Live On Letterman: Music From The Late Show

"Wanna buy a monkey?" It'd be more exciting than this safe collection of musical performances from the Late Show. Although some of the duet pairings are intriguing (including Lyle Lovett with Al Green and Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach), most of the musicians sound like they're well aware they're playing in front of a national TV audience of millions. While performances from Paula Cole and Dave Matthews predate their explosion onto the charts, yesterday's top acts (Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow) sound like musical footnotes here. In truth, old timers Lou Reed and Patti Smith show their forebears how it's done. In the album's defense, it's an eclectic mix--but ultimately an uninspired one. --Greg Emmanuel

"Wanna buy a monkey?" It'd be more exciting than this safe collection of musical performances from the Late Show. Although some of the duet pairings are intriguing (including Lyle Lovett with Al Green and Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach), most of the musicians sound like they're well aware they're playing in front of a national TV audience of millions. While performances from Paula Cole and Dave Matthews predate their explosion onto the charts, yesterday's top acts (Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow) sound like musical footnotes here. In truth, old timers Lou Reed and Patti Smith show their forebears how it's done. In the album's defense, it's an eclectic mix--but ultimately an uninspired one. --Greg Emmanuel