Various Artists - Songs Of Hank Williams Jr: A Bocephus / Various (CD)

All Music Guide

In the ongoing effort to make sure everyone who has recorded more than a couple of albums is feted with a tribute disc, the folks at Warner Bros. and Curb have assembled a star-studded tribute to Bocephus himself, Hank Williams Jr.. Drawing its participants from both the traditionalist wing of country and the long-in-the-tooth southern rockers, the disc straddles the line between rock and country much as junior always has. On the country side, there is a nice mix of big names like Montgomery Gentry, Tracy Lawrence, and Alan Jackson, who turns in one of the disc's highlights with an aching version of the ballad "The Blues Man," and smaller stars who shine brightly: Andy Griggs weeps his way convincingly through "Old Habits"; Trick Pony, featuring the lone female to be found here, turns in a rollicking version of "All My Rowdy Friends Are Comin' Over Tonight"; and Chad Brock pulls off a coup by roping in John Anderson, George Jones, and Williams Jr. to help him sing "A Country Boy Can Su...rvive." The rockers are represented by the current incarnations of bands that ruled the 1970s airwaves. These songs are generally less successful than the ones the country artists perform. The Marshall Tucker Band sound old and broke on "All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down," .38 Special tunelessly stomps its way over and through "If It Will It Will," and Lynyrd Skynrd sounds pretty lame attempting a metal boogie version of "Born to Boogie" (they probably need to stop hanging out with Kid Rock). The only rock artist who sounds half decent is Dan Baird from the Georgia Satellites. He turns in a nasty version of "Whiskey Bent Hell Bound" that actually sounds better than the original. Speaking of the original, Williams Jr. claims the last track of the disc for himself, performing a heartfelt version of "Outlaw's Reward" featuring many of the artists who appear on his tribute and also Stevie Wonder () on harmonica. - Tim Sendra, All Music Guide Read more Less