Album of the Week: Under The Covers, Vol. III — Ninja Sex Party
A slight change from the norm, this week’s pick takes the form of a covers album, yet ironically, it’s unlike anything you have ever heard on URY before. Does that make it good, different, or a combination of the two?
Under The Covers, Vol. III is Ninja Sex Party’s seventh album, and it has everything you would expect from Ninja Sex Party and Tupper Ware Remix Party’s covers. Once again, the songs on this album are songs from Danny Sexbang and Ninja Brian’s 70s-and-80s childhood. And although we didn’t get ‘Baby Shark’, ‘Friday’ by Rebecca Black (yes that was a real thing they announced) or most importantly, ‘Wanna Be Startin Somethin’ by Michael Jackson, the tracklist is solid, and every song on this album is brilliantly performed and produced.
‘We Built This City’ by Starship is a great way to start this album. This cover is everything you would want or expect from Danny Sexbang. If you didn’t know this was a cover album, I think you would genuinely believe this was a Ninja Sex Party album, because everything in this song and album caters to the sound they’ve been establishing for the past two or three albums, ever since Attitude City. The production of the song is great; you’re able to hear every instrument in the song, and the layers of instruments are beautifully done, adding to the massive sound of this song. As always, the guitar and bass work is beautifully done, with a touch of funk-infused in it by Lord Phobos and Commander Meouch.
‘Photograph’ by Def Leppard is already a nearly perfect song, but somehow they’ve managed, somewhat controversially, to make the song better. There is a great dynamic range to this song, building up from the first part of the first verse until the end, adding layers to make the end even more epic. The Pre-Chorus takes a more empty approach, instead of playing all the time, the band simply has a call and response with Danny, who again adds his harmonies, showing off his wide range. The Chorus drops the distortion for a more clean sound, which suits great. The “intro” after the second chorus into the solo does a great job of dropping after the climactic chorus.
‘Down Under’ by Men at Work is so unrecognizable, but so familiar all at once. Arguably one of the most changed songs on this album, they add more 80s to an already extremely 80s song. Again, it’s impossible to mention the harmonies that Danny adds during the chorus; they’re so simple, yet add so much to the song and make it sound so much better than the original. Again, the song perfectly builds up, climaxing right before the great instrumental break.
‘Sledgehammer’ by Peter Gabriel is the next song up, which I had never heard before, so my judgement might be a bit different. My first thought while listening to the verse is that it has a bit of a ‘Ghostbusters’ by Parker Ray Jr. sound, probably because of the synths and bass. The chorus has a great change in mood, getting darker, but not totally depressing, which totally fits. The harmonies remind me a lot of the harmonies that Michael Jackson would go for. The ending being longer than a minute on the same chord progression doesn’t even bother me, since it progresses so naturally.
‘Glory of Love’ by Peter Cetera starts off similar to ‘Dire Dire Docks’ from Mario 64, which I’m going to say is definitely on purpose, knowing about Danny and Brian’s involvement with the gaming community. Unfortunately, this song doesn’t stand out. It’s a very straight forward 80s power ballad, with a powerful chorus. It’s done well, but to me it doesn’t hold up to the previous songs. It’s shocking really, as this and ‘‘Always Something There to Remind Me’ by Lou Johnson are the only truly bad songs here; maybe it’s the bells, but this song sounds like a Christmas song to me, despite the song originally have been released in the summer of ‘64. The general opinion of this song seems to be positive, but in my opinion, I think this song is a bit bland and less inspired, especially after the first listen.
‘Closer to the Heart’ is the obligatory Rush song, because what would be an NSP Cover album without Rush? I think this song is amazing, and Danny’s performance is also incredible, but my favourite part about this entire song is the bass. The bass is very audible, and, as is the standard for Rush, the bass is always amazing. Overall, this is a great track that I think is overlooked.
‘Nights on Broadway’ by the Bee Gees sounds nothing like what the Bee Gees sound like. Whether to you that’s a good or a bad thing, I love the originality of the song. They keep it funky and disco, but they really infuse their TWRP style into all the instrumentals. Danny not going for the obnoxious falsetto in the chorus really is a good choice. The harmonies, again; can’t go wrong.
‘Owner of a Lonely Heart’ by Yes is already a great track on its own. The chorus has a great spacey sound, with the chorus guitars, the reverb vocals, and the harmonies. It’s one of the few songs where the chorus is calmer than the verse. About halfway through the song, the bridge is so wonderfully funky and 80s at the same time, transitioning to a short section of drum fills and DJ scratches, and then to an amazing solo, to an amazing clean section. Within a minute you get four different sound sections, right before the last chorus, which repeats until the end.
‘When You Were Mine’ by Prince really sounds like an original NSP song. You can really hear how much Prince was an influence to NSP, especially in the chorus the melody of the verse. Unfortunately, the tenth track is the first track to have a keytar solo, and it’s far too short; don’t let that deter you from what is an epic track.
‘Safety Dance’ by Men Without Hats is one of those songs that you’re not supposed to take seriously, but this cover really makes you want to. This is the only song that doesn’t have TWRP as a backing band, so this is the only purely NSP song, which you can definitely feel, considering the lack of guitar. Danny shows off his lower part of the range, which he doesn’t often get a chance to do, especially with the songs he covers. ‘I Won’t Back Down’ is a classic by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It’s a very straight-forward slow rock song, as is much of Tom Petty’s catalogue. Nevertheless, Danny is again able to show off his lower range in the verses. The choruses are explosions of energy in an amazing way.
Everyone knows ‘Don’t Fear the Reaper’ by Blue Öyster Cult, and this cover really does the original justice. With a short romantic inspired intro, it goes into the intro of the song. This take is a lot more calm, and Danny takes some liberties in the harmonies, opting to show off his higher range. The dark and creepy bridge is even creepier with the dark synths. The choice of an acoustic solo, however, is bizarre. After this bridge, they pay a closer homage to the original. This cover is nearly perfect but needs more cowbell.
Overall, I think this album is the best Under the Covers Volume so far. Even not knowing half of the songs on the album, they each held up as their own songs, and although two or three songs might be a bit bland, they’re still fun to listen to.
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