VA - Sucking the 70's [2CD Set] (2002)

In the early '90s, it seems every shaggy-headed rock dude from here to Timbuktu had jumped head first into grunge or "heavy alternative," and in the late '90s, the same approach had mutated into stoner rock, but at heart it all boiled down to the same thing -- young guys with big amps who longed to sound as heavy and punishing as Black Sabbath in their salad days. Sucking the 70's is a double-disc compilation featuring 35 different bands each covering a (usually) FM-radio-approved hard rock hit from the first era of marijuana-enhanced hard rock, the 1970s. Pretty much everyone here has dropped their tunings, jacked up their amps, and aimed for maximum heaviness, either in the pursuit of a faithful tribute (Throttlerod's "Black Betty" is the spitting image of Ram Jam's version, while Raging Slab -- yep, they're still at it -- are obviously honored to be taking a stab at Grand Funk's "We're an American Band") or a thorough reworking (witness Porn (The Men Of)'s slow grinding take of Neil Young's "Out on the Weekend" and Suplecs's brutal throb on Rush's "Working Man"). But most of these covers either ape the original closely enough to bring nothing new to the table, or drift so far from the original that the better qualities of the songs are lost. (Notable exception: Lord Sterling's thick but fleet-footed take on the MC5 rarity "Black to Comm.") Yeah, it's all big, heavy, and rockin', but Sucking the 70's just isn't any fun, and even the scuzziest '70s rock was still about a good time, and if you really want to hear some balls-out rock with a strong '70s influence, last that I heard Paranoid and Master of Reality were both still in print.