Nick D'Virgilio's cover of "The Colony of Slippermen"

[hephaestion]

I tried to search through the forum in order to find out whether the topic was already discussed but I found nothing (this is a disclaimer )...

Let us come to the point...
Many friends here probably know Nick D'Virgilio for being member of american prog band "Spock's Beard": he was drummer and vocalist first, then became lead vocalist (sounds familiar? )
Surely all of you remember him for drumming on some tracks in "Calling all Stations"...

Well...
He made a cover of "The Colony of Slippermen" (from The Lamb), which you can find on his Myspace -here is the link:
MySpace.com - Nick D'Virgilio - Los Angeles, California - Rock / Progressive / Indie - www.myspace.com/ndvmusic

You do not have to register...


Let me know your opinions about the cover: I find it well performed and exciting: very good vocals and a smart arrangement... A great work, and I do not usually like covers... even the live versions made by the same artist/band or performed by a new vocalist...

[geneyes]

I agree, I thought he did an excellent job. I always enjoy covers that are a bit left of center and bring something new to the song.

It would be crazy to hear an entire album (like The Lamb) done in this manner.

[raeltheduke]

Actually he re-did the whole thing; not only slippermen but the complete Lamb opus, read the press release from ProgRock records below.

When I first found out about it, I thought it would be in a progressive mould but was I wrong and I don't think it was the right thing to do, why play around with a masterpiece?

Spock's Beard's NICK D'VIRGILIO: News from ProgRock Records that Nick D'Virgilio is to create a new twist on a classic Genesis album ....
Nashville-based recording engineer/producer and a Los Angeles-based performer have teamed up to create a unique twist on a classic Genesis album. This fall, Nick D'Virgilio of Spock's Beard fame and engineer/producer Mark Hornsby are re-recording the Genesis classic: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, in it's entirety. Produced at Java Jive Studio in Nashville, the album features some of Music City’s best musicians, taking the songs in a whole new direction.

"We wanted to see what would happen if we exposed the songs to a different climate of musicians," says D'Virgilio, "The early Genesis recordings are so musical and very bluesy when you get right down to it. They really lend themselves to some different interpretations. When it came time to figure out what label to work with, I remembered working with Shawn on the Amaran’s Plight release and had been really pleased with how that all worked out and I knew what a big Genesis fan he is, so I’m glad it worked out.".

Although all of the original elements of the songs are still included such as drums, bass, guitar and piano, the recordings now take on a more "theatrical" vibe. This, coupled with orchestra, rock guitars, and some fantastic horn arrangements, the songs now enter an entirely different place.

"We had talked about doing something like this for awhile," says Hornsby, "With the recent attention our version of The Colony of Slippermen received, and the re-release of the original album in 5.1, the time seemed right to see what we could come up with. After the first conference call with Shawn, I felt really comfortable about working with him, and we all managed to make it work and realize the fruition of our vision."

"A Tribute to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" is the ProgRock Records debut release from Rewiring Genesis. The album will be released in late September 2008 and is available for immediate pre-sale. It will be available on October 21, 2008. You can listen to the Slippermen sound bite here:

http://www.myspace.com/ndvmusic