Various: Endless Highway, The Music of The Band (Shock)

Tribute albums are, almost by definition, uneven. Some artists will be up to the challenge, others won't quite get inside the song.

This one however has a higher score card than most, largely because of the calibre of those on hand -- and of course the quality of the songs.

So here are appropriately enough are Guster and Gomez (both featured on Elsewhere previously), The Allman Brothers, Blues Traveller, Jakob Dylan with Lizz Wright, Rosanne Cash, and many others paying tribute to The Band on the 30th anniversary of Scorese's filming The Last Waltz at the group's farewell concert.

Early copies come with an extra disc of six extra tracks by the likes of John Hiatt with the North Mississippi All-Stars, Joe Henry and Gov't Mule.

A strong tribute album which has exactly the right effect, it makes you respect the songs and the artists on hand, but also go back to the originals.