At the conclusion of the tour to promote “Reload”, Metallica headed back into the studio with the plan of putting together a collection of cover songs. Several reasons have been put forward as to why this came to be. Some have suggested that the band had read the reviews, both critical and not, of their previous two albums, and that the band felt they needed to reconnect with their own roots in order to reconnect with that part of their fan base that was unhappy. Others felt that after such a long time on tour, the band felt they needed to just blow away the cobwebs of having played the same songs over such a long period, and get back to doing something for fun, and re-energise by doing this. There was also the perception that it was a guaranteed money spinner, to not only put together another collection of cover songs that they enjoyed doing, but enable the band to also collect all of their cover songs from previous B-sides and EP’s into one collection, and make something that their fans of all generations would love and buy. More than anything else, the short timeframe of three weeks in the studio to put down the new tracks, rather than spending months to write and record a brand new studio album, gave the band the perfect opportunity to then spend an extended period at home away from the road as the album was released, the first time the band had really had any time off since before the “Metallica” album had been recorded in 1991.
"Garage Inc.” therefore comes as a two disc package. Disc 1 is complete with songs that were recorded in the three week studio session two months before this was released 25 years ago. All, that is, except for one song, the cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Tuesday’s Gone”. This had been recorded live in the studio for a radio broadcast the previous year, and has other musicians involved in playing the song as well, including Pepper Keenan and Jim Martin. All of the songs on this new disc were apparently chosen by band consensus, which perhaps explains the eclectic nature of the songs here, or perhaps just shines a light on where the band members were at this stage of their career in regards to musical taste. Because, if you look at all of the songs that the band covered in the years prior to this (the songs which make up the second disc of this collection), they are all hard rock and metal and hardcore based tracks by bands that influenced the creation of the band in its initial stages. But here on the new covers disc, the band and track selection is a 50/50 proposition.
So let’s have a look at the selection of songs that could be seen to be in a massively different direction from those on disc two. The first one is the one that was released as a single and did enormous business for the band, the cover of Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page”. One of Metallica’s big reasons for doing cover songs is that they like to be able to mould them so that they make a Metallica’s version of the song. Well, they certainly do that with “Turn the Page”, but it is a “Reload” version of the song, not an 80’s Metallica version of the song. Kirk even gets the slide out. I can understand why the song did so well, but let’s face it, Bob Seger is not an artist that you would suspect was one of the band’s big inspirations when they got together. And that’s perhaps the point here. There are artists here that the band have come to admire in RECENT years rather than their building years, and that’s where the mix of artists on this disc comes from. Lynyrd Skynyrd is another, although apparently it was the first album James ever bought, so there is some history there. Blue Oyster Cult is another from that era, and the cover of “Astronomy” here is faithful, but not containing the energy you would hope for. And then you have Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, which of course were making it big in the late 80’s and early 90’s. To be fair, the cover here of “Loverman” is a great more energised version of Nick Cave’s, though both are good in their own way.
Beyond that, there are the hard core and traditional metal bands represented here, and the versions are mixed, probably depending on your love of the band or the song. There are two Discharge songs, “Free Speech for the Dumb” and “The More I See”, another Diamond Head track in “It’s Electric”, a Black Sabbath medley of the songs “Sabbra Cadabra” and “A National Acrobat”, the Misfits classic “Die Die My Darling”, the Thin Lizzy inspired “Whiskey in the Jar”, and a medley of songs by the band Mercyful Fate called here “Mercyful Fate”. These songs are by bands that are more relatable to the Metallica fanbase and were generally well known before this album came out, but there are still some mixed reactions to the versions played here. Overall the first disc of this collection has always been one that most fans of the band can take or leave. Most of the people that I know or talk to about this album are of the same opinion, that it is a disc that requires the remote control and the skip button on a number of occasions. Metallica (at this point of their career) probably had enough credits in the bank to try something like this and get away with it, and the success of the singles released off this half of the album tend to prove that this is true.
Disc Two on the other hand is a classic. It contains the ‘original’ Garage Days Revisited, which was “Am I Evil” and “Blitzkrieg” from the B-side of the “Creeping Death” single. This is followed by the entire “Garage Days Re-revisited" EP that was released in 1987, while the remainder of the disc is stacked with the great cover songs that came from the B-side of the singles beyond 1988, including the live renditions of the Motorhead songs that together form “Motorheadache”, that the band played for Lemmy’s birthday bash. Every song here is a classic, and excellently redone. And as a result does tend to outshine the newly recorded tracks from the first disc.
There was a lot of excitement when this compilation was released. Personally, a lot of that came from the fact that the past couple of Metallica albums had been such a disappointment that I was looking forward to hearing the band rip into some more cover versions of songs that they had been so brilliant at in the past. And also, because all of those great songs from the past would be pulled together into one collection as well, instead of having to go between old vinyl and CD singles to hear them.
And much like you may have already derived from what has been said prior to this, there is a difference in the two discs and their contents. There are songs on that first CD that I just have no interest in, and no interest in listening to whenever I put the album on. And then there are some songs that I just love the versions of. “Sabbra Cadabra” and “Mercyful Fate” are just brilliant. They take the original versions, and make them just as good but in their own way, and that is what Metallica did with their best cover tracks. “It’s Electric” and “Die, Die My Darling” are good updates on the originals without being considered better, while “Whisky In The Jar” is a vast improvement on the original Thin Lizzy version. My favourite memory of “Whisky in the Jar” is from one of my best mates, who HATED this song, so much so that when we went out to the pub and there was a jukebox with the song on it, we would play it a dozen times over just to annoy him. A few years later, he was asked to play at a family function with his two sons, and the song they were asked to play? “Whiskey in the Jar”. I laughed a lot and following this he claimed to have slightly more tolerance for the track.
The second disc is a cracker, and is a wonderful history lesson for everyone in hearing how Metallica’s music changed over the years just through the way they approach their favourite cover tunes.
The best examples I can use of just where this album stands are the four Diamond Head songs that make this compilation, all recorded at different stages of the band’s career. “Am I Evil?” comes from 1984, from the B-side of the “Creeping Death” single. Listen to the ferocity of the track, the energy and love that comes from this version, staying true to the original but increasing the adrenaline throughout. It is a great cover version, one that I think complements the original perfectly. “Helpless” from “Garage Days Re-revisited" needs no promotion. It is a giant of a cover, it takes a really good original song and turns it into a metal classic. Then there is “The Prince”, which comes from 1988 and the B-side of the “Harvester of Sorrow” single. Just check out the pace, the power and the intensity of this version. It is just brilliant, it thrashes along at a great clip, and you can hear the joy in James's vocals throughout. Once again, another great version of the original which doesn’t outshine it but makes you feel the love Metallica has for it and the band. Then we have “It’s Electric”, the 1998 recorded version for the first disc of this compilation. Sure, it sounds good, well played and produced, but with James’s vocals now having moved into this next decade’s version, and Lars’s drumming also now in his 90’s standard clip, this version doesn’t offer us that same kind of intensity or drive that the other two Diamond Head versions offered. It’s well played, it’s a good version, but it doesn’t offer the counter point those other three songs did. And that to me is the prime example of how Metallica had progressed, or at least matured, into over those intervening years. And that is what this double album shows most. The first disc, the song choices in general and in the main the way the band covers them, just doesn’t compare to the songs and versions and the way they are played on the second disc.
Very few bands in the world could get away with putting out a double disc album full of cover versions of their favourite songs. The best examples of full albums of covers prior to this is Guns N’ Roses “The Spaghetti Incident?” and Slayer’s “Undisputed Attitude”. Both had their charms, but also a limited shelf life in regards to being played by those that bought them. The same goes for the bands who have done the same thing since. I guess it shows the power Metallica had at that time. One wonders if they could ever reproduce that again now. And it probably isn’t likely. Because the real charm of this double album is the collecting of those great cover tracks from previous years, that the fans already knew and loved.
This album was the first of a few collected pieces that Metallica released not only to offset having to record a new album, but as they tried to sort out their own lives in the process. Difficult times were around the corner, but the love of the band by the fans would keep them afloat during those interesting times ahead.
And much like you may have already derived from what has been said prior to this, there is a difference in the two discs and their contents. There are songs on that first CD that I just have no interest in, and no interest in listening to whenever I put the album on. And then there are some songs that I just love the versions of. “Sabbra Cadabra” and “Mercyful Fate” are just brilliant. They take the original versions, and make them just as good but in their own way, and that is what Metallica did with their best cover tracks. “It’s Electric” and “Die, Die My Darling” are good updates on the originals without being considered better, while “Whisky In The Jar” is a vast improvement on the original Thin Lizzy version. My favourite memory of “Whisky in the Jar” is from one of my best mates, who HATED this song, so much so that when we went out to the pub and there was a jukebox with the song on it, we would play it a dozen times over just to annoy him. A few years later, he was asked to play at a family function with his two sons, and the song they were asked to play? “Whiskey in the Jar”. I laughed a lot and following this he claimed to have slightly more tolerance for the track.
The second disc is a cracker, and is a wonderful history lesson for everyone in hearing how Metallica’s music changed over the years just through the way they approach their favourite cover tunes.
The best examples I can use of just where this album stands are the four Diamond Head songs that make this compilation, all recorded at different stages of the band’s career. “Am I Evil?” comes from 1984, from the B-side of the “Creeping Death” single. Listen to the ferocity of the track, the energy and love that comes from this version, staying true to the original but increasing the adrenaline throughout. It is a great cover version, one that I think complements the original perfectly. “Helpless” from “Garage Days Re-revisited" needs no promotion. It is a giant of a cover, it takes a really good original song and turns it into a metal classic. Then there is “The Prince”, which comes from 1988 and the B-side of the “Harvester of Sorrow” single. Just check out the pace, the power and the intensity of this version. It is just brilliant, it thrashes along at a great clip, and you can hear the joy in James's vocals throughout. Once again, another great version of the original which doesn’t outshine it but makes you feel the love Metallica has for it and the band. Then we have “It’s Electric”, the 1998 recorded version for the first disc of this compilation. Sure, it sounds good, well played and produced, but with James’s vocals now having moved into this next decade’s version, and Lars’s drumming also now in his 90’s standard clip, this version doesn’t offer us that same kind of intensity or drive that the other two Diamond Head versions offered. It’s well played, it’s a good version, but it doesn’t offer the counter point those other three songs did. And that to me is the prime example of how Metallica had progressed, or at least matured, into over those intervening years. And that is what this double album shows most. The first disc, the song choices in general and in the main the way the band covers them, just doesn’t compare to the songs and versions and the way they are played on the second disc.
Very few bands in the world could get away with putting out a double disc album full of cover versions of their favourite songs. The best examples of full albums of covers prior to this is Guns N’ Roses “The Spaghetti Incident?” and Slayer’s “Undisputed Attitude”. Both had their charms, but also a limited shelf life in regards to being played by those that bought them. The same goes for the bands who have done the same thing since. I guess it shows the power Metallica had at that time. One wonders if they could ever reproduce that again now. And it probably isn’t likely. Because the real charm of this double album is the collecting of those great cover tracks from previous years, that the fans already knew and loved.
This album was the first of a few collected pieces that Metallica released not only to offset having to record a new album, but as they tried to sort out their own lives in the process. Difficult times were around the corner, but the love of the band by the fans would keep them afloat during those interesting times ahead.
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