One must approach Tribute CDs with extreme levels of caution. There is perhaps no more dangerous bridge to cross as a music buyer. Sometimes it works out OK - pleasant enough jazz and bluegrass tributes have been produced – but it always threatens to wander into the realm of pointlessness. Is there really an audience for A String Quartet Tribute To The Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Dub Tribute To Limp Bizkit? What niche of music lovers is so refined and unknown that it deserves A Rockabilly Tribute To AC/DC? It’s hard to take these tributes seriously sometimes, but that’s OK. I like to think that the musicians and producers and listeners aren’t looking for a galvanizing experience, but maybe to witness the whimsical oddity of, say, Coldplay performed bluegrass-style.
