Andres Serrano is the artist responsible for the 1987 photograph Piss Christ, a crucifix soaking in what was allegedly Serrano’s own urine, which stirred up the ire of cultural conservatives and put the National Endowment for the Arts on the front page. Apparently, the 60-year-old provocateur has for years had a rock & roll jones, and is finally exercising (exorcising?) it with Vengeance is Mine, his debut as Brutus Faust. Joined by New York band Blow Up Hollywood, Serrano/Faust creates a set of covers and originals in what’s essentially a tasteful, rootsy rock vein – excepting his ragged sing/speak, there’s nothing here that would sound out of place on your local triple-A radio station. But it’s that voice – Bob Dylan after a week of hard drinking and no sleep – that will be a dealbreaker for most people. “House of the Rising Sun” is a logical choice for his burgeoning repertoire, and the tender reworking of the Proclaimers‘ “500 Miles (I’m Gonna Be)” works surprisingly well, despite his harsh larynx. But he should really stay away from Simon & Garfunkel or the Temptations, and the less said about his take on Ram Jam‘s version of Leadbelly‘s “Black Betty” the better. In fact, it’s the originals that provide the strongest moments here. Whether he’s being cranky (“Goo Goo Gaga,” “Bloody Laurels”) or introspective and philosophical (“Down My Veins,” “A Hundred Years of Solitude”), Faust finds his muse more definitively in his own songs. I don’t know if Serrano intends this is a one-off vanity project or the start of a new career, but if it’s the latter, he’d best serve it by concentrating on his own work instead of interpreting that of others.
