Search - Various Artists :: Encomium: Tribute to Led Zeppelin

Michael K. (destroyalltacos) from MALDEN, MA
Reviewed on 6/24/2012...

The majority of these covers tow the line between being faithful to the original and adding a little bit of the band's own flavor to the proceedings. For instance, Stone Temple Pilots don't change "Dancing Days" much, but still manage to make it sound like it could have fit in perfectly on their album Purple. This makes for an agreeable listen, but can actually make the album start to feel a bit too predictable after a while. Maybe that's why a couple of my favorites are ones that take some more liberties: I personally find "Custard Pie" a hoot, what with Helmet's tightly played, faithful reproduction of the music being comically derailed by David Yow's typically bizarre, unintelligible vocals. Meanwhile, Tori Amos and Robert Plant nicely close out the album with an eerie, barely recognizable rendition of "Down By The Seaside".

3 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Jes G. (jesgear) from EAST MOLINE, IL
Reviewed on 3/21/2012...

"D'yer Mak'er" - Sheryl Crow

1 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Steve S. (Reno-ness) from ARROYO GRANDE, CA
Reviewed on 1/9/2008...

A tribute album works only if the artists representing the honoree have some kind of personal connection: the band is their hero, the lead singer shagged me, we're from the same town, I'm not gonna wash the hand the guitarist touched, etc. Encomium (a word not in my dictionary) takes dirivatorial (not in my dictionary either) bands and has them replicate the songs as best they can. Enjoyable this is. BHT&M's "Tangerine" I can listen to over and over. Tori Amos and Bob Planet do a good turn. The 4 Non-s rock. I could effuse further, but I'd rather listen to the music.

0 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Drew V. from POWNAL, ME
Reviewed on 6/26/2007...

This is the BMG-made release

0 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Alternative and play-it-safe tribute to Zeppelin

Daniel J. Hamlow | Narita, Japan | 10/05/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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, 1A nice effort despite the play-it-safe motif pervading this album. For the next compilation, how about some more innovation?"

A Mixed Bag (3.5 stars)

andreas | Seattle | 06/13/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."