The Red Elvises have lied to us.
Everyone’s favorite band recently released two albums, making us think that we are getting twice the Elvises at the same time. Lies! These musical masquerades are really solo projects of the band’s two guitarists that bastardize the Elvises’ name.
“Welcome to the Freak Show” is the brainchild of guitarist/lead vocalist Igor Yuzov. On the album he comes out of his musical comfort zone and adds bass, drums and keyboards to his musical repertoire. Yuzov enlists the help of other musicians in his effort, but the rest of the band is nowhere to be found on any of the songs, even though they appear on the cover, in the liner notes and on the CD itself.
On one hand, I’m outraged, and on the other hand, I’m relieved. The relief comes from the fact that the album is absolutely terrible, and I am glad that it isn’t the fault of the whole band. The outrage comes from the sneaky commercial tactics of lending the band title and image to something that is, by any definition, not theirs. But in all fairness, nobody would buy an album titled “Igor Yuzov Goes Solo.”
The Red Elvises work because of the chemistry between the four band members. Yuzov is the lead man and provides all the showy bravado. Lead guitarist Zhenya Rock provides the driving rock force and silent mystique. Bassist (or rather balalaika-ist) Oleg Bernov is the crazy ham with red hair. Drummer Avi Sills rounds out the group as the one who looks most like Elvis and isn’t from Russia.
Not one of those men can support the entity that is the Red Elvises alone. The other album released at the same time, “Bedroom Boogie,” is done entirely by Rock, and though the record company didn’t see fit to send us a copy, I can state without a doubt that it is complete crap. Why else wouldn’t they send us one?
The only song on “Welcome to the Freak Show” that is decent, “Sex in Paradise,” is a slow rag tune fit to listen to while floating down a river. It’s sappy and overdone. Comedic lyrics are what Yuzov does best in the band. But his contributions to the band stand out much more when contrasted against the results of the other members’ creative energies. It would seem that the band knows this is the only good song, as it is the only one from the album available for download on their Web site (www.redelvises.com).
Although this deceit leaves a deep scratch on the porcelain ideal to which we hold the Red Elvises, it is a mistake and we must forgive them. They still are the only band that delivers “Kick-Ass Rock’n’Roll from Siberia,” and we will need our fix eventually. As if sensing that time drawing near, the Red Elvises will play the WOW Hall on June 3 at 8:30 p.m. While their other albums are much better, none of their studio albums have captured the magic that the band can work on stage. Those who don’t know about the Red Elvises would be well advised to reserve judgment until after the show. Those who are familiar with the band should avoid this album just like a Carrot Top movie — it will cause you great pain.