Alternative Rock Compilations music reviews

I'm so sick of these tribute albums. Now that it's back in print, get the real thing. What's the point?

Interesting to see such a negative perspective of this record. I wonder if perhaps it is seen in a different light from the European audience, as a magazine over here recently named it one of the Top 100 albums released in 2000. It is certainly true that the album doesn't do justice to Newbury's original work; but for one thing, nothing ever really could (the original Frisco Mabel Joy is an unparalleled classic); and secondly, it seems clear that the intent was largely to interpret the work through the eyes of the artists who took part, rather than to simply rehash Newbury's version.

Whether or not it worked is, obviously, a matter of personal taste -- but I, for one, was pretty fascinated by Midnight Choir's dark reading of "An American Trilogy" (by a Norwegian band, no less); enjoyed Dave Alvin's roadhouse take on "Mobile Blue"; thought the hootenanny-style arrangement of "How I Love Them Old Songs" captured that song's spirit perfectly; and was amazed at the instrumental touches that Bill Frisell provided for the "interludes" and segues from the original album.

One other publication I recently ran across (this one from England) stated that this album "must now be considered the template for these enterprises." I haven't heard enough tribute albums to know whether I'd agree with that or not, but it's probably the most adventurous and rewarding one I've heard so far.

An ambitious and effective, delightful if somewhat dour tribute to songwriter Mickey Newbury, whose original versions of these songs had an aridity of their own... For the most part, these covers -- from the likes of Dave Alvin, Gary Heffern, Meredith Miller and Chuck Prophet, with guitar interludes by Bill Frisell -- capture the whistfulness and whimsy, as well as the utter self-importance of Newbury's work, and add something new as well... Nice record!

I own the Essential Trance collection, and it wasn't too bad. Not all of the cds were good, but a few of them had some really decent tracks for the first 4 or 5 tracks (then they all eventually went to crap) I thought eh I'll give this a try.

$30 is a bit of a steep investment in music, but granted of course it's got a whopping 7 cds, so surely it's got to have something good. Sofar I'm halfway through the set, and I have not been inspired at all. It's got a few tracks that are 'ok', but there's a lot of stuff that's just extremely boring. Not really overly repetitive, just.. boring. I think I'd be more inspired listening to elevator music than this set. I must agree with Randy's review on this product. Don't waste your money like I did.

The only chill I got was thinking how much I wasted on this purchase. Having recently acquired "Ibiza -The History of Chillout" (which I highly recommend) on a whim during a recent trip to London I guess I was just on a Chillout boxed set high. I decided to try my luck again and purchased this simply because the store clerk said it had arrived recently, and at a whopping seven cd's in the set I was sure it was loaded with good stuff. Unfortunately this volume just means more to suffer while trying to plow your way through the complete set. Of course there are a few good tunes in the set by a few of the standard artists, as prominently noted on the box cover in order to suck you in. However why purchase 7 cd's simply to pare it down to the equivalent of one good one? As well those cuts featured by these artists are not anything new and exiting if you already have a good collection of Moby and the like. A week too late for me to heed any advice after I made the purchase a local critic reviewed this set as "passionless tunes and mediocre producers" and in his words, "what good is bad music when silence will suffice?"

Contrary to other reviewers opionions this set has a lot going for it. This collection features everything from Trip-Hop to Ambient Drum and Bass to Slow House. Now, there are better albums out there if you want the best trip hop, or the best ambient drum and bass experience. The point here is though you get a great variety for something like $4.40 a piece ($3.60 per going off of amazons price). I also enjoy the comments about this set being "boring." I would hope a box set called "The Essential Chill Collection" wouldnt make me want to jump out of my seat. The point is to relax you and just lay back and enjoy.

This set features a variety of CDs that were origionally released over the years by themselves. What i find interesting is that one CD featured in the set is called "Later" by various artists. It is a double disc and provides two of the CDs in the set. This CD sold seperately on amazon sells for $21 and has good reviews. So if youre buying from amazon, you add an extra $4 and you get FIVE more CDs.

Discs 1, 2, and 5 feature predominately Trip Hop. Being a big fan of trip hop I was pleased with these albums. Some tracks were a bit lacking but i got to hear a lot of artists ive never heard before. Basically though if you like trip hop, youll like these discs.

Disc 3 is an ambient drum and bass CD. Its no LTJ Bukem but it offers a nice laid back dnb vibe. My one real problem with this CD is that it was a bit short.

Disc 4 brought me back to the 90s with the old school kind of chill techno that was common back then. Certainly was not something i was expecting in this collection, but i found was a decent addition.

Disc 6 was more of a mainstream slightly higher tempo CD. It featured a lot of housey chillout tracks. Noteables on this CD being Underworld, Moby, Air, Kosheen etc.

Disc 7 is labeled "Chillhouse" and thats exactly what it is. Definately the CD that impressed me the least. You know, the typical cheap vocals and house beat.

All that said I was happy with my purchase. Now, could there be a better collection of chillout tunes? Certainly. Is this still a great deal? Absolutely.

I was very disappointed in this disk. Graham has been a favorite of mine since 1977, and he would be a great artist to cover. But MOST of these cuts are water-down, uninspired drivel. I'd never heard of most of the bands, and won't buy them if I do

I bought this album for one reason and one reason only ---- I'm a Jack Tannehill Fan and Jack sings one of the songs on the album. However, I enjoyed a number of tracks from local bands and singers popular to the NorthWest New Jersey Music scene. If you like Graham Parker you may or may not like these renditions of his songs. It really depends on if you like the way Graham sings them or you like the songs. If it's the latter then you are more apt to enjoy these versions of which some are not much different than how Graham would do them but others are quite different. Jack offers the most different and refreshing rendition with the song he does --- My opinion of course

this album should be called "randomly assorted for no collective reason hip hop vol 1"

I like this kind of music cause some words give me the vibe to dance.

LOL!!! JUST LISTEN THE SAMPLES...

Matchbox 20 is not a band that i dislike (in fact i have 2 cds) but i think that a tribute must be to someone who really deserves it.

What can I say. If they weren't M20 songs, I would have never bought it. Can't say Tapping The Urge's a good band but they didn'r do such a bad job copying M20's songs. I'd say this is for a M20 fan only.

I MAYSELF AM NOT A BIG FAN BUT MY SISTER IS A HUGH MB20 FAN. I GETTING HER IS ALBUM JUST CAUSE IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH MB20. I NEVER BELIVE A BAND COULD DO THE SONG JUSTICE BUT FROM WHAT I HEARD THIS BAND DOES A D@M GOOD JOB OF IT. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THESE SONGS ARE ROB HEART.
KEEP SINGING ROB, KYLE, ADAM, PAUL, POOKIE <-------(brian for those who dont know.

If they were bringing something new to the songs, that would be great...but first of all, this guy is like 27 (and I do really like him, don't get me wrong) but what the hell are they doing a tribute to a guy who has three (actually two and a half) albums out? Who's next? Beyonce? This is just silly...just buy his normal albums and leave this one alone.

Just exactly who are the "various artists"? I'll tell you who they are - it's a bunch of people trying to capitalize on the popularity of JM's music. Every track features the same terrible band doing wedding band rendititons of Mayer's songs. To be avoided at all costs!

A decent song can be done a 1000 different ways. How about keeping an open mind?

This is easily the most consistent disc I have ever heard. Everything about it is terrible. The talent, terrible. The production, terrible. The arrangements, terrible. I have lost 45 minutes of my life that I can never recapture. Please click on something else as soon as possible. Go buy William Hung. Go buy Celene Dion. Hell, go buy William Shatner. Just please, for the love of God, do not buy this record.

Run (do not walk) away from this travesty. Never has a greater audio crime been lumped upon the good name of the Foo Fighters. When the name of the disc claims a guitar tribute, I expected some great guitar playing. As my grandfather was fond of saying "do not wait with your hand on your ass - it might grow there". The album is entirely instrumental - no vocals (probably a godsend), and almost every track seems to be in a different tempo or a halftime feel. This sucks the energy right out of the original tracks. If you've ever wondered what a Foo Fighters song might sound like as a waltz or a bossanova track, this may be up your alley. Otherwise avoid this as if it were drenched in radiation levels that would make your pink parts shrivel and fall off.

the guitar tribute to the foo fighters was done poorly. it is not what i expected, i expected it to be even close to what the actual songs sounded like. you can barely understand what your listening to for some songs..."monkeywrench" is a great example...i didnt know what song i was listening to until it got part where dave screams "one last thing before i quit..." some of the songs are done good though, for example, "low", it sounds really good. all my life sounds ok, but i wouldnt recomend this cd unless you are an avid foo fan and just want to build on your collection of foo memorabilia.

First off, what hell is with the bashing on puddle of mudd for. But im sorely pissed off about this tribute. man i think the ppl who did the covers should all be shot. Its trash, dont f**kin buy it, if you do, your as worthless as the cd.

Ok, so isn't a tribute album suppose to be for bands that have been around forever and that actually kick ass??? Don't get me wrong, I kinda like Puddle of Mudd, but to do a tribute album for them?? Is that really necessary? I must admit I like their new single, but the video needs to be thrown out. They are NOT Nirvana, and will never be, so stop trying so hard.

...it's not funny.

First of all, I never liked Puddle of Mudd. Two straight albums of highly overrated Nirvana inspired "grunge", with every song sounding the same; soft verses and hard choruses. What do some white boys from Kansas know about being punk?

Next, and more importantly, tribute albums are for long ago formed bands whose albums, as well as the band itself, have withstood the test of time and inspired other bands. Examples: Iron Maiden, Metallica, Ramones, the Clash, Nirvana, etc.

If there was a Nirvana tribute album Puddle of Mudd would cover every track.

Good Charlotte is my favorite band, but, this CD TOTALLY butchered some of their best songs (i.e., Screamer). Not only does the singer sing horrendously, but they messed up the melodies (esp. in Story of My Old Man) and the music sounds weird. It's not worth the money. This CD takes some really great songs and makes them sound horrible.

I'm a hardcore GC fan, I have all their albums...and this "tribute" seriously sucked. They totally mutilated some great songs, like Screamer, Lifestyles, and the Young and The Hopeless...A lo0t of other people said they laughed, i didn't laugh, because THIS SUCKED.

don't waste your money on this.

wow, i don't know if they intended this to be funny. and i thought joel madden had a slightly nasal voice. this guy is scary. he's possibly one of the worst singers i've ever heard. it sounds kind of beatles-ish somehow, expect maybe more like the beatles from hell, if you know what i mean. he totally mutilated "screamer" and i love that song. i'm a big GC fan and have all their CDs except the Death Art version of Chronicles. This CD is just awful...does anybody like it? i wouldn't even call it a tribute! ha, don't waste your money, kids.