This day in Americana music: Buddy Holly would have been 75 years old today, and it’s a measure of his impact that there are two new star-filled tribute CDs celebrating his work. “Rave On Buddy Holly,” currently number 23 on the Americana Music Association chart, veers younger with bands like the Black Keys and Florence and the Machine, though Paul McCartney and Nick Lowe contribute as well. As with all tributes, “Rave On” is uneven, with a number of artists losing the spirit of the original as they strive for something transformative.
The new “Listen to Me” is more old-school, with Peter Asher (of Peter and Gordon, who recorded “True Love Ways”) producing and a more senior line-up, including Brian Wilson, Jackson Browne and Ringo Starr, who sounds like he’s having a particularly good time. There’s something to be said for picking performers who thrilled to 100-proof Holly when he was alive and changing the face of American music.
