This came out in 2001 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Like Tori Amos, Canadian indie singer-songwriter Emm Gryner has been peppering her live shows for years with left-field piano-balled covers of testosterone-rock anthems by the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Def Leppard and Stone Temple Pilots.
This year, she finally decided to record some and release them as Girl Versions — not a moment too soon either, since Amos’s similarly themed Strangle Little Girls, complete with covers of Slayer and Eminem, is due any day. I don’t know how Tori will fare, but Gryner gets full points for turning what could easily be written off as a novelty piece into a fascinating piece of work. Tackling Ozzy (a tinkly Crazy Train), Def Leppard (a torchy Pour Some Sugar on Me), The Clash (an elegiac Straight to Hell) and even STP (an ornately sad Big Bang Baby), Gryner reinterprets these tracks with finesse and insight, finding the melancholy moods and mushy musicality at the heart of these FM-rock staples. You go, girl.
