Fleetwood Mac was the subject of an all-star tribute back in 1998, when
Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours appeared. That full-length album tribute celebrated the
Mac's biggest hit in a big way, concentrating entirely on major-label acts like
Elton John and
Matchbox 20, but 2012's
Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac is decidedly more eccentric, as its title -- a line borrowed from "Tusk" -- no doubt suggests. Apart from
Marianne Faithfull and
Billy Gibbons, along with Americana singer
Trixie Whitley, every band here exists solely within the realm of indie rock and, collectively, there's been a decision to stray from the confines of the standards of the
Buckingham/
Nicks songbook, with
Bob Welch and
Peter Green eras almost as well-represented as oddities from
Lindsey Buckingham's album tracks. Certainly, the major hits come from
Nicks:
Antony essays an appropriately florid version of "Landslide,"
Karen Elson brings a bit of spooky blues to the witchy "Gold Dust Woman" -- a reinvention surpassed by
Best Coast's sprightly, insistent "Rhiannon," and
the Kills turning "Dreams" into something resembling nightmares. Hooks take a backseat -- only the
New Pornographers' "Think About Me" really pushes the power pop angle -- to eerie, dreamy textures, with the
Lee Ranaldo Band and
J Mascis setting a pitch-perfect keynote with "Albatross," even though it's hardly just guitars here.
Tame Impala push "That's All for Everyone" onto waves of analog synths,
MGMT give "Future Games" a considerable reworking,
Gardens & Villa turn "Gypsy" into electro-pop, and
Crystal Ark perform a similar trick with "Tusk," signaling the kind of imagination and depth that make
Just Tell Me That You Want Me an unusually satisfying tribute album.