Return to the Dark Side of the Moon

Following in the footsteps of 2005's Back Against the Wall, 2006's Return to the Dark Side of the Moon is a star-studded prog rock tribute album to one of rock's all-time greatest bands and albums. Producer Billy Sherwood has reassembled many of the same players from Back Against the Wall for his latest Pink Floyd tribute, and the result is the same -- professional renditions of the songs, without a lot of experimentation. As a result, the songs aren't that remarkably different from the originals. On the album opening "Breathe," Adrian Belew almost perfectly replicates the original's airy vocals, Styx's Tommy Shaw belts out the vocals to "Money," while Dweezil Zappa's brief guitar shredding on "Us and Them" doesn't exactly fit the original's laid-back feel. That said, if you're a classic rock or prog rock fanatic, you can't argue with the additional renowned names who contribute -- Jeff Baxter, Robbie Krieger, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, Edgar Winter, Bill Bruford, John Wetton, Tony Levin, and more. Ultimately however -- as with Back Against the Wall -- Return to the Dark Side of the Moon: A Tribute to Pink Floyd will only appeal to hardcore Floyd buffs. ~ Greg Prato