Blowin' in the Wind: A Reggae Tribute to Bob Dylan (Madacy, 2002)

I'll be honest, I've never really understood the phenomenon that is the reggae tribute album.  They aren't exactly glutting the marketplace, but there are enough -- featuring homages to the likes of the Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, Pink Floyd, and the Beatles (I'm still waiting for the reggae tribute to Rick Astley) -- to make it a sub-genre in and of itself.  While there must be a market for this type of album (or else they would cease to be), I find it hard to think of any one particular non-reggae act who has an album's worth of material that I would like to hear converted to reggae.  I mean, I like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Prince, but with the exception of Wonder's already reggae-fied "Master Blaster (Jammin')," there's not much I'd want to hear with a reggae beat.  A collection of covers of tunes from a variety of artists, on the other hand -- as with The Tide Is High -- can be quite fun.  Madacy seems to have the upper hand in cornering the reggae tribute album market with its Reggae Rocks series, which began with The Tide Is High and thus far features tributes to the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and, in this volume, Bob Dylan.  While I'm not a big fan of reggae tribute albums, I'd imagine that those who are would tend to enjoy the remakes of the tunes they already like the most.  As such, since I enjoy the work of the Beatles, then the Rolling Stones, then Bob Dylan -- in that order -- that's how I'd rate the tributes.  The best track here is "I Shall Be Released," although this is a Mighty Diamonds cover and not the classic Heptones version from the '70s.  Also nice are lovers covers of "Lay Lady Lay," "You're a Big Girl Now," and, of course, "Knockin' on Heaven's Door."  "Blowin' in the Wind," although one of Dylan's best-known songs, should be officially retired, as far as I'm concerned.  It packs as much cheesy power for me as "Puff the Magic Dragon."  A reggae version, needless to say, doesn't work, even if it is performed (bizarrely) by the venerated Abyssinians.  Still, for that niche who likes both Dylan and reggae and specifically those who like a little Dylan in their reggae ("Hey, you've got Dylan in my reggae!" "You've got reggae in my Dylan!") should be satisfied by Blowin' in the Wind.