Everybody Loves Sausages＜Opaque Red Vinyl＞

Normally, when a long-running band releases an album of covers, it's seen as the band just cutting loose, mixing it up, and having a little fun with someone else's songs for a change. The Melvins, however, are not a band that anyone would ever accuse of kowtowing to anyone's demands, a feeling that comes through on their own covers album, Everybody Loves Sausages. Taking a run through the songs that influenced them, the album finds Buzzo and company ringing in their 30th anniversary by looking back at the eclectic mix of bands that live in the Melvins' DNA. What's most interesting about the album is that it doesn't feel as though the Melvins are trying to recast these songs in their own style, but are instead playing them the way they hear them in their own heads, giving us a lightning-fast rendition of Ram Jam's "Black Betty," a lovey-dovey and saccharine take on Queen's "You're My Best Friend," and an extra-dark rendition of the theme to John Waters' "Female Trouble." Also included is a tight cover of Venom's "Warhead," which goes on to show that beneath the British band's sloppy exterior was a knack for writing songs that was just a little outside of their ability to play them, proving once again that while Venom were an awesome band, Venom covers are always great (see Sigh's A Tribute to Venom for more proof). At the end of the day, the Melvins know what they're all about, but with Everybody Loves Sausages, listeners get the chance to roam around in their heads, if only for 50 minutes or so. ~ Gregory Heaney