Tribute albums are almost always ill-advised. Every musician feels passionate about the artists who served as their inspiration but the art of the cover song remains an elusive, enigmatic venture for all but the most daring and insightful of interpreters. The sheer preponderance of bad cover versions (and bad cover records) serves as a solemn reminder of the pitfalls associated with taking on the work of artists more successful than oneself, yet this stinking heap of attempted homage never seems to act as a deterrent.
There are two main ways to go wrong when paying tribute to someone else’s recordings, both of which happen to be anitpodal strains of the same thought. The first path to failure is playing things too close to the vest, attempting to stage a note-by-note recreation of the original performance. Efforts such as these feel bland, uninspired, and most critically, they pale in comparison to the glory of the more renowned version. However, the road to tribute hell is also paved with musicians who seek to stage majestic reinterpretations of the artist’s original vision. In their effort to render the song in an entirely new light, cover artists often miss seizing upon the essence of what made the song so nuanced and appealing the first time around.
Ryan Groff - People in the Midwest