Endless Highway: The Music of The Band (CD - 2007)

Personnel: Joe Pisapia (vocals, guitar, banjo, organ); Adam Gardner (vocals, guitar); Bruce Hornsby (vocals, piano); Ryan Miller (vocals, bass guitar); Dan Tyler (spoken vocals); Doug Derryberry (guitar); Ray LaMontagne (harmonica); Bobby Read (clarinet, EWI, bass instrument); Jason Lehning (piano); John Thomas (organ); J.V. Collier (bass instrument); Brian Rosenworcel (drum, percussion); Sonny Emory (drum); Fruitbat (background vocals).

Much of this Band tribute compilation is surprisingly good, from Guster's Byrds-tinged "This Wheel's on Fire" to Widespread Panic's energetic recreation of "Chest Fever." Jakob Dylan conjures memories of Richard Manuel on a visceral rendition of "Whispering Pines," and Roseanne Cash's "Unfaithful Servant" focuses on that song's sense of disbelieving betrayal, while old stagers like Blues Traveler and the Allman Brothers contribute loose yet reliable versions of "Rag Mama Rag" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," respectively.

Though on an album with a cast list this big there are bound to be missteps (Gomez's fey, Brit-accented version of "Up on Cripple Creek" falls quite a few gin-and-tonics short of the hairy, moonshine-guzzling mountain-man feel of the original), the good points--such as Death Cab For Cutie's "Rocking Chair," which sounds tailor-made for Ben Gibbard's reedy, unusual voice--far outweigh the bad. minimize