Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Apparently, the warm fuzzies I felt after watching the September 21, 2001 "Tribute to Heroes" broadcast wasn't merely a post-9/11 stress/relief reaction. If you can get past the fact that Canadian Celine Dion sings "God Bless America", the "Tribute to Heroes," really was an excellent musical program, as evidenced by the 2-CD set of songs from the broadcast.
The producers may have succeeded by just not giving in to the temptation to invite boy bands to perform. The artists showcased on this set are, for the most part, stalwarts of the music industry. Even when that's not the case, as with Alicia Keyes (youth), or "Limp Bizkit" - a seemingly strange choice, given the type of music they usually play - those artists managed to come up with startlingly mature performances, worthy of the occasion. In fact, pretty much the whole first CD really shines, from Bruce Springsteen's haunting opener, "My City in Ruins," to Neil Young's stunning, heartfelt take on "Imagine."

The second disc is a bit weaker, but the quality really doesn't fall too much. Although the Dixie Chicks open that second CD with a downright annoying version of "I Believe in Love," the ship is quickly righted by Dave Matthews doing a solo take on his eponymous Band's "Everyday," and Wyclef Jean's cover of the Bob Marley classic, "Redemption Song." The highlight of CD 2 is, far and away, Paul Simon's tear-inducing, "Bridge Over Troubled Water," although "Bon Jovi's" low key, "Livin' on a Prayer," does give it a run for its money.

Even the travesty mentioned at the start of this review is made almost acceptable by the setting, and the cause for which Celine Dion was invited to the event. If any doubts remain, however, they're quickly swept away by a touching rendition of "America the Beautiful" by Willie Nelson and company.

The "Tribute to Heroes," isn't high art. It's dripping in sentimentality, there are shards of defiance sticking out of the cracks, and sometimes it gets downright maudlin. Think of the event it followed, however, and that's almost inevitable, and expected. Given that frame, the set does a good job of capturing the mood in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 tragedies (minus the "Let's Kick all their Asses" jingoism), and still manages to be a pretty darn good collection of performances.