*** THE DURAN DURAN TRIBUTE ALBUM

(Mojo)

Critical theorists have a field day with tribute albums, and truly this little gem may say more about when and how its hip contributors hit musical puberty than whether such a tongue-in-cheek salute is parody or praise. But, hey, I was listening to the radio throughout the '80s too, and I say the world needs a ska-core take on "Rio" (which Goldfinger give us, complete with an excerpt from that other great punk-kitsch cover, "Steppin' Stone"). Slam-dancing to the Bond theme "View to a Kill" with GOB also seems a grand idea. When Reel Big Fish lounge around to "Hungry like a Wolf," the joke gets in the tune's way (the smirking intro doesn't help), and the few other slow (dare we say reverent?) takes likewise pale. But hard-and-fast still rules, with Buck-o-Nine snarling Dead Kennedys-style through "Hold Back the Rain" and Riverfenix ripping through "Ordinary World," discovering the beauty that was prime-time Duran Duran.

-- Clea Simon