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Various The Duran Duran Tribute Album (Mojo/Universal)
LL Cool J Phenomenon (Def Jam) James Todd Smith continues his consistent stroll through the hip hop game with album number eight. Phenomenon aims to do two things with its smooth bounce: storm commercial radio with style and grab some of the b-boys who've been rolling their eyes for LL's last two albums. Unfortunately, between the numerous guests and the (not one) but three Puff Daddy tracks, only one of these goals will come to pass, making this phenomenon just another simple concoction. 6/10 (Scott C.) Various We Will Fall: The Iggy Pop Tribute (Royalty/Attic) There's certainly no need for a tribute to Iggy Pop: punk and its alt-rock legacy is a pretty good tribute itself, and Ig & the Stooges have been covered to near-death over the past 20 years. Yet this is certainly a well-executed homage in both substance and spirit: old peers (Joey Ramone, Jayne County!) search and destroy as well as latter-day students (Sugar Ray, Nada Surf) and the femme-botte crowd (Lunachicks, Joan Jett). Perhaps not needed, but gladly accepted. 9/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
It's probably my rock stupidity that dictates the thought that no one today can pull off amateurish harmonies and commercially-nice Cali craprock quite as well as Green Day. But tunes like fast-bark anthem "The Grouch" and the wonderfully predictable "Nice Guys Finish Last" are the stuff that make me wish I was some years younger, so that my awe and violently pathetic crush on frontman Billie Joe would be somehow more justifiable. Great album. 8.5/10 (Mireille Silcott)
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With all the hooplah surrounding Duran Duran's latest album, the timing on this tribute might seem a bit off. But Duran's newie is just one step up from the Power Station, while this reworking (** songs by ** different bands) is no less than a straight-into-the-time-capsule masterpiece.
The fact is, Duran wrote such great pop songs in their prime, that even GOB ("A View to a Kill," in a hardcore two minutes!) can't wreck them. Maybe I'm wrong in thinking that this CD is more than a sarcastic stab on the part of bands like Goldfinger ("Rio") and Less Than Jake ("The Reflex"). But their versions are so sanguine and believably personal, that they seem more respectful than ironic. Of course, the double satire of having Abba tribute band Björn Again singing a tribute to Duran Duran ("Girls on Film," deftly done) may be a bit much for some. 9/10 (Mireille Silcott)
Green Day Nimrod (Reprise/Warner)