Clive Davis
once again follows his patented formula of teaming
Santana
with guest singers, having his team of producers polish everything so it will glisten on as many cross-platforms as possible. This worked remarkably well on 1999's
Supernatural
, thanks to the freshness of the concept and the presence of powerhouse pop tunes like
"Smooth"
and
"Maria Maria,"
Guitar Heaven
follows the formula to a T, right down to bringing in all the superstars of 2000 --
Rob Thomas
,
Chris Cornell
Scott Weiland
Jacoby Shaddix
Gavin Rossdale
Pat Monahan
Chester Bennington
-- to act as frontmen, along with
Chris Daughtry
, who feels like he should be part of this class. They're balanced by a handful of non-rockers (
India.Arie
Nas
), a blues guitarist in the form of
Jonny Lang
, and, for old fans,
Joe Cocker
singing
Hendrix
, with each track produced as a pop tune, not a rock song. There are no reinterpretations -- not even the
-fronted
"Back in Black"
changes the song much -- just well-known riffs and re-created runs, winding up as something of a celebration of the original recordings. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine