IRT Magazine

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Endless Highway - The Music Of The Band (429 Records)

I rolled my eyes when I saw the track list for this inevitable tribute album to the kings of Upstate rock , none other than The Band. Blues Traveler? Widespread Panic? Jakob Dylan? Where’s my hooded flannel and green Airwalks, we’re gonna be late to the 1994 party. But if at the very least a fitting testament to the strength of their immense songwriting legacy, the majority of the artists on here do a solid job interpreting the cream of the Danko/Hudson/Helm/Robbertson/Manuel canon, some more skillfully than others, however. Right off the bat, Guster’s outstandingly faithful treatment of “This Wheel’s On Fire”, My Morning Jacket’s rockist take on “It Makes No Difference”, recorded up at Levon Helm’s studio in Woodstock by the way, followed by Jack Johnson’s stark version of “I Shall Be Released”, well at least stark by his standards, fall short of an out-of-the-gate trifecta with the presence of Bruce Hornsby (WTF, man!) Though I would rather hear Death Cab or Roseanne Cash or the Allman Brothers Band, whose live rip through “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” is the best track on here, than say, the boring-ass Roches or Steve Reynolds, there are a couple of surprises here. Blues Traveler cut their spot-on rendition of “Rag Mama Rag” at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio, and emerged with their tightest, most organic stuff since Travellers & Thieves. And you gotta big it up to Widespread Panic, who just kill it on “Chest Fever”. Utlimately, Endless Highway suffers from inconsistency, and is the perfect case as to why Various Artists albums were always a gamble to buy at the store. But in the age of iTunes, its as simple as picking the ripest fruit from the vine. –Chester A. “Fever”

Last Modified : March 26th, 2007
Filed under : THE RECORD BIN
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