Ci potevano essere tanti modi per concludere una carriera, e che carriera è proprio il caso di affermare voltandosi a guardare il percorso sonoro di Ministry in oltre venticinque anni di vita. Anche solo "limitandosi" a chiudere la porta dopo aver pubblicato l'ultimo e positivo "The Last Sucker", risalente alla scorsa estate. Così ci sarebbe stato un logico e significativo commiato. D'altronde la fine di una storia quale quella scritta da Ministry non merita di terminare in modo anonimo.
E invece, decidendo di dare in pasto alle belve fameliche (ad esempio il sottoscritto quando sente pronunciare il nome Ministry) un lavoro di cover mediocre, come "Cover Up", hanno fatto la scelta peggiore. Capisco che non si debba guardare all'album come a un'opera significativa, sul piano stilistico ed evolutivo, all'interno della discografia e capisco che dal punto di vista affettivo Al Jourgensen possa essere legato a canzoni (Rolling Stones, T.Rex, Mountain, ZZ Top, Louis Armstrong, ecc.), che gli avranno fatto vivere momenti indimenticabili e che quindi ha deciso di celebrare rivisitandole a modo suo (neppure troppo, e questo, al di là di ogni considerazione, è il lato negativo dell'intera faccenda). Ma non capisco perché voler spegnere una torcia che brillava ancora di luce propria con una serie di ricordi, a loro volta nati da ricordi, sbiaditi, perché se si esclude "Supernaut" e "Lay Lady Lay" (entrambe ormai note da anni) e "Roadhouse Blues", non è che ci sia molto da apprezzare. E neanche il rifacimento di "Space Truckin'", da cui mi aspettavo ben altro vigore strumentale, non risulta appagante. E poi non vi è un solo pezzo di estrazione elettronica, quasi che i Ministry delle origini, non fossero stati influenzati da nessuna band di quel genere, mah!
Ultima considerazione; negli ultimi nove mesi i Ministry hanno pubblicato, nell'ordine, i remix di "Rio Grande Blood", "The Last Sucker" e "Cover Up" e stanno portando a termine il tour finale; quasi che avesse (Al Jourgensen) fretta di salutare e mettersi alle spalle tutto e tutti, manco fosse una pratica contabile da sbrigare e non un evento da celebrare. Peccato. I miei ricordi di Ministry sono ben altri.
Elenco tracce e testi
02 Lay Lady Lay (05:43)
Lay lady lay
Lay across my big brass bed
Lay lady lay
Lay across my big brass bed
Stay lady stay
Stay while the night is still ahead
Stay lady stay
Heaven's dust fills our head
Whatever colors have you in your mind
I show them all to you and you see them shine
Stay lady stay
Stay with your man a while
Till the break of day
Then you're gonna see him smile
His clothes are dirty but his hands are clean
And you're the best thing he's ever seen
Why wait any longer for the world to begin
You can have your cake and eat it too
Why wait any longer for the one you love
When he's standing over you
Lay lady lay
Lay across my big brass bed
Stay lady stay
We're gonna build the whole night ahead
I long to see you in the morning light
I long to reach for you all night
Lay lady lay
04 Bang A Gong (04:48)
Well you're dirty and sweet
Clad in black don't look back and I love you
You're dirty and sweet, oh yeah
Well you're slim and you're weak
You've got the teeth of the hydra upon you
You're dirty sweet and you're my girl
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
Well you're built like a car
You've got a hub cap diamond star halo
You're built like a car, oh yeah
Well you're an untamed youth
That's the truth with your cloak full of eagles
You're dirty sweet and you're my girl
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on - oh
Well you're windy and wild
You've got the blues in your shoes and your stockings
You're windy and wild, oh yeah
Well you're built like a car
You've got a hub cap diamond star halo
You're dirty sweet and you're my girl
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on - ooh
Well you're dirty and sweet
Clad in black, don't look back and I love you
You're dirty and sweet, oh yeah
Well you dance when you walk
So let's dance, take a chance, understand me
You're dirty sweet and you're my girl
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on - ow
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on - ow - get it on - mh
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on - a-a-a-a
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on - a-a-a-a ....
Take me, for a meanwhile I'm still thinking ....
13 Roadhouse Blues (04:27)
I'll tell you this man,
All i wanna do is have my
kicks before this whole shit
house goes up in flames
Keep your eyes on the road,
Your hands upon the wheel.
Keep your eyes on the road
Your hands upon the wheel.
Yeah, we're going to the roadhouse,
Gonna have a real good-time.
Let it roll, baby, roll.
Let it roll, baby, roll.
Let it roll, baby, roll.
Let it roll, all night long.
Well, the back of the roadhouse,
They've got some bungalows.
Yeah, the back of the roadhouse,
They've got some bungalows.
And thats for the people
Who like to go down slow.
Let it roll, baby, roll.
Let it roll, baby, roll.
Let it roll, baby, roll.
Let it roll, all night long.
Ashen-Lady.
Ashen-Lady.
Give up your vows.
Give up your vows.
Save our city.
Save our city.
right now.
Well, I woke up this morning
And I got myself a beer.
Well, I woke up this morning
And I got myself a beer.
The future's uncertain
And the end is always near.
Let it roll, baby, roll.
Let it roll, baby, roll.
Let it roll, baby, roll.
Let it roll, all night long.
14 Supernaut (07:07)
Practially every one of the top 40 records being played on every radio station in
the United States is a communication to the children to take a trip, to cop out, to
groove. The psychedelic jackets on the record albums have their own hidden symbols
and messages as well as the lyrics to all the top rock songs and they all sing the
same refrain: It's fun to take a trip, put acid in your veins.
I want to reach out and touch the sky
I want to touch the sun but I don't want to fly
I'm gonna climb up every mountain of the moon
I find the distance melts away with the spoon
Supernaut
Supernaut
I've crossed the ocean, done every land
I found the pot under a golden rainbow's end
I've been through magic and through life's reality
I've lived a thousand years it never bothered me
Bothered me
Supernaut
Bothered me
Supernaut
They all sing the same refrain: It's fun to take a trip, put acid in your veins.
Got no religion, don't need no friends
Got all I want and I got no need to pretend
Don't try to reach me, 'cause I'd tear up your mind
I've seen the future and I leave it all behind
Supernaut
Supernaut
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