Customer Reviews

Encomium: Tribute to Led Zeppelin

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

After listening to this tribute album, I was surprised at the variety of genres covering Zeppelin, which obviously says something about the great influence that Led Zeppelin has had on the music world. Also, covering styles ranged from playing the exact song to creating different interpretations of the music.

The albums' best tracks include Misty Mountain Hop by 4 Non Blondes, Hey Hey What Can I Do by Hootie and the Blowfish, and Dancing Days by STP. Each of these groups tend to stay to the format of the original songs, but put their own original stamp on the songs, making it exciting to listen to.

The decent tracks include Tangerine by Big Head Todd etc, Thank You by Duran Duran, Out On the Tiles by Blind Melon, and Four Sticks by Rollins Band. Some of these songs tend to stray too far from the original style and format, but for fans of these groups, this might be a good thing.

The only truly bad songs are Custard Pie by Helmet and Going to California by Never the Bride. In Custard Pie, the singer sings with no passion and seems very apathetic and reluctant to be there. The cover of Going to California is completely different from the original, and the version is fairly weak.

The rest of the songs on the album are very arguable to different people. Those who expect exact replicas of Zeppelin songs will be very disappointed with these songs, and will generally be disappointed by most of the album. However, it should be respected that some artists on the album create different but good versions of Zeppelin songs, particularly Tori Amos and Robert Plants' version of Down by the Seaside. The album will also be much better if you are familiar with the groups on the album. I doubt that most people over 40 would truly enjoy this album.

I think that although this album is widely loved and hated by different Zep fans, most of the groups are competent enough to put enough of themselves and their talent into these songs, and overall, Encomium is a decent album.

Encomium not only serves as an alternative tribute to Led Zeppelin, it provides a snapshot of the early 1990's music scene. With the exception of Duran Duran, everybody else was flavor of the month or on the rise.

Some are karaoke version remakes, with only a different vocal style. It's as if the cover artists are playing it safe, staying in a self-asserted comfort zone in deference to Led Zeppelin, so as not to alter the original too much. Hootie and the Blowfish do a near matching cover of the B-side "Hey Hey What Can I Do" and Darius Rucker's deeper voice does this song justice. Stone Temple Pilot's "Dancing Days" echoes the original, with Scott Weiland doing softer vocals in contrast to the rough as sandpaper intonations on his solo debut. Big Head Todd & The Monsters' "Tangerine", Duran Duran's "Thank You", Cracker's "Good Times Bad Times", and Helmet/David Yow's "Custard Pie" are further examples of this play-it-safe stance.

Of the differently styled songs, Sheryl Crow gives "D'yer Mak'er" a nice poppy feel and it's easily the best song here. 4 Non-Blonde's Linda Perry's vocals reflect Robert Plant's own soaring vocals on "Misty Mountain Hop," especially in the "baby baby baby" section. Blind Melon's "Out On The Tiles" is passable, with different styled guitars. Come to think of it, Shannon Hoon does have a high-pitched quasi-Robert Plant register, doesn't he? Henry Rollins' harder guitars and rougher voice gives "Four Sticks" a unique treatment. The harsh Melissa Etheridge/Janis Joplin-ish vocals of Never The Bride's lead singer gives "Going To California" a somewhat abrasive treatment, but it's tolerable. Hey, it began with a piano intro instead of guitar. I don't know how Zeppelin purists will take to this song. Finally, Robert Plant teams up with Tori Amos for a hushed, slowed down version of "Down By The Seaside," a contrast to the original on Physical Graffiti, but Tori shines through here, and this is my second favorite song here.

Interesting to note is that the songs are all the moderately well-known tracks: none of the real classic tracks like "Kashmir", "Whole Lotta Love", or the overplayed "Stairway To Heaven" are present. This is good--it's better to highlight other songs. (Runes) was the source of most of the songs, as seen below:

Led Zeppelin, 1
II, 1
III, 2
(Runes), 3
Houses Of The Holy, 2
Physical Graffiti, 2
non-album B-side, 1

A nice effort despite the play-it-safe motif pervading this album. For the next compilation, how about some more innovation?

Encomium:Tribute to Led Zeppelin.

Out of the gate, I'll say my personal favorite here is STP's Dancing Days. The whole understated vibe of it worked. It honors the vibe and feel of the original while STP puts thier subtle stamp on it. Overall, a very cool cover. It reaffirms my belief that STP is one of the most underappreciated 90s rock bands.

Being a big fan of Zep, its nice to see some bands taking the music in a whole different place. Sheryl Crow not my favorite artists by anymeans does a interesting job with D'yer Mak'er. She makes it more poppy, but keeps it interesting. This does have its limits. Tori Amos along with Plant doing "Down By the Seaside" just didn't work for me. Its just too far removed from the original to be recognizable to me.

Others who put on reasonable performances are Hootie and the Blowfish, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Duran Duran and Cracker.

The stinkers of the album are the Rollin's band stuff, Helmet and Never the Bride. Henry Rollin's screaming style and David Yow, just don't compliment the material. Its my belief when doing a cover try to compliment it.

As to the song selection it isn't too bad. The cliche's are avoided ala Rock and Roll or Stairway. You see some interesting choices like Custard Pie and Four Sticks. I would've loved to see someone try to have tackled In the Evening.

Overall, for what it is its interesting. Shows the creativity of the artists taking the material and putting thier spin on it. That equals some good times and bad times.

I rarely enjoy tributes. I'm more of a purist when it comes to my music. So, when I heard about this, a tribute album of Zeppelin greats I was very skeptical.

Well I listened to this at a listening station at a local bookstore. I was immediately hooked.

The selection of thse groups to play each of these songs were very well matched to the songs that they've played.

Misty Mountain Hop - 4 Non Blondes. One of the most criticized songs in Zep's collection is played fairly well by this eclectic collection of souls. They hit the feel of the song.

Hey Hey What Can I do - Hootie And The Blowfish. Darius Rucker's voice and the style of the Blowfish, one of the most mis-understood, under-rated groups take on a song that's so perfectly suited to their style of playing. Rather enjoyable.

D'yer Maker - Sheryl Crow.Love her or hate her. She's decent on this Zep Great. I've never really liked Sheryl Crow. But, doing D'yer Maker she carries the song well.

Four Sticks - Rollins Band Once again, not one of my favorite groups. But, this album was a break out for them.

It's nice to see that these groups decided to take on some real classics from a bygone era. So often you hear groups these days just play their own music without having the nerve to take on an older style of Rock N Roll. Well I hand it to:

4 Non Blondes
Hootie & The Blowfish
Sherly Crow
S.T.P
Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Duran Duran
Blind Melon
Cracker
Helmet
Rollins Band
Never the Bride
and of course Robert Plant getting together with Tori Amos.

They looked past their own fears and took on some classic Zep tunes. I'm also glad that they took songs like Down By The Seaside, and Out On The Tiles, songs you almost never hear played anywhere.

So stop all the crying and complaining about this collection. Listen to it for what it is. It's modern groups that people know here playing songs that were written before many of the artists featured here were born.

...it is Robert Plant and Tori Amos (Down by the Seaside). A completely different feel. Tori said she thought she should wear her confirmation dress for this one. It is that ethereal. Led Zeppelin can even transform Hootie(Hey Hey What Can I Do) and Duran Duran (Thank You). 4 Non-Blondes and Sheryl Crow are non-original covers. 16 pages of interesting liner notes.

yes in fact these commercial various artists are sounding the same like the original one (the way they are imitating Robert plant voice so much!) then I would like to
buy the original albums of ZEP than buying this cover version songs.

My opinion of another cd: the tribute to DEEP PURPLE cd is much better than this one, because the rap, funky, soul musicians on the tribute to deep purple
according to new york, did not imitate the deep purple original sound. They have improvised the DP songs into New yorker black music style.

But this Zeppelin cover version songs are boaring and unspectacular,.........most of the various artists are copying the PLANT voice so much. need I say more?

There are a few bummers here,like Henry Rollins slaughtering "Four Sticks"with his patented scream-don't sing method,but there is the o so lovely moans and come hither cooing of Sheryl Crow on "D'yer Maker" which make for interesting listening.Even the normally lousy Hootie and the Blowfish manage to lay down a good rendition of "Hey hey what can i do"."Tangerine" also comes off fine courtesy of Big Head Todd and the Monsters.Robert Plant's duet with Tori Amos on "Down by the seaside" may be a bit long and strained but Tori never sounded better.Her girlish whine is a delight.STP's version of "Dancing Days"is very likable with its minimal approach,but may be too laid back for some.All in all a good album as far as tribute albums go,but then again considering how great Zep's music is it would take utterly untalented hacks to not remake at least a halfway decent cover version.Buy this one if you spot a used copy.

OK, first off, this maybe fails as a true TRIBUTE to Led Zep, and it certainly isn't an immitation by any means. I don't recommend it for hardcore ZepHeads. But when you look at the music, if you don't sour yourself on it by expecting a replica of the greatest rock band ever to record, you notice that this is really an interesting album. Call me crazy, but I like Sheryl Crow's version of D'yer Mak'er even better than the original!

Once again, this isn't Led Zeppelin, but it's a collection of by and large good bands puting their own spin on these classics. Rollins Band's Four Sticks is amazing... COMPLETELY different from the original, but amazing! Also of note: STP, Duran Duran, and 4 Non Blondes.

If you're willing to take this music for what it's worth, rather than trying to hold it up to the Led Zeppelin standard, then this is really a great album. And you can't go wrong with the Page/Amos duet!

I recently unearthed this CD from my collection... totally forgotten how much I'd enjoyed it. The best track, by far, is Misty Mountain Hop by 4 Non Blondes. Other very good tracks are Tangerine by Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Thank You by Duran Duran (surprise!), Out on the Tiles by Blind Melon and Good Times Bad Times by Cracker. The others are middle of the road (to bad, depending on your personal tastes).

Disappointed that Heart's version of Rock & Roll wasn't on here... the Wilson Girls definitely do it justice.

All in all, very good CD. Not 5 stars, but certainly not deserving of the abysmal reviews others are giving it.
A worthy addition to any Zeppelin lover's collection.

I thought, for the most part, this tribute was very good. My only question to these ... moaning teary-eyed reviewers who keep complaining that the cover songs sound nothing like the originals is this: What in god's name is the point of buying a tribute album in which every single song sounds exactly like the original when you can just buy CDs of the actual band being covered?