Rating: NNN
Part of the fun of tribute albums is seeing which unlikely artists claim to have been influenced by the honoree. Considering that Buddy Holly’s proto-rock-and-roll has inspired nearly all popular music since his death in 1959, it’s not surprising to see diverse artists on this star-studded compilation. Additionally, Holly’s four-chord simplicity is practically a blank canvas, so it’s interesting to see what they do with the material.
Unsurprisingly, it’s a mixed bag. On Oh Boy, She & Him mine their same-old aw-shucks naïveté, and the Black Keys’ stripped-down garage-soul rendition of Dearest is a no-brainer. Modest Mouse, on the other hand, transform That’ll Be The Day’s breeziness into something much less uplifting, while Paul McCartney uses his turn to hearken back to Helter Skelter hard rock. The album is a fun novelty, but as with most tributes, there’s not much to keep it in rotation.
Top track: That’ll Be The Day
