Our first Art Rock cover comes courtesy of five-piece band Slamm. Slamm first emerged in 1992 with their cover of Love & Money's Candybar Express, released through their own Totally Norted Records label. This led to their signing to PWL Records in 1993, where they initially worked with Stock & Waterman. Slamm eventually ended up being marketed as a boy band, but they had a bit of an edge which separated them from the standard boy-band fare of the time, and they were also bona fide musicians. Slamm's debut PWL release was the Stock & Waterman-composed Energize, a high-octane dance track which combined pulsing synth riffs with rattling percussion, underpinned by what sounds like reverbed steel guitars. It's insanely catchy, both in verses and choruses, but peaked at #57.
However, it is Slamm's second single which is of interest here. Moving on from the "in your face" dance sound of Energize, Slamm toned down the galloping synths and brought in more guitar for their take on the Roxy Music classic, Virginia Plain. Widely considered as an innovative piece of avant garde pop, the original version of Virginia Plain was released in 1972 and was a pioneering record with its use of electronic sounds. It's also such an idiosyncratic track that many rock music fans would consider it uncoverable, so it was a brave move by Stock & Waterman and Slamm to cover it. That said, the Slamm version is generally quite a faithful updating; sure, it has a pounding 90s beat and it could probably do without the "rave crowd roar" sound effects during the intro, but the combination of synth pads and house piano for the main riff is quite effective plus it's full of quirky sound effects which tip their hat to the original. There's also a blistering guitar solo, and a very faithful take on the lengthy squelchy synth instrumental break (which was no doubt commercial suicide in 1993). Lead singer John Wilks' raspy vocals suit the song without being a blatant attempt at mimicking Bryan Ferry, and there's a great use of the stereo spectrum as a car zooms from the left ear through to the right as Wilks' sings "Last picture show down the drive-in / You're so sheer / You're so chic / Teenage rebel of the week".
I like this version, but then I am an unusual case, being a fan of both Roxy Music and Stock (Aitken) Waterman. I think if you're a SAW fan, you'll probably think it's a bit weird, and if you're a Roxy Music fan, you will no doubt consider it the devil's music! Certainly, a review of the single in Smash Hits amounted to two words: "Absolutely pathetic". Ouch. And let's not forget, this was the final release of the original S(A)W partnership. It peaked at #60 in the UK, but according to a later radio interview with Slamm, it did gain some airplay on US East Coast radio stations at the time.
Our second -- and final -- Art Rock cover comes from Bananarama, who of course had a successful career going back to 1981, and had moved into a renewed phase of their career in 1986 when they teamed up with Stock Aitken Waterman. After a number of big hits, Bananarama moved away from SAW in 1989 and worked with producer (and former member of SAW-produced act Brilliant) Youth for their 1991 album Pop Life. That album and its singles suffered mixed fortunes, and in 1992, Bananarama (by then a two-piece comprising Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward) were encouraged by London Records to reunite with the by-then Aitken-less Stock and Waterman for their Please Yourself album. That album yielded two Top 40 hits, as well as a number #71 placing for Last Thing On My Mind (later covered to greater success by Steps), but despite this, Bananarama would part ways with London Records in 1993. PWL expert Tom Parker's excellent sleeve notes for the recent reissue of Please Yourself indicates that the initial intention was for Bananarama to continue working with Stock & Waterman following their departure from London, but these plans were thwarted when Stock moved on.
At least one post-Please Yourself track was recorded in 1993, which was a cover of David Bowie's Changes. Due to the reasons cited above, this track was not released at the time, nor did it emerge on any of the recent (and very comprehensive) Edsel Bananarama re-issues. A short clip of the track was available on the Pete Waterman Entertainment website some years back, but for a long time, that was as much as fans could hear. Until January 2016, when the track leaked, ostensibly as a tribute to Bowie, who sadly passed in that same month. Released as a single in 1972, Changes is undoubtedly one of the key Bowie tracks, displaying the great man's talent with melody and lyrics, and it has earned a new resonance following his untimely passing.
Whilst the emergence of Bananarama's Changes was no doubt a very pleasant surprise for fans of Bananarama and SAW, what was even more surprising is that the cover was generally positively received. Sure, there were detractors, but there were also many voices of praise. It must be pointed out that Mike Stock stated on twitter that he wasn't sure he ever fully finished the track (and this was corroborated by producer Mike Rose, who worked with Stock at the time), but it sounds pretty good for what is essentially an unfinished recording.
Avoiding the harder dancier elements which featured in Slamm's Virginia Plain, Bananarama's take on Changes is a fairly faithful take on the original. Opening with some nice guitar work and swirling synth pads, the main riff kicks in with pleasingly chunky piano, giving way to Sara and Keren singing in a low-register, supported in the verses by piano and strings, with the odd appearance of the SAW-beloved Staccato Heaven preset! The chorus is delivered with aplomb, with synth brass and glorious sampled-stuttering of "Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!". Perhaps the middle-eight could have benefited from a beefier sound, but as stated, the track was not finished, and anyway, the gorgeous swelling build up to the final choruses more than makes up for it. Overall, it's a very pleasant listen, and very much in the typical spirit of the Bananarama sound. And for a fan like me, it's always a delight to hear an unreleased S(A)W track after all these years. Hopefully, an official release will be forthcoming.
My overriding view on both of these tracks is that they will no doubt divide opinion. The original versions of both Virginia Plain and Changes are rightly considered genuine classic pop/rock songs, and to be honest, any act covering these songs are on a hiding to nothing as they are both considered sacrosanct. That said, I do think that these Stock & Waterman produced covers are faithful to the originals, albeit redressed in the sounds of the early 1990s, and prove to be an interesting take on these Art Rock classics.
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