Everybody can get the blues. Even on tribute albums.
Yes, there is another tribute album series out there. And it's on House Of Blues Records.It's called "This Ain't No Tribute."
But it is.
And to tell the truth, these blues covers ain't sad at all. Nor are they sorry, bad, gross or campy.
Here are the six titles:
"Blues Down Deep: Songs of Janis Joplin"
"Blues Power: Songs of Eric Clapton"
"Paint it Blue: Songs of the Rolling Stones"
"Tangled Up in Blues: Songs of Bob Dylan"
"Whole Lotta Blues: Songs of Led Zeppelin"
But before you head out to the record stores, here's a preview of what to expect:
-- THE CLAPTON disc features such blues honchos as Koko Taylor ("Blues Power"), Buddy Guy ("Strange Brew"), Bo Diddley ("Before You Accuse Me") and Otis Rush ("Old Love"). Joe Louis Walker and Pinetop Perkins also make their mark on such ol' Slowhand tunes as "Roll It Over" and "Too Bad."
-- AS FOR THE STONES: You'll get Junior Wells getting it down with "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," Taj Mahal finding a "Honky Tonk Woman" and the Holmes Brothers walking a "Beast of Burden." Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown is also here, cranking out "Ventilator Blues," and Bobby Womack does "It's All Over Now."
-- DYLAN'S works never sounded better (except for Jimi Hendrix's take on "All Along the Watchtower"). Mavis Staples gets sassy with "Gotta Serve Somebody" and Isaac Hayes soulfully croons "Lay Lady Lay," while Leon Russell swaggers and sways with "Watching the River Flow." One very nice cover is John Hammond's folk/blues version of "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight."
-- LED ZEPPELIN made a career of playing the blues at ear-shattering volume. In fact, the band's first album featured two Willie Dixon covers -- "You Shook Me" and "I Can't Quit You Baby." Now, the tables have been turned. "Whole Lotta Blues" highlights Alvin "Youngblood" Hart huffing out "Heartbreaker," James Cotton and Billy Branch are on Magic Slim's version of "When the Levee Breaks" (a song originally crafted by Memphis Minnie) and there's a collaboration of Eric Gales and Derek Tricks doing "Custard Pie."
-- On a side note, the Dixie Hummingbirds, one of the most influential gospel groups in the business, is celebrating its 70th anniversary. So, House of Blues has decided to release a Dixie Hummingbirds tribute called "Music In the Air."
This is a true tribute album that features the Hummingbirds -- vocalists Ira Tucker, Sr., Paul Owens, Carl Davis and William Bright and guitarist Howard Carroll. Other artists appearing on the album include Stevie Wonder (singing his "Have a Talk with God" with Tucker), Paul Simon (doing a remake of his own "Loves Me Like a Rock" with Wonder and Tucker) and Deniece Williams (heading "Come Ye Disconsolate").
In fact, many of you have heard the Dixie Hummingbirds without even knowing it. On Simon's original version of "Love's Me Like a Rock," the group sang back-ups.
Tribute albums are usually a mixed bag. Some are played for seriousness ("The Blackest Album: a Tribute to Metallica"), some are played for camp ("Kiss My ---: a Tribute to Kiss") and others should have never been done (a majority of the discs out there).
But these House of Blues releases rule!