Through the Wilderness
Through the Wilderness | ||||
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Compilation album by Various artists | ||||
Released | November 27, 2007 | |||
Recorded | 2007 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 59:09 | |||
Label | Manimal Vinyl | |||
Manimal Vinyl chronology | ||||
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Through the Wilderness is a
Through the Wilderness is a psychedelic-folk tribute to Madonna without adhering to any particular coherent sound. The cover songs were composed differently from the original versions by the performers; they changed the melody of the Madonna tracks by tweaking the lyrics and re-interpreting the actual meaning. Music critics both complimented and criticized the songs, noting the strength of Madonna's discography in the album's tracklist.
Background and release
[The album] is the first music scene out of the good 4 or 5 I've been involved in that I truly feel that way—and I've been doing this for at least 15 years. This particular collective... people call it freak folk, whatever it's just this great group of people and I felt in a weird way that y'know Madonna would really get along with these people.
—Paul Beahan talking about Through the Wilderness.[1]
In February 2007, Los Angeles-based
Beahan had been thinking of releasing a tribute record through his company for a long time, following the death of musicians
Banhart and VietNam were not included in the final track list of the album.[6] Other artists mentioned by Beahan for the record, but not included, were Cat Power and Thurston Moore.[2] Through the Wilderness is a psychedelic-folk tribute to Madonna, with the songs spanning her entire career until that point, from "Lucky Star" (1984) to "Hung Up" (2005).[5] The title is a reference to the opening line of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" where she sings, "I made it through the wilderness..." Beahan had asked all the bands to pick their own songs. He suggested to the Chapin Sisters to record "Borderline" instead of "Like a Virgin". Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond wanted to sing "Like a Prayer" for the album. Similarly, Lion of Panjshir sent a demo of "Crazy for You" which the label head accepted.[1] Indie rock band Giant Drag confirmed on their official website that they were recording Madonna's "Oh Father" for the release.[7] Rock musician The Prayers covered "Cherish" for the project.[8]
Composition
The groups covering the songs changed the melody of the original Madonna tracks, by tweaking the lyrics and re-interpreting the actual meaning. According to Stephen M. Deusner from
Through the Wilderness opens with
A guitar-influenced version was created by
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Spin | [12] |
Deusner gave the album a rating of 7 out of 10, complimenting the release by adding that, "Madonna is an ideal candidate for the tribute album treatment, having already inspired several in the past but none [are] quite as sturdy or as much fun as Through the Wilderness". However he felt that few of the songs were "uninspired", like Drag's version of "Oh Father" and Bubonic Plague's rendition of Who's That Girl.[9] Jon Caramanica from Spin also gave a positive review, saying that the album captures "Madonna's vivacious side, but [reminds that she was] desperate too". He particularly commended "Crazy for You", saying that "the last 30 seconds of [the track is] chilling—frontwoman Ariana Delawari and her traditional Afghan backing accelerate feverishly, breaking the sweat Madonna never quite did, or could".[13]
Bruce Scott from Prefix rated the album 6 on 10, and opined that "in patches" the record holds up well as a tribute release. He listed the tracks "Into the Groove", "Everybody" and "La Isla Bonita" as highlights, but criticized the cover of the ballads which he felt diminished the quality. "Through the Wilderness reminds that these [tracks] can withstand some reinventing no matter how minimal or lo-fi the arrangement, because the songs themselves are strong," Scott concluded.[10]
Chris Morgan from Treble noticed the lack of coherence in the album, but complimented the attention bestowed on giving prominence to the "hook and peppiness" of the songs. However, he still found that "be it because their sound is not right for covering such an act or because they let their imagination run a little too wild for the sake of the art of reinterpretation, the creativity is vulnerable to quickly becoming a gimmick." He listed "Oh Father" and "Like a Prayer" as two highlights, describing them as the "most resonant".[11]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "La Isla Bonita" | Jonathan Wilson | 4:41 | |
2. | "Into the Groove" |
| Jeremy Jay | 3:42 |
3. | "Beautiful Stranger Blues" |
| Golden Animals | 2:48 |
4. | "Live to Tell" |
| Winter Flowers | 6:16 |
5. | "Material Girl" |
| Mountain Party | 3:39 |
6. | "Everybody" | Madonna | Ariel Pink | 2:49 |
7. | "Oh Father" |
| Giant Drag | 5:03 |
8. | "Hung Up" | The Tyde | 3:49 | |
9. | "Lucky Star" | Madonna | Alexandra Hope | 3:16 |
10. | "Borderline" | Reggie Lucas | Chapin Sisters | 3:48 |
11. | "Who's That Girl" |
| Bubonic Plague | 3:42 |
12. | "Dress You Up" |
| Apollo Heights | 3:30 |
13. | "Cherish" |
| The Prayers | 3:12 |
14. | "Crazy for You" | Lion of Panjshir | 4:01 | |
15. | "Like a Prayer" |
| Lavender Diamond | 4:53 |
Total length: | 59:09 |
Personnel
Credits and personnel adapted from AllMusic.[14]
- Apollo Heights – producer, performer
- Linda Beecroft – drums, vocals
- P. Brown – composer
- Bubonic Plague – producer, performer
- Justin Burrill – audio engineer, engineer
- The Chapin Sisters – producer, performer
- Abigail Chapin – choir/chorus, guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Lily Chapin – banjo, keyboards, vocals
- Daniel Chavis – vocals
- Danny Chavis – guitar
- Jessica Craven – vocals
- Ariana Delawari – guitar, vocals
- Erica García – producer, instrumentation
- Micah Gaugh – bass, keyboards
- Giant Drag – performer
- Golden Animals – performer
- Steve Gregoropoulos – guitar, piano
- Max Guirand – engineer, slide guitar
- Annie Hardy – vocals
- Tim Hogan – bass
- Julia Holter – vocals (background)
- Alexandra Hope – performer
- Dan Horne – audio engineer, engineer, mixing, tambourine
- Jeremy Jay – arranger, producer, performer
- Tom Carney Myung Hi Kim – engineer
- Ben Knight – guitar (classical), guitar (electric)
- Lavender Diamond – performer
- Lion of Panjshir – performer
- Max Guirand – audio engineer, producer
- Andrew Miller – guitar, vocals
- Ethan Miller – producer
- Thom Monahan – producer, beat box, drum machine, engineer
- Mountain Party – performer
- Michael Mussmano – producer
- Ofer Tiberin – producer
- Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti – arranger, producer, performer
- Heather Porcaro – choir/chorus
- Prayers – producer
- The Prayers – performer
- Astrid Quay – Artwork, vocals
- Darren Rademaker – guitar (acoustic), vocals
- Ron Regé Jr. – drums
- Charles Rowell – bass
- Josh Schwartz – guitar (acoustic), guitar (Electric)
- Aaron Sperske – drums
- Becky Stark – audio engineer, vocals
- Chad Stewart – drums
- Tom Kim – audio engineer, producer
- The Tyde – performer
- Julian Wass – audio engineer, producer, engineer
- Jonathan Wilson – producer, performer
- Jonathan Wilson – arranger
- Winter Flowers – producer, performer
- Kenny Woods – audio engineer
- Gideon Zaretsky – producer
References
- ^ a b c Sternberg, Andy (January 5, 2008). "LAist Interview: Manimal Records Founder Paul Beahan". LAist. Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "Manimal Vinyl to Release Madonna Covers Album". Spin. February 13, 2007. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
- San Diego City Beat. Archived from the originalon November 21, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
- ^ Kharas, Kev (November 28, 2007). "Unfeasible compilation: Devendra Banhart, Ariel Pink, Giant Drag cover Madonna". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
- ^ a b Tijs, Andrew (May 4, 2007). "Indies Pay Tribute To Madonna". Undercover.fm. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
- ^ )
- ^ "Giant Drag pay tribute to Madonna". NME. February 13, 2007. Archived from the original on November 21, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
- San Diego City Beat. Archived from the originalon November 21, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
- ^ Pitchfork Media. Archivedfrom the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
- ^ a b c Scott, Bruce (March 5, 2008). "Various Artists Through the Wilderness: A Tribute to Madonna". Prefix. Archived from the original on November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
- ^ a b Morgan, Chris (November 23, 2007). "Various Artists : Through the Wilderness: A Tribute to Madonna". Treble Magazine. Archived from the original on November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
- ^ "Various Artists". Spin. Vol. 24, no. 2. February 2008. p. 97. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ Caramanica, Jon (February 15, 2008). "Various Artists, 'Through the Wilderness: A Tribute to Madonna'". Spin. Archived from the original on November 9, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
- ^ "Through the Wilderness: A Tribute to Madonna > Various Artists > Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2013.