Three years in gestation -- which, in time, is a mere handful of months -- , the companion piece to the 2010 covers album , finds most (but certainly not all) of the artists who were interpreted on 's album returning the favor by tackling the progressive singer/songwriter's back catalog. Not every artist chose to scratch 's back. reportedly were irked by his version of "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" and followed his own path away from , so was drafted to contribute an entirely too moody version of "Shock the Monkey" and, better, dug into the dark, unsettling corners of "Mother of Violence." is a contemporary of 's -- he contributed to ' masterwork -- and, like on , the veteran artists provide a better, riskier experience than the younger acts. Generally, the newer artists here -- , ; is a grand exception with his nervy reading of "Not One of Us" -- favor the moody, foreboding side of while his peers prefer to play around. turns the celebratory "Solsbury Hill" into a dirge befitting (and changes the lyrics to read "my friends would think I was a slut" because, you know, sexual danger), seizes upon the new wave disco menace of "I Don't Remember," spins "Big Time" into vaudeville, and, best of all, turns "Biko" into the folk protest anthem it always longed to be. And there are moments scattered among the younger acts worth hearing, too: retain the ominous, dangerous air of "Games Without Frontiers," lends a gorgeous shimmer to "Blood of Eden," and Feist retains the delicacy of "Don't Give Up." This doesn't amount to a cohesive record -- although it favors the contemplative, there are too many shifts in mood here from track to track -- but it is without question a worthwhile record, as its best moments are strong, substantive reinterpretations that illustrate just how good a songwriter is. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine