Today was the official release day of the tribute album to Tony Sly, called The Songs of Tony Sly: A Tribute that many bands contributed their covers of Tony Sly’s or No Use For A Name’s songs – including Simple Plan who covered the acoustic version of Tony Sly’s & Joey Cape’s “Justified Black Eye”.
A couple of music servers have already written a review of this tribute record, mentioning Simple Plan’s cover as well. Despite the fact that after the announcement that Simple Plan would be a part of this tribute record (that mostly includes bands that are more punk than pop) many punk music fans expressed their disappointment and worries about “Simple Plan ruining the song for them”, both of the reviews that are already available have been rather positive about Simple Plan rendition of “Justified Black Eye”.
Here you can check an excerpt from the review published on DyingScene.com (thanks Adrien for letting me know):
“Newer bands from more recent years, many of whom no doubt drew inspiration from No Use in their respective formative years, also submit spirited renditions of Sly-penned track. Simple Plan’s down-tempo, finger-snappy “Justified Black Eye” is one of the unexpectedly catchier songs contained on the compilation, unexpected for sure.“
Another review comes from Punknews.org:
“The inclusion of Yellowcard and Simple Plan on The Songs of Tony Sly: A Tribute caused some initial consternation among some holier-than-thou punk fans (imagine that). The truth is, No Use For A Name’s music, especially their later, poppier material, was a direct influence on those bands. Anyone who doesn’t hear it is either deaf or in denial. Furthermore, the inclusion of those two bands might inspire new fans to pick up the compilation, which not only benefits Sly’s family but potentially turns them on to his music. How is that a bad thing? To their credit, Yellowcard play it straight with “Already Won,” injecting their own crafted sense of energy into what was originally a fairly somber acoustic number. Conversely, Simple Plan’s take on “Justified Black Eye” is poppier and sparser than the original, which places emphasis on the song’s eternally important lyrical message.”
