Compilations

Initial confirmed artists announced.

Children’s music isn’t just about children anymore.

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.

Regardless of their object of adoration, tribute albums generally need at least one of two things to work: great songs and a roster of contributing artists with enough artistic tact to find a balance between their own voices and those of the songs they choose. With eleven of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s best, the first criteria is taken care of, and for the most part, Under the Influence – A Jam Band Tribute To Lynyrd Skynyrd does pretty well with the second as well.