Substitute: Songs Of The Who

There’s a band in every town in America who can play note-perfect versions of Who songs, so it seems like an unnecessary trouble to wrangle together artists like Sheryl Crow, Pearl Jam, Phish, and Fastball to do the exact same thing. The trouble with Substitute is the trouble with most tribute albums in that it treats its subject with a reverence that renders the album completely without purpose. None of these covers are incompetent, but none warrant repeated listening, either (with the exception of David Bowie, who sprinkles some Ziggy Stardust on “Pictures Of Lily”). Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that relatively uninspired outfits like Ocean Color Scene and Cast would just trot out passable Who imitations for their versions of “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” and “The Seeker,” respectively, but we expected more from normally imaginative folks like Pearl Jam (“The Kids Are Alright”), Phish (“5:15”) and Stereophonics (“Who Are You”). The Who themselves turn up (with Stereophonics’ Kelly Jones) on the final track (“Substitute”), inadvertently making clear just how pointless this tribute is.