Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary

by

Various Artists

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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.