Band:	Ministry
Album:	Cover Up
Style:	Industrial metal
Release date:	April 01, 2008
A review by:	jupitreas

01. Under My Thumb [The Rolling Stones cover]
02. Bang A Gong [T.Rex cover]
03. Radar Love [Golden Earring cover]
04. Space Truckin' [Deep Purple cover]
05. Black Betty [Ram Jam cover]
06. Mississippi Queen [Mountain cover]
07. Just God Paid [ZZ Top cover]
08. Roadhouse Blues [The Doors cover]
09. Supernaut [Black Sabbath cover]
10. Lay Lady Lay [Bob Dylan cover]
11. What A Wonderful World [Louis Armstrong cover]
12. What A Wonderful World (Part I) [bonus]
13. What A Wonderful World (Part II) [bonus]
14. Stigmata (Outro) [bonus]

I started a joke, which started the whole world crying,
but I didn't see that the joke was on me, oh no.

...

Last year's "final" Ministry album The Last Sucker, while far from being a masterpiece, was at least a passable way of saying goodbye after a long and influential career. Cover Up should really just be treated like the album title suggests - where are the authorities when we actually need them? If you want to have good memories of Ministry, you shouldn't listen to this album, and this is why:

In the past, a cover song from the Ministry camp always brought something new to the table or was otherwise interesting in some way. "Lay Lady Lay" redefined the Bob Dylan original, while the 1000 Homo DJs version of "Supernaut" (the Greatest Fits version is included here) perfected the drug-overdose haze that Ozzy and co. only hinted at. The new covers do no such thing. By and large, it's all about showcasing the barking skills of either Burton C. Bell, Tommy Victor, Josh Bradford or Al Jourgensen himself, set to the familiar drum-machine thrash of the Bush trilogy. They are also poorly chosen, since 70's rock doesn't lend itself particularly well to machine gun drums (and didn't Jello sing that "70's Rock Must Die?"). Sure, there are some marginally memorable moments - the cheesy keyboards in "Under My Thumb", the nearly Death Metal rendition of the ZZ Top track and just how bad "What A Wonderful World" is - however, this is in no way enough to make this compilation worth your hard-earned money.

I have to tell you that I am very glad that this is not officially distributed as a Ministry album, with Al instead acknowledging the input of his friends by using the "Ministry and Co-Conspirators" moniker. Perhaps "Jourgensen Texas Chainsaw Afterparty" or "The Revolting Cocklings" would have been more appropriate names... This is clearly a jokey party album that perhaps shouldn't have even been released at all. It's about as appropriate an epitaph to Ministry's career as the presence of a beautiful Bee Gees quote is in this review. Listen to Cover Up only with your other beer-bellied friends and a stripper on your lap.