Shivaree

Shivaree’s "Goodnight Moon” was that song in Kill Bill Volume 2 that everybody needed identifying. The combination of Ambrosia Parsley’s sweet voice with the guitar twang was irresistible and probably helped sell quite a few copies of the soundtrack. The band have always had a keen ear when it comes to covers and have decided to bring that to its logical conclusion. The title, Tainted Love: Mating Calls and Fight Songs, hints that all might not be well when it comes to the love. But most of the weirdness comes from the artists that Parsley has chosen to cover: Michael Jackson, Phil Spector, Ike Turner and a bunch of other reprobates that aren’t known for making the best relationship choices. That kind of diversity makes for a varied, disjointed album that’s never anything less than interesting. The arrangements range from torch songs (Spade Cooley’s "Shame On You”) to the downright sinister (Gary Glitter’s "Hello! Hello! I’m Back Again”) but the highlight is a remarkably faithful take on R. Kelly’s "Half On A Baby,” where Parsley sounds very comfortable with this soulful slow jam. As a collection of other people’s songs, Tainted Love isn’t bad at all, although much of that is due to Ambrosia’s voice, which can make even the lowliest material sound inspired.