Naked Eyes
Fumbling With the Covers
Oglio Records
When your musical career falters, the trendy thing is to make a disc of cover tunes adapted to your personal style, revealing the influences behind your brush with fame. You might remember Pete Byrne from his synth-pop days in the ’80s and his MTV hits “Always Something There To Remind Me” and “Promises, Promises.” These are still ’80s oldies favorites, and not what you’ll find on this recent release. Fumbling with the Covers features Byrne’s pleasant voice, a guitar and a minimal, unplugged style that doesn’t always flatter the songs he chooses to cover. Hendrix’s “Little Wing” is acceptable, Elton John’s “Rocket Man” isn’t terrible, but “King Bee” somehow loses its sexual innuendo, and “Your Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go” lacks the gentle despair of Dylan’s original. Even Byrne’s own “Always Something There…” lacks the punch of the original. If anything, this disc is too quiet, too gentle, and too derivative to make these songs memorable.
Naked Eyes: http://www.nakedeyesmusic.com
