SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor has shared his stripped back take on "Lunatic Fringe", the 1981 classic originally performed by RED RIDER. The track is taken from his solo album of covers and acoustic recordings, titled "CMFB…Sides", which is being released today (Friday, February 25) via Roadrunner Records. "CMFB…Sides" comprises nine unreleased B-sides, covers of tunes that inspired Taylor, acoustic renditions, and live versions. Corey preserves the windows-down and arena-ready spirit of "On The Dark Side" made famous by JOHN CAFFERTY & THE BEAVER BROWN BAND in the 1983 film "Eddie And The Cruisers", and strips "Lunatic Fringe" down to a striking acoustic number. Furthermore, he and his cohorts hypercharge "Got To Choose" by KISS and lock into a punchy punk gallop during "All This And More" from DEAD BOYS. The EP also features Taylor's snarling cover of "Holier Than Thou" from METALLICA, a song he initially recorded for "The Metallica Blacklist". Perhaps most surprisingly, Corey and his bandmates transform Eddie Money's "Shakin'" into a roaring banger with all of the original's swagger intact. Plus, the EP boasts acoustic takes on "Kansas" and "Halfway Down" from Taylor's 2020 full-length debut, "CMFT", and a powerhouse live medley of "Home" and STONE SOUR's famous "Come What(ever) May" finale "Zzyxz Rd". "CMFB…Sides" track listing: 01. Holier Than Thou (METALLICA cover) 02. All This And More (DEAD BOYS cover) 03. Kansas (acoustic) 04. Shakin' (Eddie Money cover) 05. Home/Zzyzx (STONE SOUR) (medley) (live) 06. Lunatic Fringe (RED RIDER cover) 07. Got To Choose (KISS cover) 08. Halfway Down (acoustic) 09. On The Dark Side (JOHN CAFFERTY & THE BEAVER BROWN BAND cover) Corey broke the news of the "CMFB…Sides" release in an interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" earlier in the month. At the time, he said: "CMFT is putting out a B-sides album which has all the covers that we've done and some acoustic versions of some of the songs that are on 'CMFT'," he said, referencing an acronym for "Corey Mother Fucking Taylor". "The first single will actually be February 11th, and people will be able to download that. It's our cover of 'On The Dark Side' by JOHN CAFFERY & THE BEAVER BROWN BAND, which is one of the best rock tunes ever. It's one of our favorites to play live… The 'CMFT' B-sides will come out February 25th. It'll be available everywhere. We're really stoked on that too." Asked if there are plans for him to do more solo shows in the coming months, Corey said: "We're doing little stuff here and there. We just did ShipRocked, which was a lot of fun… It's looking like we're gonna do a handful of shows in the U.K. in October, kind of threaded around the SLIPKNOT schedule. So we're just gonna do it here and there while we kind of gear up [for the next album]. "'CMFT 2' is written, it's demoed, it's ready to go," he added. "Plus we're constantly writing new stuff. So we're gonna be in a great position, next year probably, to go in and record 'CMFT 2' and just be ready to kind of do that. But that's obviously after SLIPKNOT has kind of done its thing." "CMFT" made impressive debuts on charts around the world, entering at No. 1 on Billboard's Current Hard Rock Albums chart, while claiming No. 2 on Current Rock Albums, No. 6 on Vinyl Albums, and No. 9 on the Top Albums charts. Furthermore, "CMFT" landed Top 10 on the official album charts in Australia, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, with Top 20 debuts in the United Kingdom, Finland and Japan (international chart). "CMFT" was recorded at The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas with producer Jay Ruston and Christian Martucci (guitar), Zach Throne (guitar), Jason Christopher (bass), and Dustin Schoenhofer (drums). "CMFT" had been a long time coming for Taylor, with newly written tracks alongside some dating back to his teens. The album was highlighted by the singles "Culture Head", "HWY 666", "CMFT Must Be Stopped" (featuring Tech N9ne and Kid Bookie), and the Active Rock radio hit "Black Eyes Blue". Taylor also hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hard Rock Songwriters chart following the unprecedented debut of "Black Eyes Blue" and "CMFT Must Be Stopped". Furthermore, Taylor debuted the pummeling "Culture Head" during WWE's NXT broadcast on the USA network, illuminating yet another facet of "CMFT" and showcasing the broad spectrum of this fiery and fearless rock 'n' roll opus, as Taylor touched on lifelong influences ranging from hard rock to classic rock, punk rock to hip-hop. 14-time world champion and EVP of global talent strategy and development at WWE, Triple H, also shared a WWE exclusive performance of Taylor and his band tearing through the MOTÖRHEAD classic "Ace Of Spades". Last year, Taylor made history as he reached No. 1 at Active Rock Radio with his powerful single "Black Eyes Blue". The achievement put Taylor in a class all his own, making him the first artist in the history of the format to reach No. 1 with three separate projects, following chart-topping efforts from SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR. Featured in Rolling Stone's "Fall Album Preview 2020," "CMFT" has been garnering widespread critical applause, with Forbes affirming, "Corey Taylor's singing is undeniably the best it's ever been. From SLIPKNOT's last album to his new solo material, Taylor is easily among the best sounding rock singers alive." Kerrang! raved, "Corey Taylor certainly couldn't have predicted how important a sense of uninhibited joy would be on his debut solo effort, it's just what 2020 needs — and, even more importantly, exactly what he delivers." The Daily Beast attested, "'CMFT' finds the singer broadening his horizons and showing off his considerable versatility," while Stereogum noted, "Corey Taylor's lived several lives in the span that it takes most of us to push through just one, and it's clear that he cherishes every experience he's had so far." New York magazine added that "CMFT" "bridges his vast tastes and influences, dabbling in punk rock, metal, reflective acoustic tunes, plaintive piano ballads, and hip-hop, with Taylor's power-house vocals and introspective lyrics acting as a guide."
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