Punks Got Soul (and so do tribute albums)

 

After listening to dozens of tribute albums, one thing has become strikingly clear:  there are too many tribute albums.  Posting about them again is perhaps ill-advised, as though wishing more of them into existence.  Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to make tribute albums.  

Who am I kidding?  The listening experience is addictive.  It's like crate digging, playing one tribute album after another in search of a gem to share with you folks.

At the risk of segregating the artists of color and historically Black and Latino genres of music, today I offer you Tributes Got Soul.  This one leans heavily on the albums produced by Jon Tiven to celebrate the songs of Arthur Alexander, Otis Blackwell, Don Covay and others.  This comp also features several releases from the Red Hot Organization, plus a Hal Willner production.  (That last hyperlink is to Koen's excellent post on Mr. Willner, which inspired this deep dive into tribute albums.  Friends, don't let friends become obsessed with tribute albums!  It only leads to wasted hours combing Discogs, blogs and Soulseek.  Just when you think you've found them all, another appears from the cracks, like roaches.  

Speaking of soul, the long-running Punks Got Soul series is back for the dozenth time.  Again, a caveat: not all the performers are punk (really, only the first two this time), and not all the songs are soul.  Maybe too many synthesizers this time around, which often strike me as less soulful, even soulless at times.  But there are some fun songs here, including Yellow Magic Orchestra's goof on"Tighten Up" and Alan Vega's take on Hot Chocolate.  And some earnestly soulful performances by The Lolitas, The Bunnymen, and Cyndi Lauper.  If it gets a bit vanilla, you can always go back to Tributes Got Soul.