If you ever thought that what Garbage’s “I’m Only Happy When It Rains” really needed was to sound like Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”–and to have the melodic counterpoint on its chorus snuffed out by someone who couldn’t quite hit its not-really-that-high note–then you’re going to love James Hetfield & Co.’s cover of the song from Saturday night’s Bridge School Benefit in California.
The somberly unplugged take on this track is making me wonder if Rick Rubin really is trying to give these guys the Johnny Cash makeover on their forthcoming album, claims of it being a return to Master Of Puppets-era form be damned. Also, is it just me, or does everyone sort of forget the plot right after the first verse?
03 – I’m Only Happy When It Rains [YouTube]
Yuck.
Especially the butt-rock growl in the chorus.
Holy God.
This is for real?
Love Metallica, love Garbage, and I
>still can’t listen to this.
I might be pointing out the obvious, but the reason the Garbage song works is because they’re being hot-vixen-rock-out-cynical, not genuinely sad-sack gloomy. Trying to do this song for serious SUCKS.
Thought: it might work if Metallica made it sound a bit more like that cover of Whiskey in the Jar…
James Hetfield is only happy when it rains-UH! Or so he said when Metallica did an acoustic cover of the Garbage classic at Saturday Night’s Bridge School Benefit in California. Don’t worry, we’re as baffled as you are.
There’s only one performance that immediately strikes me as worse: [youtube.com]