Easy Star All-Stars at Culture Room 4/9

Pulling off a cover song is a fragile art. Stick too close to the original and it's boring, but deviating too far from the template is committing creative blasphemy. It's to Easy Star All-Stars' credit that they reggaefy big-name albums like OK Computer, Dark Side of the Moon, and Sgt...

By Reyan Ali

April 7, 2011

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Pulling off a cover song is a fragile art. Stick too close to the original and it's boring, but deviating too far from the template is committing creative blasphemy. It's to Easy Star All-Stars' credit that they reggaefy big-name albums like OK Computer, Dark Side of the Moon, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band without going overboard. The guest-star-heavy New York-via-Jamaica collective makes good on mellowing out, adding sunniness to the soaring catharsis of Radiohead's "Airbag" and keeping the spaced-out spirit of Pink Floyd's "Us and Them." Those charms aside, the All-Stars don't have the same skill when it comes to titling; their versions are titled Radiodread, Dub Side of the Moon, and Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band.

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