VARIOUS ARTISTS (TRIBUTES)

Just how do you rate such varied interpretations? A very difficult task, indeed.

Well, for some like me anyway. Considering that I am the first one to bother with typing out a few words, next to a lone rating of 5 without any supporting explanation by no other but one of the featured musicians. (Note that I am not using the term "artist" in this instance.) Yes, it's no other than the very Gianfranco Contenza again who gave me an earful of rather nasty and deeply offensive comments via previous Private Messages.. His Username is Fusion Guy and you can check out his self-serving and thankfully scarce inputs Chances are that more insults may follow - if only because I decline to admire his questionable interpretations of McLaughlin and Mahavishnu.

Suffice to say that his contribution brings down the overall value of an otherwise interesting and credible release. We are talking about interpretations here, as opposed to note-by-note copies.of the original tunes. Some tend to please very much, whereas others are good, but fail to excite.

I am a bit at a loss to note that the most pleasing artists here are not even featured at PA. Short of perusing Wikipedia, it leaves me wondering as who they are and how did they manage to be included in a project like this?

All in all, this is an interesting release and largely worthy of attention - if only for curiosity's sake. Easily 3.5, but rounded up to 4, due to the odd piece by people I've never heard of before. Funny that!.

This tribute got a lot of flack for not being exactly like the original. If it had been just like the original, it wouldn't even be worth mentioning. As it stands, it's fantastic! In their usual fashion, the Flaming Lips have pushed their sounds and their production to the limit, emphasizing dissonance over beauty (or perhaps as beauty). You hear pops and squeals all over the place, but it's consistently poppy and squealy, and oddly charming as a result. It's modern and feels really fresh.

If you do give it a listen, listen to it LOUD. It's got some really jarring moments that'll just feel dull if they're soft.

"Breathe" and "On the Run" open up the album with hard-rock interpretations of two pieces that were originally close to smooth jazz and electronica, respectively. They set a really driving mood and immediately tell the listener, "Remember, you didn't buy this album because you wanted to hear Floyd."

"Time" opens up with a Spoon-like introduction (sniffs and coughs as opposed to a ticking clock), and then BWWWAAAAAAMMMMMMMM a screaming, three-octave, grinding synth comes in, attacks your ears, then fades out completely before a single, echoey, acoustic guitar chord accompanies a single voice. The track only gets better from there, before going into a relatively noticeable reprise of "Breathe." One of the highlights.

"The Great Gig in the Sky" starts out sounding very similar to the original, albeit with American accents instead of English. Then, the processed vocal solo starts, accompanied by a grooving, almost archetypal Flaming Lips synth accompaniment. This track is another one of many on this disc that highlights exactly what FL likes to do with a studio.

"Money" is the only bad track on the disc, and it's not even that bad. It simply doesn't sound as creative or dissonant as the rest of the album. However, the symbolism of the industrial sound kind of makes up for it, so that's okay... I guess.

"Us and Them" is a very mellow track, and never goes into an explosively symphonic section as the original does; it prefers to hang back with atmospheric keyboards and xylophone-like taps. A constant bass drum beats like a heart throughout, and it could almost be a lullaby.

"Any Colour You Like" is another highlight. Whereas the original was very keyboard driven, this version is very guitar driven; it parallels the intro in its interests, and changes the sound of the song in the same way. It's hard, driving, and VERY catchy, despite hardly ever repeating a riff the same way.

"Brain Damage" almost goes into the explosive sections missed by "Us and Them", but just misses the mark (deliberately, of course), preferring to teeter on the edge of of explosiveness rather than carry out to its logical conclusion. A very moody track with a high degree of introspective ambiance.

"Eclipse" is a fitting conclusion, changing the original in (yet again) the same vein as "Any Colour" and "Breathe" did before it. Instead of the symphonic feel, it opts for a guitar driven sound with jarring breaks in the sound after every line of lyrics. It's a weaker track and feels less creative, but it's not unsatisfying.

That's all, folks. I highly suggest giving it a listen if you're into dissonant, sonically jarring music, or if you're a Floyd fan looking for a really fresh take on a great work.

— First review of this album —

One thing about the Flaming Lips is that they do their own thing. After releasing the massively well-received Embryonic album, the band then proceeded to make a tribute album to Dark Side of the Moon, and then organized a tribute album to In the Court of the Crimson King, for which they've contributed one song. Suffice it to say, this release is not quite as successful as their DSOTM. However, the Flaming Lips' version of "Epitaph" is my favorite track from both tribute albums. On the whole, this album is an interesting interpretation, and a continuation of the psychedelic leftturn the band took with Embryonic. Apparently, the band plans to continue making these tribute albums. According to reports, they plan to do a a tribute to Can's Tago Mago in the future, which seems appropriate given the band's new, harsh, Krautrock-derived sound.

This is not a note-for-note remake (and yet, all the spoken words are there, the heartbeat, the sound effects), but rather it's a re-imagining of Pink Floyd's great album as some kind of Krautrock psychedelia, and it's pretty good. Recorded after the Flaming Lips made their masterpiece "Embryonic," this album is almost a companion piece to that one. For what this is, a tribute cover album by the Lips and a couple other bands, it's pretty enjoyable. I think I'm fondest of "Us and Them." It reminds me a bit of Can at times. Still, I honestly have only listened to it a few times here and there. Like with most tribute albums.

Oh finally this tribute is featured here. It's quite surprising to me actually that a band as strong and as solid as Led Zeppelin being tributed by younger bands with some pop backgrounds like Duran Duran for example. But as I was so curious about this then I purchased the cassette version of this one and not to my surprise that I was not impressed at all with this tribute album. I don't think any of track played here is better than the original version. There are two factors that make it hard to tribute Led Zeppelin: first is the musicianships of John Bonham as well as Jimmy Page that really characterized the Led Zeppelin sound plus the high octave vocal line of Robert Plant. It's really tough to emulate. Second, is the overall Led Zeppelin sound that really hard to emulate. It's true that I cannot get any feel that makes me impressed with this tribute. Maybe, the way to enjoy this tribute is by redefining the expectation: to enjoy it as it is and unlearn the original sound of Led Zeppelin. This is to say that Misty Mountain Hop should not be compared with the original one that has dynamic groove and so captivating. You may then try to enjoy Thank You which might not quite disappoint you that much ...may be ....

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

O.K., this is faithful to the original, but not as slavishly as other people who have reviewed this say. I just picked this up and am amazed at the subtlety of the playing. The person who reviewed and said that this is a "note for note" reproduction has never seen the sheet music.

The musicians, as has been said before, are amazing. Steve Morse was understatedly brilliant. Ian Anderson was an interesting pick. It's nice to see Gary Green (Gentle Giant) recording again. There are so many, I'm not going to continue naming them. They all bring something interesting to the table.

Is this CD close to the original? Yes. The same? No. Is it a tribute? Absolutely.

If you are a fan of Pink Floyd, or The Wall, and don't want other's interpretations, don't get this. In fact don't get any tribute albums, ever. If you want to hear some of the best musicians around lovingly rework The Wall material, you've come to the right place.

Buy this album, it's very good.

Paradox is right. Why have a covers tribute album that covers covers? Did't ELP write enough of their own music to qualify? I think so.

Why couldn't they do some of the accoustic songs - From the Beginning, Still...You Turn Me On, etc.? Why not choose something else like Pirates, Brain Salad Surgery, Trilogy, Karn Eval 9 (3rd Impression), et al?

Many of the tracks on this album I would consider of pedestrian ability. There are a few outstanding cuts - Karn Eval 9 (1st Impression), The Endless Enigma, and Tarkus. These tracks are absolutely wonderful. However, most of the rest are quite forgettable.

If you have an open mind, and are an ELP fan, get this. If you think that it is sacrilege to try and cover ELP, don't get this. If you want a few great versions of ELP, you'll like this, for the most part.

This album is pleasantly surprising. For the most part, the album catches the spirit of Tull, and no wonder, as there are four former members of the band guesting here. Not a single note for note renditon, and each song is lovingly reworked in the idiom of the guest artist while keeping the flavor of the composition.

Musically, the playing is inspired and no quibles to the musicianship. My only quibble is with Glen Hughes singing on "To Cry You a Song." The producers needed to get at least one more take, IMO.

Highlights are Aqualung(Magellen), Up the 'Pool(Roy Harper), Teacher(Wolfstone), and Lifes a Long Song(David Pegg).

Liner notes are thorough and interesting anecdotes are given as to the person's exposure to Tull and/or Ian Anderson.

If you like Tull and are open minded, you will enjoy this disc as I do.

Encomium - A Tribute to Led Zeppelin is an OK tribute album, but prog? No. Zeppelin did do a number of songs that I would consider prog, but they are not here on this album. But I do think that this is a decent album.

The best cuts on here are Out On the Tiles, Dancing Days, Hey Hey What Can I Do, and Good Times Bad Times. My favorite version is the Stone Temple Pilot's version of Dancing Days, as it is true to the song, yet they made it their own.

However, I cannot recommend this to someone who is only interested in progressive rock music. But if you like Zeppelin, and you like tributes, it will do the trick. If not - don't.

Tribute albums to great bands, always so difficult to judge, if the covers are too close to the originals they are meaningless, but when the homaged material are true classics and they try to make different versions it's often so difficult to come up with better renditions than the originals.

More than 20 great musicians coming mostly from the heavy and metal scene play in this tribute to Rush: Petrucci, Portnoy, LaBrie, Sebastian Bach, Devin Townsend, Fates Warning, Michael Romeo, Billy Sheehan, George Lynch, Steve Morse or Stuart Hamm to name just a few. With such a line-up it's clear that this is not an amateur project and that the performances will be technically outstanding. And the song selection is of course full of classics: The Trees, La Villa Strangiato, Jacob's Ladder, Closer To The Heart, Natural Science, YYZ, Red Barchetta, Freewill, Mission, Analog Kid, By-Tor?, so nothing can go wrong, can it?

Well what we have here are metallized versions which otherwise are quite faithfull to the original songs. Basically all songs follow the original versions but with a pumped up, "on steroids" attitude, faster and more metal-oriented guitar solos, more aggressive vocals, heavier drumming. Is it good? For sure, how could it be otherwise? Is it better than the original songs? not for my taste, although those who do not like Geddy Lee's vocals or like a a more metal edge might find these renditions better than the original versions, as long as you do not give too much value to the credit of Rush having created them in the first place.

The only cover which gives a further turn to the knob is Analog Kid, the much heavier treatment making it sound quite different from the original in Signals, all the others are good but too close to the originals and the changing aspect is always the same, just a more metal-oriented treatment, technically faultless from a cold, clinical point of view. As for me, give me the genuine brilliance of the original Rush tracks.