NEW! FIRE TIGER has MICHAEL SEMBELLO’s Maniac covered!
Fire Tiger has Maniac covered! The band is available on Spotify, Instagram, Facebook, Official Website.
by Walter Price
LA’s go-to energy-packed pop-rockers Fire Tiger is facing their love for all things retro head-on with a smashing cover of Michael Sembello’s 1983 soundtrack hit “Maniac“. The film was the against-all-odds Flashdance starring the incomparable Jennifer Beals. Hey, the 1980s loved nothing more than themes of perseverance and transformative montages, and this movie was full to its brim with both.
“Just a steel town girl on a Saturday night/ Lookin’ for the fight of her life…”, Sembello sings as the track opens and immediately you know that there’s a new pirouetting badass in town, buckle up. But every since its heyday, I’ve always had a gnawing feeling that a track about a woman overcoming so many obstacles, should have been sung by, well, a powerful woman. But, hey, as I said, this song was born in the early 1980s, and let’s kindly say that not too many things made much since back then.
This is now and Tiff Alkouri has put her signature smokey vocals and undeniable energy on this classic pop song and the result is as you would expect from FT, absolute Pop-perfection. Not to mention the top production and for all the money, check out the guitar solo (2:50-mark), it’s fire! It’s truly rare when a cover song sounds and feels more like a natural fit than the original. But, here we are. (No disrespect to Mr. Sembello.)
“Maniac” is taken from Fire Tiger’s forthcoming “Covers” LP, expected on February 11, 2022. I’ve had a chance to have a few sneak peek listens to the album, and, without giving away too much, it’s brimming with brilliance and surprise. Shh, don’t tell anyone, but the time-traveling set includes killer takes on fan-favorites by Europe, Baltimora, Kenny Loggins, Coldplay, Dead Boys, Mylie, and more. Trust me, it’s pure dynamite through and through.
The band has also announced their 4th all-original album for a Summer 2022 release. So, as the world eagerly awaits these albums to drop, check out Fire Tiger’s like-a-glove version of Michael Sembello’s “Maniac”, here at the GTC.
FIRE TIGER has Maniac covered
Fire Tiger photo via Facebook // Album artwork courtesy of Fire Tiger
Maniac (original)
Written by Dennis Matkosky and Michael Sembello
Produced by Phil Ramone
Cover performed by Fire Tiger
Tiffany Alkouri
James Ramsey
Jordan Lucas
Lorenzo Meynardi
Tyler Renga
“Fire Tiger is a retro power pop / classic rock band from Los Angeles, fronted by contralto singer/songwriter Tiff Alkouri, along with co-writer / keyboardist James Ramsey, guitarist Jordan Lucas, bassist Tyler Renga, and drummer Lorenzo Meynardi. Since their debut 10-song vinyl record album ‘Energy’ (2014), and follow-up albums, ‘Suddenly Heavenly’ (2018) and ‘All the Time’ (2020), they have been gathering a notable indie following. Their songs aim to capture the nostalgic musical quality attributed to the 80s and late 70s, and bring it back to the mainstream…” – bio