Customer Reviews

Rubaiyat: Elektra's 40th Anniversary

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'Rubaiyat,' Elektra's 40th anniversary double disc from 1990, is an interesting high-concept cover album: take bands from Elektra's (then) current roster and assign them to cover songs from Elektra's storied back catalogue. So we get They Might Be Giants' take on Phil Ochs, Billy Bragg apeing Arthur Lee, 10,000 Maniacs aesthetically matching Jackson Browne, Gipsy Kings reimagining 'Hotel California' from a latino migrant's POV, and The Cure running roughshod (twice!) through a raucous 'Hello I Love You,' (Robert Smith is not as unlikely a Jim Morrison stand-in as one might imagine). All in all, it's a mixed bag, but there are some gems, including The Kronos Quartet reclaiming Television's 'Marquee Moon' for the minimalist classical set. I was, in fact, successfully tempted to check out both Television and Warren Zevon because of the respectful covers on this collection. This one is mainly of interest to the completist collector of any of the bands represented, but if you're a casual listener and you happened upon this in the used bin at your local record store, you could do worse for your money than giving 'Rubaiyat' a go.

There they are back to back on Disc Two -- Jackson Browne singing the Incredible String Band and 10,000 Maniacs singing Jackson Browne. Sure the Danny Gatton track and a Pixies rarity are also fine. But these two tracks are absolutely indispensible.

This 2CD set is in honor of Elektra Records' 40th anniversary. Current Elektra artists cover the songs from the entire Elektra catalog.

The songs are a bit of everything, and so there is not much cohesion; more like a smorgasborg. Some of the highlights are "One Meatball" by Shinehead, "Hello I Am Your Heart" by Sara Hickman, "These Days" by 10,000 Maniacs, and a mezmerizing "Going Going Gone" by Bill Frisell, Robin Holcomb and Wayne Horvitz. And don't miss the singular version of Hotel California by the Gypsy Kings!!

Interesting tidbit - the Cure both cover a song and are covered!

After having this cd for over twenty years I've come to enjoy almost every song. At first I had my favorites Danny Gatton, Metallica, Shaking Family, The Cure, Pixies, Javetta Steele. But as time has gone on and I have improved my stereo system its revealed the outstanding job that was done when the album was recorded, most tracks are live ones but some are manipulated(but very well done).When I want to just kick back and enjoy listening to great music this is one cd that never fails to get the job done.

This is really a mixed bag, but the Danny Gatton track is outstanding.