Easy Star All-Stars

There's almost nothing easier to disparage than cover bands, and reggae covers have a special corner of hell reserved for them. (Think of the terrible Reggatta Mondatta.) So it's slightly awe-inspiring that the Easy Star All-Stars have resurrected what was easily the stalest of Beatles' albums with class and style. The first-rate guests do a significant portion of the heavy lifting -- Luciano is one of the world's greatest singers in any genre -- but the All-Stars' liquid grooves hold the whole thing together. When the album lags, it's usually the source material, not the performers.