 Various Artists I used to be kind of cynical about tribute records, since they're never that good, but recently I've started to see them in a different light. If you lower your expectations and just appreciate the impulse to pay homage, these albums come off a lot better. Sure, there's always going to be a few tracks that kind of suck, but if you're lucky there may be one or two that really rock, and if you're a big fan of the artist being paid tribute, you're going to get something out of it, good or bad. This Pixies tribute is one of the better tribute albums I've heard, because there's no real "angle" to it, it's just a bunch of bands covering songs by a band that obviously influenced them. Most of the tracks are very faithful to the original versions, and so the end result is basically a void-filler for Pixies fans who miss the good old days. Actually, listening to it I realize that another purpose of tribute records is to raise or renew awareness of a group that isn't getting the proper props. Frank Black and Kim Deal haven't necessarily handled their solo careers with the greatest success in building on their reputations ("constantly shooting themselves in the feet" is a more accurate phrase that springs to mind), so a CD like this might remind people that the Pixies were a truly great rock band, possibly the last truly great rock band of the century. Certainly the last truly original rock band that I can think of. So bring on the celebration. Eve 6 does "Allison," kind of laid-back but reverent and a WHOLE lot better than that ass-sucking song they put out several years ago. Weezer weighs in with a solid "Velouria," Superdrag does a very faithful "Wave of Mutilation," Far offers up "Monkey Gone to Heaven." Other semi-names include Nada Surf doing the title track of the comp, Local H doing "Tame," and Reel Big Fish with "Gigantic." Local H and Braid ("Trompe Le Monde") almost succeed in putting their own stamp on their songs, but the songs are so heavily identified with the Pixies sound that there's not a whole lot you can do with them unless you're prepared to do something radical. Reel Big Fish almost does that with "Gigantic," employing a discofied approach that doesn't really work or fail, but breaks even. That could be said of all the tracks, actually. Of the whole disc – it breaks even. Nothing too stellar or too lame, nothing to knock the kids' bobby socks off or make them spit out their chocolate phosphates – but a solid tribute to a band that deserves it. For old-school Pixies fans, this will probably send you back to your CD shelf to dust off Doolittle and Surfer Rosa for a trip down memory lane – this was a great band. As for the bands on the tribute, none could be called great in the same sense, but there's something to be said for solid, honest guitar rock with a minimum of irony. Certainly better this than a bunch of alternative bands doing something disingenuous like a Bread tribute or something.
Review by Randolph Lugie |