Album Review: Mark Lanegan - Imitations

Listening to Imitations, it's easy to forget one is hearing the voice that fronted Screaming Trees and has contributed to the odd Queens Of The Stone Age album. However, Mark Lanegan's decision to make a covers album, and in particular this type of crooners covers album, appears to be an inspired one. Frank Sinatra and Andy Williams get a reworking, with the heart-wrenching Greg Dulli-penned Deepest Shade seeing Lanegan's ragged baritone put to its best use. Like a smoky single malt aftertaste, Imitations lingers and requires more than one shot to fully appreciate its understated charms.