# Tribute Albums-Good and Bad **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 28, 2020, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585 "2020-05-28T06:17:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/21 "2020-05-28T21:17:44Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I don’t know if it exactly counts as a “tribute” album as such, but how about **Stay Awake** , which has various artists covering songs from classic Disney films. > > If you’ve never heard Tom Waits’ cover of “Heigh-Ho”, you’re in for a treat. 😃 It’s my favorite Disney album. [Here’s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY0DzuESQYc&list=OLAK5uy_lwTX-NAivlTR5ZRgM-xEa7zr7zWAbUSGU&index=4&t=0s) “Heigh-Ho”. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/22 "2020-05-28T21:18:21Z")
About 25 years ago a co-worker brought in Common Thread which was an Eagles tribute album by a lot of popular country music people in the 90’s I remember liking Take it Easy by Travis Tritt and The Sad Cafe by Lorrie Morgan. But I’m not a country music fan and I would rather listen to the original songs. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/23 "2020-05-28T21:45:32Z")
My favorite is “I’m Your Fan:The Songs of Leonard Cohen”. [link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Your_Fan) It is wildly uneven, but there are several stellar renditions. Standouts: “Chelsea Hotel”, by Lloyd Cole; “I’m Your Man”, by Bill Pritchard; “First We Take Manhattan”, by REM; and “Who By Fire”, by The House of Love. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/24 "2020-05-28T22:04:54Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > BIG thumbs up for The Replacements’ drunken take on “Cruella de Ville.” Yikes, it’s available on Spotify. I swear it wasn’t there last year. What a GREAT album. Los Lobos on “I Wanna Be Like You” from **The Jungle Book.** Buster Poindexter on “Castle in Spain” from **Babes in Toyland.** The amazing jazz singer Betty Carter. Bill Frisell! Bonnie Raitt! YMA friggin’ SUMAC! See also the previous tribute album from the same people: **Lost in the Stars: the Music of Kurt Weill.** Thrill to Sting singing “Mack the Knife.” MORE Tom Waits. Sun Ra’s orchestra. A version of “Cannon Song” not quite as good as the Raul Julia one you can bring up on YouTube, but with a better arrangement and English translation. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/25 "2020-05-28T23:26:17Z")
Oh, also Lou Reed doing “September Song” and bassist Charlie Haden playing “Speak Low.” Great shit. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/26 "2020-05-28T23:38:16Z")
I wish they’d brought Berlin _chanteuse_ **Ute Lemper** in to do her version of “I’m a Stranger Here Myself” from the show **One Touch of Venus.** Probably my favorite Weill song (witty smutty lyrics by Ogden Nash) and the best performer for it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qu9Jao2EjGE/hqdefault.jpg "Ute Lemper ~ I'm A Stranger Here Myself") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu9Jao2EjGE) ---
**Author:** ![diggerwam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/919ad9/32.png) [@diggerwam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggerwam)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/27 "2020-05-29T00:20:30Z")
The Carpenter’s tribute album. Not every song is great, but some are awesome ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/28 "2020-05-29T01:30:52Z")
I’d never listened to an album… I think because I’ve always sneered at tribute bands (“What, you call yourself a Pink Floyd fan, but you’re willing to watch a “band” of hippie-wannabes? Why not just listen to the real thing on CD?”). But then I heard [Lyle Lovett do “Friend of the Devil”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDgPZScj5Ak), and discovered [Deadicated](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtxiPpoiaifR32UvvVqzJLV6gJcMV6CSN), the album it was from. Los Lobos, Elvis Costello, Indigo Girls, Dwight Yoakum, Jane’s Addiction, Bruce Hornsby … and Burning Spear putting so much Jamaican soul into ‘Estimated Prophet’ I barely recognized it. And I realized what great songwriters Garcia/Weir/Hunter were, even if I’m not a fan of substance-fueled guitar noodlings, or Jerry’s voice (zero vibrato, one of the ‘flattest’ voices in rock). What I also realized is that if there’s an artist/band that has solid songwriting but is annoying for some reason\*, see if there’s a tribute album. \*Note to self: Jimmy Buffett’s mid-career songs are great poetry, even if you can’t stand his ‘middle-aged frat-boy’ shouty voice. See if there are good covers. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/29 "2020-05-29T02:33:52Z")
All Music didn’t like it much, but I like [Not Fade Away (Remembering Buddy Holly)](https://www.allmusic.com/album/not-fade-away-remembering-buddy-holly-mw0000179617). Well, a lot of the songs on it, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/30 "2020-05-29T03:22:23Z")
My nominees for good and bad are actually the same album: [How Many Bands Does It Take to Screw Up a Blondie Tribute?](https://youtu.be/xelO-8lqwKo) I downloaded this about 15 years ago and listened to all 24 songs dozens of times. 24 different girl-fronted punk bands covering 24 Blondie songs! How cool is that? It wasn’t until about a year ago when I rediscovered it in my iTunes library that I noticed the lead vocalists in all two dozen bands sounded suspiciously similar. The covers are still good, but the only real tribute is to the compilers ability to come up with 24 unique band names for a single artist/group. Track Listings 1. Call Me - Squatweiler 2. Little Girl Lies - Friggs 3. Hanging On The Telephone - The Kirby Grips 4. X-Offender - Fur 5. 11:59 - Phenobarbidols 6. In The Flesh - The Excessories 7. Look Good In Blue - L’alouette 8. Accidents Never Happen - Tuuli 9. Rip Her To Shreds - Come Ons 10. In The Sun - Trinket 11. Heart Of Glass - Space Surfers 12. Atomic - Third Grade Teacher 13. Maria - The Short Fuses 14. Dreaming - Skrap 15. Living In The Real World - High School Sweethearts 16. Kung Fu Girls - Buck 17. Walk Like Me - 4gazm 18. Attack Of The Giant Ants - Hissyfits 19. One Way Or Another - Yellow Scab 20. Detroit 442 - The Kowalskis 21. Denis - Scooter Skirts 22. The Tide Is High - The Chubbies 23. (I Am Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear - The Beards 24. Fade Away And Radiate - Jhenne D’arcflower ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/31 "2020-05-29T14:43:08Z")
**digs @28:** You should also check out **Stolen Roses: Music of the Grateful Dead.**. The highlight for me is Dylan doing “Friend of the Devil “ at a live show shortly after Jerry passed. The crowd as they say goes wild. Also features, among others, Elvis Costello, Patti Smith, Henry Rollins, The Persuasions, Sex Mob, Leftover Salmon, and…the Stanford University Marching Band. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/32 "2020-05-29T15:30:42Z")
When I think of tribute album my first thought is Temple of the Dog. It is Chris Cornell’s tribute to Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone. I have never heard of MLB till I saw them at Bumbershoot, a Seattle music festival. Blew me away. It took Wood’s death to give the band some fame. I think they could have been bigger than any of the other Seattle bands that made it big. On the other hand, if MLB did make it big, we probably wouldn’t have had the music of Pearl Jam. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/33 "2020-05-29T18:47:00Z")
My favorite tribute album isn’t listed on the Wiki list posted upthread, probably because it is really a movie soundtrack. The [Honeymoon in Vegas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeymoon_in_Vegas#Soundtrack) soundtrack is all Elvis (what else?) covers by contemporary 1992 artists. Billy Joel has a couple of great tracks on it. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/34 "2020-05-30T01:31:24Z")
> [@diggerwam](#): > > The Carpenter’s tribute album. Not every song is great, but some are awesome Like [Superstar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y21VecIIdBI) by Sonic Youth. ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/35 "2020-05-30T10:31:55Z")
As far as I know, the first tribute album for Pink Floyd was called [Rosebud](https://www.discogs.com/Rosebud-Discoballs-A-Tribute-To-Pink-Floyd/release/2613411). It came out in 1977. It was eventually released on CD briefly in Europe. These heady days, of course you can hear it anywhere, but once upon a time it was widely sought out. I can’t imagine why. [Listen Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6PHI-UiOPM) ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/36 "2020-05-30T16:34:51Z")
I am pretty fond of this [John Denver Tribute](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.covermesongs.com/2012/04/cover-classics-take-me-home-a-tribute-to-john-denver.html&ved=2ahUKEwjCyNOogNzpAhUAknIEHaBYDxgQFjAOegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw3BCiLfYNwNUXWJKHQHAF3A). ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/37 "2020-05-31T00:44:55Z")
For Zep, there’s [The Song Retains the Name](https://www.allmusic.com/album/song-retains-the-name-mw0000653119). (not sure about the “Four Sticks” cover - too bad they didn’t have Unsane’s version) The Beatles are served well, here, by [The Chipmunks](https://youtu.be/ZR1tKI10bX0?list=PLaSmYOhNPYIRK9VMfjaUVXFSEGs2AuSeK&t=10) And because this is a democracy of Will Rogers, Free Loving, and Chia Pets, I’d like to include an _album_ tribute, if I may, with Schlong honouring Fleetwood Mac with their [_Tumors_ 7"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA1yz2ri00M). Recommended listening - excellent Kurt Weill tribute:[“Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of2bofp8ND0&list=PL_bjLD37yijDuZhdQzjjtV6ctTCazshIM) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/38 "2020-05-31T14:04:24Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Recommended listening - excellent Kurt Weill tribute:[“Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of2bofp8ND0&list=PL_bjLD37yijDuZhdQzjjtV6ctTCazshIM) See posts 24-26! ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/39 "2020-06-07T16:08:53Z")
My favorite tribute record is _The Bridge - A Tribute to Neil Young_. Just about every track on it is great, but here’s two of my favorites: The Flaming Lips covering [After the Goldrush](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEjPXoJnCd4) Victoria Williams covering [Don’t Let it Bring You Down](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bnd_MbXbJNU) However, I was actually motivated to post by a different record. Senor Coconut y sy Conjunto did \*El Baile Aleman \* - an album of Latin American styled Kraftwerk covers. It’s pretty new to me, but it’s 20 years old. [Autobahn](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8N0R3Fx7qg) [The Whole Record](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGnFF5w5sro) ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585/40 "2020-06-07T17:50:12Z")
Beautiful - A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot. One of my all-time favourite tracks: That Same Old Obsession sung by Maria Muldaur [https://youtu.be/qpISq5jjHxU](https://youtu.be/qpISq5jjHxU) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tribute-albums-good-and-bad/854585.md?page=3)