ENCOMIUM - A TRIBUTE TO LED ZEPPELIN

When I saw here that there was a very-90s tribute album to the late, great Led Zeppelin, I just had to hear it and know. I almost didn't care if it was good or bad--it seems here, thus far, the consensus is mixed (there is no consensus). This is no slight of hand on Atlantic's part by compiling these cover songs by these very disparate and mostly quite famous bands/artists. I simply say, "Well, played". For those who somehow did not grow up, as I did, with the pleasure of spinning (and flipping) these original vinyl records by Zep, the circular paper label on the disc always read "ATLANTIC" over their classic green and orange. I'll get into the details henceforth, but brought together are artists from (mostly) Alternative/College Radio Rock (4 Non Blondes, Hootie & The Blowfish, Sheryl Crow, STP and Blind Melon) to other such poppy staples of the time (Duran Duran and Tori Amos, if I may separate them) to brutal, then-watershed fusion groups (Helmet, David Yow of the Jesus Lizard, and Rollins Band). Awesome in and of itself that Tori Amos's feature, the final track, is a duet with Led Zeppelin's own frontman, Robert Plant.

The 4 Non Blondes [Oops! the bassist is platinum-headed...] makes an immediate call-back to another off the same album, the intro to "Black Dog", on their cover of "Misty Mountain Hop". And honestly, I think they pretty much crushed this song. There are so many things that are expectedly over the top (vocally), and yet... we're talkin' about something Robert Plant originally did here... haha. The official music video for this version is available on YouTube and it's very worth checking out.

Next, Hootie & The Blowfish are doin' it expectedly Country on "Hey Hey What Can I Do", the B-side to "Immigrant Song" which I have never heard before. Thought I'd know it. It's... fine. Kinda not fine haha.

Next from half-Country, we have "D'yer Mak'er" as performed by Sheryl Crow, who I admittedly have a soft spot for for some of her hits back when. This is pretty straight-ahead and true to it, were it not basically an 'unplugged' version. Not sure it really offers up anything new, though that shouldn't surprise anyone.

Next, we have the less-surprisingly half-unplugged "Dancing Days" by a band I definitely do like, Stone Temple Pilots, this cover since appearing on their 2019 remastered 'Super Deluxe' Purple (originally 1994). I think they sound great, but I'm sure we're going to run into the problem of 'new' and interesting throughout this, aren't we?

From the biggest songs in their discography, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, a band I'm really ignorant of, does a soft Alt thing. But also... bluesy Southern Rock? Anyway, first taste of their stuff brought Gin Blossoms to mind... Take that as you will, but "Tangerine" seems like a logical match, really, on paper and, yes, in practice. Lotta country-adjacent stuff on this album, which I find more surprising than I should feel. Certainly Led Zeppelin's historied adjacency to folk traditions in the least should clue me in that this all makes some sense.

I would think most famous for their early-80s Synth-Pop/New Wave output and hits like "Hungry Like the Wolf", "Rio" and "Girls on Film", Duran Duran actually (and not really surprisingly) very nicely covers the beautiful "Thank You" (off my favorite Zeppelin album, Led Zeppelin II, 1969). What's not surprising is that this would have come out/been recorded just after their superhit from the early '90s, "Ordinary World", which is itself a beautiful and lush song.

Blind Melon heads off most confidently and strong on their cover of "Out on the Tiles", a sure highlight from Led Zeppelin III. It's such a great cover, honestly. Super heavy, true to the original, and yet not uncharacteristic of the post-Grunge world in which we found ourselves when this album was released. A world in which bands like Blind Melon thrived.

Cracker, to those whose name-recognition software is on the fritz as mine was, are known for their superhit "Low", but... I don't know what else. Ya know the one: "A million miles, a million miles / I'll be with you girl / Like being low / Hey, hey, hey like being stoned", etc. You know it. They cover here the delicious proto-Metal opener from Led Zeppelin's debut, "Good Times Bad Times". Instrumentally, it's good, not necessarily fresh, and unfortunately the vocals are lackluster. Another that doesn't offer much 'new'... Decent rehashing, at best.

Next is one I was quite excited for, "Custard Pie" performed by Helmet (In The Meantime is honestly one of my favorite albums, a must-hear for fans of Alt Metal) and Jesus Lizard frontman David Yow. I'm far less familiar with the latter, but he's a weirdly good match. He has an interesting, nearly atonal vocal delivery. Helmet on the other hand is just a phenomenal collective of musicians (I saw them live in 2014 for a birthday of mine and it was seriously one of the best shows I've seen). Good stuff; vocally an acquired taste.

Another favorite, for their one album alone, The End of Silence (1992), Rollins Band (fronted by Henry of the same surname, of course) are the other Alt Metal representatives. They cover the classic "Four Sticks" and I think they offer a lot on this one, not that I'm surprised. These guys can play, and if you're not familiar with their early-90s output, highly recommended. Bluesy, at times jazzy, always brutal, and always well done.

I guess to be expected, but the female-led Never The Bride is one I've never heard a lick from (until just before this). Is this what the kids call 'Adult Contemporary'? hahaha! Actually some wild classical guitar soloing on their song "Web of a Stranger" from a 2019 album. Here, they perform the lovely "Going to California", here transmuted into a piano ballad. This lady sounds like... she could easily front a Hair Metal band, so... Hmmm. Regardless, pretty good.

Finally, we have the sort of cowboy "Down by the Seaside" as performed by Robert Plant and Tori Amos. I think, once again, on paper and (mostly) in practice, they're a natural fit. The verse sections feature lead vox from Robert with a sort of oddly placed call-and-response from Tori. Unsurprisingly, piano-led. The drums are very of the time, in the best of ways. Unplugged-ready! A lot easier on the ears is Tori's lead vocals in the middle section. I'm quite a fan of her album Under the Pink from 1994. Oft minimal but occasionally complex. Regardless, that album has a lotta earworms.

Wow... this was a long review haha. Surprised to be giving it a 3, given how it started off... i.e. a strong enough ending, for sure.