A PERFECT CIRCLE Art-metal band's new CD reinvents political songs in time for election

The band's front man has spent his career thwarting expectations.
By JIM FARBER
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Maynard James Keenan noticed something troubling every time he gave an interview in the wake of 9/11.
"Anytime I spoke my mind about politics or this administration, it was edited out," he claims. "Nothing I had to say on those subjects was ever used."
That the subject of the interviews was his art-metal band A Perfect Circle and not the state of the world may have had something to do with this. But the result made Keenan angry enough to find another way to get his views out.
His tactic? To create a full album of political songs, timed to hit stores at an opportune moment -- Election Day.
On Tuesday, A Perfect Circle will release "eMOTIVe," a strange and disturbing collection of songs about war, peace and greed.
All the cuts, except two, are covers of other artists' work. They include well-known political touchstones, like Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" and Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On," as well as cultish satires like Black Flag's "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie" and Fear's "Let's Have a War."
Aren't just redone
Thankfully, none of Circle's versions regurgitate the originals. Keenan and his main collaborator, Billy Howerdel, turn the melodies upside down, play havoc with the songs' pace and eviscerate the arrangements. They even fiddle with some lyrics.
"We wanted to make sure we reinvented the song so that you feel like you're hearing it for the first time," Keenan says. "Some songs are so well-known, you could turn off halfway through. If you deconstruct [a song], you hear the message like it's new."
Some songs needed more reinvention than others. A war horse like John Lennon's "Imagine" has become lethally sentimental over the years. But Circle's brooding take shakes off every ounce of sugar.
"Given the political climate right now, it felt like it needed to have this death march feel to it," the singer says.
Much of the album has that feel. In contrast to A Perfect Circle's usual hard and fast style, "eMOTIVe" broods. Even "(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" inverts Elvis Costello's rousing approach.
"Billy sang it from a broken man's point of view," Keenan explains.
The band's take on Gaye's "What's Goin' On," ditches the sensuality of the soul singer's version.
"If people get hung up on sexuality, it can distract from the bigger picture," Keenan says.
Circle's transforming approach to the rest of the songs forgives the fact that they are covers. Keenan says there wasn't time to write worthy political songs of his own.
Though the album sounds little like Circle's two previous CDs, no fan could be surprised by anything the group serves up at this point. Keenan has built his whole career on thwarting expectations.
He first came to the fore in Tool in the mid '90s. The band's arty approach to heavy metal had more in common with that of Rush and King Crimson than the grunge sound then dominant. Keenan also had an unconventional presence for a hard rocker, exuding less the bluster of a metal frontman than the shattered weirdness of a Peter Gabriel. Yet the band still racked up three multiplatinum albums.
Four years ago, Keenan, along with Howerdel, started A Perfect Circle as a side project. Now Circle and Tool exist as equal entities. It was at a Tool show in Ohio just after 9/11 that Keenan first began experiencing the polarizing effects of politics.
After hearing fans in the front rows chanting "USA," Keenan recalls that he told them, "This isn't a pep rally. It's a concert. And if people get into a plane and fly to their deaths to make a statement, it might make sense to step back and ask questions about why this happened, rather than just waving flags."
Music banned
Some fans booed. Keenan says the group's music was temporarily banned on radio stations around Ohio.
Keenan feels particularly worthy of making comments on the war because he has a military background. In the '80s, he graduated from basic and advanced training with honors. He even attended West Point, before dropping out in disillusionment over his fellow students.
"Some of those people, who would end up being world leaders, had horrible points of view," he says.
Keenan thinks he's countering them with his new recordings.
But what will fans make of it all?
"I can't worry about that," he says. "I'm just trying to express myself and do my part."