The Bad Plus on converting guilty pleasures into killer covers
Minnesota-formed jazz trio The Bad Plus is known for its signature rock deconstructions, carving a niche for itself by recording avant-garde versions of pop songs. Over nine years and six albums, TBP has breathed life into a songs that have been engraved into the collective conscious (Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"), turned an '80s anthem into a powerful storm of melancholy and gloom (Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World"), and made a Bee Gees mega-hit so sultry that anyone can enjoy it without the aid of irony ("How Deep Is Your Love?"). For its sixth LP, For All I Care, the trio took two new approaches: Enlisting the help of alt-rock vocalist Wendy Lewis (who will join the Plus for Saturday's CD-release show at the Cedar Cultural Center) and sticking exclusively to covers, offering fresh takes on Wilco, Yes, and Pink Floyd. Since the trio has managed to jazz up nearly every song it touches to unexpected heights, Decider asked pianist Ethan Iverson to analyze how to potentially wash away the shame from a handful of so-called "guilty pleasure" songs.
"How Deep Is Your Love" by The Bad Plus
Chicago, "Will You Still Love Me?"
Ethan Iverson: I think you have to honor the melody. Strip it down, bare bones, and try to get the feeling of some genuine sentiment, 'cause you can’t take a chainsaw to a Chicago power ballad. That’s just the way it is. The approach has to be humble. I played that in high school for my show choir and I really enjoyed it. And as much as I enjoyed it, everyone in the choir lost their minds with joy singing it, so it’s obviously a pretty good song.
Ethan Iverson: I think you have to honor the melody. Strip it down, bare bones, and try to get the feeling of some genuine sentiment, 'cause you can’t take a chainsaw to a Chicago power ballad. That’s just the way it is. The approach has to be humble. I played that in high school for my show choir and I really enjoyed it. And as much as I enjoyed it, everyone in the choir lost their minds with joy singing it, so it’s obviously a pretty good song.
The Beach Boys, "Kokomo"
EI: That has a feel that I think any serious musician would appreciate as just being badass. My first thought is that I would want to keep that swaying rhythm but would want to find some creative harmonies to go with that. A lot of times in The Bad Plus shape shifts the rhythm a little bit, so we might speed up or slow down until we finally get an extra level of waves or undulation in them.
EI: That has a feel that I think any serious musician would appreciate as just being badass. My first thought is that I would want to keep that swaying rhythm but would want to find some creative harmonies to go with that. A lot of times in The Bad Plus shape shifts the rhythm a little bit, so we might speed up or slow down until we finally get an extra level of waves or undulation in them.
Kenny Rogers, "The Gambler"
EI: I have a deep, sentimental attachment to that song. But it’s a song that tells a story, so, where generally in a country song the music doesn’t really change as the story progresses, [we] would look to highlight a little bit of the narrative. Like, for sure, when the narrator is being taught by the gambler at the end, and there’s a moment when the gambler goes to sleep, the music would get a little quiet at that moment. When he realizes he found some inspiration from the story, it would get very joyful.
EI: I have a deep, sentimental attachment to that song. But it’s a song that tells a story, so, where generally in a country song the music doesn’t really change as the story progresses, [we] would look to highlight a little bit of the narrative. Like, for sure, when the narrator is being taught by the gambler at the end, and there’s a moment when the gambler goes to sleep, the music would get a little quiet at that moment. When he realizes he found some inspiration from the story, it would get very joyful.
Juice Newton, "Queen Of Hearts"
EI: This is one that I’ve always wanted to do but [the rest of the band hasn't] allowed me to get [it] off the ground. I’ll have to play it solo piano someday, I guess. I’ve even worked out the rhythm and everything. I think it would just be an amazing opportunity to play some very complex figurations, 'cause that’s about as up-and-down as it gets, very square, very boxy three-chord country rock. There’s the possibility to really go mathematical on it.
EI: This is one that I’ve always wanted to do but [the rest of the band hasn't] allowed me to get [it] off the ground. I’ll have to play it solo piano someday, I guess. I’ve even worked out the rhythm and everything. I think it would just be an amazing opportunity to play some very complex figurations, 'cause that’s about as up-and-down as it gets, very square, very boxy three-chord country rock. There’s the possibility to really go mathematical on it.
Whitney Houston, "I Will Always Love You"
EI: There’s untapped potential in that song. I don’t think The Bad Plus would do that song, but the point about doing that song is that, unless you’re playing for a very specific audience, everybody’s going to know that song. As modern-day improvisers or musicians that mostly deal with complex instrumental music, and as a band that’s message is about the strength and power of instrumental music, the point of doing something like that would be to reveal our true nature through something that everybody understood as deeply as everybody understands that song. The song is like Vesuvius itself; it would be an immense challenge, but I can’t say I’m not intrigued at the idea. Frankly, the song is something that I’ve always not really liked that much, but I think it must be pretty good if it’s that popular. It’s obviously a work of great craftsmanship. The great hit songs are always hits for a reason.
EI: There’s untapped potential in that song. I don’t think The Bad Plus would do that song, but the point about doing that song is that, unless you’re playing for a very specific audience, everybody’s going to know that song. As modern-day improvisers or musicians that mostly deal with complex instrumental music, and as a band that’s message is about the strength and power of instrumental music, the point of doing something like that would be to reveal our true nature through something that everybody understood as deeply as everybody understands that song. The song is like Vesuvius itself; it would be an immense challenge, but I can’t say I’m not intrigued at the idea. Frankly, the song is something that I’ve always not really liked that much, but I think it must be pretty good if it’s that popular. It’s obviously a work of great craftsmanship. The great hit songs are always hits for a reason.
Meat Loaf, "You Took the Words Right Out Of My Mouth"
EI: That, honestly, I don’t think we could do. There are some lines The Bad Plus can’t trot, as much as we try to celebrate all music. I just gotta say, I find that spoken introduction to be so offensive and so puerile that I just can’t do it, no matter what the music is. I’m not the pop guy in the band, but I feel like criticizing Meat Loaf is acceptable. Like, there’s room for Kiss in the musical universe, for sure. Kenny Rogers, he was great, honestly. Can’t fucking criticize Kenny Rogers. But Meat Loaf? I feel like I’m okay to take one shot at him.
EI: That, honestly, I don’t think we could do. There are some lines The Bad Plus can’t trot, as much as we try to celebrate all music. I just gotta say, I find that spoken introduction to be so offensive and so puerile that I just can’t do it, no matter what the music is. I’m not the pop guy in the band, but I feel like criticizing Meat Loaf is acceptable. Like, there’s room for Kiss in the musical universe, for sure. Kenny Rogers, he was great, honestly. Can’t fucking criticize Kenny Rogers. But Meat Loaf? I feel like I’m okay to take one shot at him.
"Radio Cure" by The Bad Plus
