been better with a fuller arrangement. The Lee Hazlewood/Duane Eddy obscurity “The Girl on Death Row” seems custom-made for the duo.

“All I Have to Do is Dream” is so glaringly obvious that one almost wishes The Raveonettes had chosen a different Everlys tune. But it’s very good, albeit sounding exactly how you’d think it would. There’s a hazy, lysergic vibe to “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.” The VU’s “Venus in Furs” falls into the too-obvious-by-half category, but one supposed they simply had to do it. (I would have preferred to hear what they’d do with “Who Loves the Sun,” but hey, that’s just me.)

Buddy Holly’s “Wishing” is lovely, bending the Texan’s aesthetic to The Raveonettes’ approach. That approach does begin to wear a bit thin here, though, as by this point in the album, you could be told the song title and hear the arrangement in your mind before you’ve, y’know, actually heard it.

Gram Parsons’ “Return of the Grievous Angel” belongs in the didn’t-see-that-coming column. It’s quite well done. There’s nothing wrong with The Raveonettes’ take on Johnny Kidd’s “Shakin’ All Over,” but it’s totally bereft of surprises. And someone needs to rescue the duo: from the sound of “Leader of the Pack,” they’ve fallen down a very deep well.

The CD version of The Raveonettes Sing… features two tracks not on the streaming releases of the album. The Doors’ “The End” is the recording done for an EP a decade ago. It’s lovely, substituting the original’s oedipal menace with a shimmering character that recalls songs on the Paisley Underground Rainy Day album. That 2015 EP also included a remake of The Who’s “The Kids Are Alright,” and it’s here too. It’s nice but unremarkable and – by this point – sonically redundant.

In total, there’s nothing at all wrong with The Raveonettes Sing… but those familiar with the duo’s signature sound – one that admittedly doesn’t vary much from song to song – are unlikely to find anything new here.