You wouldn’t know it from watching The Heart is a Drum Machine — even though Maynard James Keenan is prominently featured in the film — but Keenan (as Puscifer) worked with guitarist Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips on quite an inspired song for the soundtrack. A cover, in fact, and one of none other than Elton John’s classic “Rocket Man” (via TwentyFourBit).
Once again, as on A Perfect Circle’s cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody” at E3, not to mention their version of “Imagine”, Keenan manages to revive a classic tune and not completely mangle it — a testament to the vocal ability people always forget he has because he’s in a metal band. Drozd is no slouch either, his backing vocals complementing Keenan as well as they do Wayne Coyne.
This song, renamed “Rocket Mantastic”, isn’t quite as daring a rendition of its original as A Perfect Circle’s “Imagine” was, but it is unique. It’s a more atmospheric version of the song with some interesting effects throughout. Surely it would be worth hearing in a live setting. What do you say, Maynard? Puscifer opening for The Flaming Lips?
