Tribute

The Polka Floyd Show

3/5/2008
in
Polka Floyd
Jessica Chung

From its name, you can guess what kind of music is on the album The Polka Floyd Show. Performed by Polka Floyd, the album mixes the rock of Pink Floyd with polka music. It seems an odd combination but it does not fail miserably as a musical pairing either. While you listen to the driving sound of an electric guitar on "See Emily Play," for example, the disc's first number, a polka drumbeat is accompanying it.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars

A Place For Us: A Tribute to 50 Years of West Side Story

10/30/2007
in
Various Artists
Jenna Horan

A Place For Us - A Tribute To 50 Years Of West Side Story takes some of Broadway's bests to perform the legendary songs from the famous musical. Among the performers are Brian Stokes Mitchell, Barbara Streisand, Johnny Mathis and Julie Andrews. The tribute is made up of the most memorable songs, such as "Maria," "I Feel Pretty" and "Gee, Officer Krupke."

The album starts out strong, with Brian Stokes Mitchell's rendition of "Something's Coming," and Julie Andrews' "I Feel Pretty" is near perfection.

Reviewer Rating: 
3.00Stars

American Virtuosa: Tribute to Maud Powell

10/24/2007
in
Various Artists
Sari N. Kent

The various artists included on "American Virtuosa: Tribute to Maud Powell" exhibit their prowess on an array of classical instruments. Each song is harmoniously constructed with both beauty and sadness. The ability of each performer to showcase their feelings through powerful melodies is hypnotic and will leave listeners breathless for more.

"Romance," from Amy Beach, has beautifully engineered violin play encircled by harmonious piano work.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.50Stars

The Gift: A Tribute to Ian Tyson

9/23/2007
in
Various Artists
Sari N, Kent

The artists present on The Gift: A Tribute to Ian Tyson pay their loyalty to a pillar of buckaroo folk Canadian music. Each song tells a story that listeners will have no choice but to be embroiled in. All of the featured singers bring their own signature sound to their song and do right by this heralded Canadian treasure.

On "Blue Mountains of Mexico," Jennifer Warnes soulfully sings about a memento that triggered a memory from her past that she remembers fondly. She emotes emotional lines such as, "I found a postcard from long ago in a drawer yesterday.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.50Stars

Forever Cool

9/2/2007
in
Dean Martin
Sari N. Kent

The ultimate memorial tribute to one of the potentates of music, stage, film and television, "Forever Cool" showcases the best of "Dino," also known as Dean Martin. This 14-track collection includes Martin's original vocals along with new orchestrations and duets with some of the biggest singers of today.

"Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" has that cool vibe that fans of Martin have come to know and venerate. On this track Martin and English singer Robbie Williams, former member of the band Take That, seem to sing together in total affinity.

Reviewer Rating: 
5.00Stars

Goin

8/14/2007
in
Various Artists
Sari N. Kent

Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino combines illustrious artists from pop, rock, blues and even R & B to pay homage to one of the greatest rock and roll singers of all time. Pop idols like Tom Petty and even famous film scorer Randy Newman all lend their magical voices to Domino's heralded classics, putting brand new spin on them so they are sure not to be forgotten by the next musical generation.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars

Interpretations: Celebrating the Music of Earth, Wind & Fire

5/5/2007
in
Various Artists
Sari N. Kent

In honor of one of the most outstanding, soulful groups in musical lore, the various artists on Interpretation: Celebrating the Music of Earth, Wind & Fire perform emotional remixes of Earth, Wind & Fire's classics, and each artist puts their own unique imprint on their track.

Chaka Khan expressively croons on "Shining Star." Earth, Wind & Fire released the song in 1975 on an album titled That's the Way of the World, a soundtrack album for a movie of the same name, in which they starred.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.50Stars

Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash

5/4/2007
in
Various Artists
Sari N. Kent

Almost four years after her passing, the various artists portrayed on Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash depict Cash's downhome charm and extort both somber and upbeat emotions that encapsulate the soul of a musical legend.

Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson perform a duet of "If I Were a Carpenter," which had been sung previously by Johnny Cash, and was singer Bobby Darin's final hit record on the Atlantic Records label. The guitar work is slow yet jovial, with harmonica play mixed in for good measure.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.50Stars

She

3/20/2007
in
Red Button
Sari N. Kent

She's About To Cross My Mind, by Red Button, is a flashback to the 60s and the time of the British invasion of The Beatles. This group has Los Angeles singer/songwriter Seth Swirsky, who has penned hits for best-selling artists such as Taylor Dayne and Rufus Wainwright. Another band member, Mike Ruekberg, wrote songs for the Adrien Brody film, Dummy. This album is a collaboration between two wordsmiths, which turned into a time capsule back to a heralded era in popular music.

"Cruel Girl" is a melodic homage about a girl that the band cannot seem to forgo thinking about.

Reviewer Rating: 
5.00Stars

The Sex, The City, The Music: Las Vegas

12/13/2006
in
Various Artists
Sari N. Kent

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! That's the city's mantra, but it doesn't apply to its contagious music scene as The Sex, The City, The Music: Las Vegas reminds listeners. "Miss Glacee," by Barth, has the sound of a roulette wheel in the intro and carnival-like sounds, but is hypnotic at the same time with lines like, "Losin' my time on the highway/Looking for a daydream." The incomparable Wayne Newton sings his staple song, "Danke Schoen." "Incompletetude," by Olaf Hund, has old-time piano, what could be either the tuba or the trumpet, and what sounds like a typewriter, as well.

Reviewer Rating: 
5.00Stars
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