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Various Artists (Tributes) - Encomium - A Tribute To Led Zeppelin CD (album) cover

ENCOMIUM - A TRIBUTE TO LED ZEPPELIN

Various Artists (Tributes)

 

Various Genres

2.44 | 16 ratings

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TCat
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
3 stars Being a huge Zeppelin fan, I approached this collection hesitantly, not knowing what to expect. But also being a fan of some of these bands, I had to give it a try, mostly for curiosity sake. In my mind, I approached the album with the attitude that very few Zep songs could be improved upon, so I listened to each track and rated it based on whether it was just a safe copy of the original, if the artist put their own stamp on it and still respected the material, or if they just slaughtered the track completely. Here is what I came up with on a track-by-track basis:

1) Misty Mountain Hop - 4 Non-Blondes - Decent cover. Nothing new and daring, yet nothing disgraceful either. This is an inbetween-er.

2) Hey, Hey What Can I Do - Hootie and the Blowfish - Darius takes this song and makes it his own....boring, bland and uninteresting, just like all of his other songs. If this was one of Hootie's original songs, it would not stand out, just like all of his other songs....they all sound the same. Good thing he went country because that genre is full of the same type of music, it all sounds the same. Bad.

3) D'yer Maker - Sheryl Crow - I expected this one to be much better because I do have some respect for Sheryl Crow. It's true what all the other reviewers say about her cover here, that she made it pop-py. This is the worst track in my opinion. This is the wrong way to do a Led Zeppelin cover. I find this cover very irritating especially when she sings "no-no". Bad.

4) Dancing Days - Stone Temple Pilots - As a huge contrast from the previous track, STP demonstrates the right way to cover Led Zeppelin. They give it their own stamp, respect the material and don't even try to make it their own song. Perfect. Good Track.

5) Tangerine - Big Head Todd and the Monsters - One of my favorite bands cover one of my favorite songs. This band is completely under-rated and I was plesantly surprised at how well they carry of one of LZ's most difficult songs. Probably my favorite track here. Good Track!

6) Thank You - Duran Duran - This one is the biggest surprise on the album. I have to say that I loved their "Rio" album, but most of their other albums where not favorites of mine. I expected this cover to be a complete failure since their sound is not at all like LZ's sound. But, My God, they actually pull it off and do it well. Good.

7) Out on the Tiles - Blind Melon - I was looking forward to this one because I always compared Blind Melon to Led Zeppelin and found a lot of similarities in their music. But the singing is 2nd rate and the instrumentals are nothing spectacular either. In-between.

8) Good Times, Bad Times - Cracker - I was expecting this one to also be another good one and this time I was not disappointed. Cracker does the cover justice, respects the music and puts their own stamp on it. Nothing really special happens because they stay true to the source, but it sounds really good to me. Good.

9) Custard Pie - David How, Helmet - The instrumentals were great, the singing, however, is a joke. It ruins the cover completely. It's almost like the singer knew how bad he was so he lampoons himself in the song. Bad.

10) Four Sticks - Rollins Band - I ended up liking this cover. Rollins repects the material and Henry Rollins voice, while it keeps with his own style, does not go way over the edge like How did on the previous track. The instrumentals are dirty, but that's okay on this song. It actually gives it the atmosphere that the song needs. It does get a little old after a while though. In-Between.

11) Going to California - Never the Bride - Instead of acoustic guitar, they use a piano as the main instrument and it works very well. The vocals are decent throughout most of the song until they try to add a little emotion which almost works but also almost ruins the cover. But it is still decent. In- between.

12) Down by the Seaside - Robert Plant and Tori Amos - Plant's voice has mellowed over the years, so he adjusts the song to match his voice here. The song is also mellowed down for Tori's beautiful piano and voice. This almost works, but Plant's voice tends to get a little annoying in some spots and in other's it holds up well. Tori's contributions are definately respectable up until almost the end where she becomes a little too repetitive and starts to howl a little too much. In- Between.

So overall, there are a few worthy covers here. Is it enough to hunt this album down? Probably not, but I wouldn't write off the good covers either. There are some covers here that are definately worth downloading whether you are a LZ fan or not. Otherwise, if you are a fan of any of the artists here, you may also want to check out these tracks.

TCat | 3/5 |

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