Disco, Post-Disco, Avant Garde, Experimental or whatever you wanna call him Arthur Russell, 17 years after his death, seems just as relevant and influential as ever. With a 2008 documentary on his life and music called Wild Combination, a biography by Tim Lawrence and the recently released "Go Bang: A Tribute to Arthur Russell" (from the UK's Electric Minds label) it seems he is having a better late '00's than a lot of living artists. I think Russell's music still resonates with people because, as simple as it sounds, he just did whatever he wanted and created music for himself first. He weaved all sorts of different genres and ideas together to create something absolutely unique and personal.
As far as this latest tribute album, I feel like it really doesn't do Russell's songs justice for the most part. Yam Who? & Shovel's version of "Pop Your Funk" has a kind of 80's electro vibe that makes it a stand out and My Tiger My Timing's take on "Arm Around You" has a cute, 90's feeling that lets the sweetness of Russell's lyrics really come through. Otherwise, I'm not impressed and would rather just listen to the original versions.
Here's the My Tiger My Timing track, the Atlas Sound remix of "Answers Me" and the original version of "Wax The Van".
My Tiger My Timing - Arm Around You (Arthur Russell cover)
Arthur Russell - Answers Me (Atlas Sound Remix)
Arthur Russell - Wax The Van
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