VA - Just Like A Heaven A Tribute To The Cure (2009)

Thanks to instantly recognizable harmonies and an expansive slew of hits, the Cure have become one of modern rock's most covered bands, with everyone from Reel Big Fish to the Watson Twins taking on Robert Smith and company's best-loved hits. This compilation collects 16 covers, with most performed by bands sporting both male and female singers, giving Smith's trademark lovelorn moans a different sort of relevance.

Thankfully, “Just Like Heaven” is no one-trick pony: Joy Zipper open it up with a quiet reading of the title track, Tanya Donelly & Dylan in the Movies give “The Lovecats” a Brian Setzer feel, and Kitty Karlyle rocks the hell out of “In Between Days.” Like any covers compilation, though, the reinventions are only as good as the source material, which means Cassettes Won't Listen's burdened, electro-pop “Lets Go to Bed” is unsalvageable, as is “A Strange Day,” despite having Pixies leader Frank Black give it a fuzzy charge.

The label behind this collection, American Laundromat, specializes in assembling tribute albums and covers compilations; among their other titles are “Gigantic: A Tribute to Kim Deal” and “Cinnamon Girl: Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity.”