Skandalous All-Stars: Hit Me

On a conceptual level, Hit Me didn't have to be such a leaden failure: By definition, making ska covers of alternative-rock and metal songs isn't necessarily a terrible idea. But slog through Skandalous All-Stars' lazy, boring, witless, improbably slow renditions, and you soon realize that what looks promising on paper can be deadly dull on digital plastic. The all-stars themselves include members of The Skatalites, Mephiskapheles and Ruder Than You, and welcome guest stars like Living Colour's Corey Glover and the members of Cycle Sluts From Hell. (Remember them) But the performances do nothing even remotely inventive with songs by bands like Nirvana, Breeders, White Zombie, Kiss, Beck and—surprise!—Living Colour and Cycle Sluts From Hell. Each track just monotonously plods along for four or five or, heaven forbid, six minutes, without ever varying in speed or tone. The concept is more promising than, say, Pat Boone: In A Metal Mood, but the results aren't.