Am i missing the point?

I agree. Tribute albums may be interesting after the band has had a long, worthy-of-tribute career (like most prog classics or in the metyal world Black Sabbath or others like that)...  but when I see "Tribute to Linkin Park" or even "Tribute to Tool" (they may be good but please!... They're still active!!!) I just know it's a cash-cow...

I agree that tribute albums are completely ridiculous. On the other hand I believe that live tribute bands are quite good. I have never been alive at a time that a Genesis with Peter Gabriel or even Steve Hackett  was still with the band. So The Musical Box tribute band is a welcome experience. It's a good way to see the energy that comes with a live act. Tribute bands for acts that are still active or have recently gone on hiatus are pretty stupid. 

TheCaptain wrote: I agree that tribute albums are completely ridiculous. On the other hand I believe that live tribute bands are quite good. I have never been alive at a time that a Genesis with Peter Gabriel or even Steve Hackett  was still with the band. So The Musical Box tribute band is a welcome experience. It's a good way to see the energy that comes with a live act. Tribute bands for acts that are still active or have recently gone on hiatus are pretty stupid.

Brings to mind the one exception I would note:  I really enjoyed watching Dream Theater perform "Dark Side of the Moon" in its entirety.  Of course it wasn't PF, but honestly, they did a damn admirable job and it was alot of fun for Dark Side fans.  Good DVD if you like Floyd and have a chance to see it. 

I like covers if they're creative, but in general I prefer live renditions to studio tributes. There's nothing like a good ol' timeless tune played by a bunch of talented guys at a gig!

I wouldn't buy a tribute acts CD I guess, but hell, I'd see a tribute act live if they can be creative with the songs, turn them into their own while keeping the touch and feel of the original.
What some people in this thread seem to forget is sometimes, the original band can't tour certain places at all.
So what people gonna do in that circumstance? The next best thing, see the tribute band of course.
Living in Australia, I can tell you know it's common for bands to not tour Australia at all because breaking even is pretty hard here for international acts, let alone making money.

I'd go further and say tribute bands have had a negative impact overall , as so many smaller UK venues will only book them (or at least mainly book them) , making it even harder for struggling new bands, playing originals, to get a gig at all. 

Wow, that's very different than the US. Tribute Bands are a novelty and pretty fun. They're not squeezing out any original bands at all. Of course, lots of small bars hire cover bands or bands that mix originals and covers, but that's how you move up.

Generally I agree that most tribute bands are a waste of time, and I certainly won't waste my money on their LPs.

However, having said that, I did go to see Australian Pink Floyd in Narberth, West Wales about nine years ago (this was before, incredibly, they became a large arena band). They were good, but having seen the original do The Wall, obviously not a patch on the original.

I also quite like established bands doing tributes - the Mostly Autumn Pink Floyd DVD comes to mind - there was some good stuff on that.

In summary, established artists/bands paying tribute is okay. Tribute bands fill a need for some to see live the bands who, for some reason, they never saw live (i.e. too young), or have a insatiable need to revisit them when the band themselves no longer are extant, and they are generally worthless.

BTW - what do people who have seen Yes this year with the tribute band singer reckon to it all? Classic Rock Prog Special gave them an almost rave review.

The challenge is to do a cover and bring a new worthwhile arrangement to it. Easy Star All Stars are an excellent example of a group of musicians added to the original. The first Phish album I bought was alive cover of the whole of the Beatles' White Album - anybody want a cheap copy of Phish doing the White Album, hardly played? There are  a couple of covers taken from Lamb Lies Down - e.g. by Jeff Buckley or Paul Gilbert that work (as much as I love Kevin Gilbert  or  Shaun Guerin's voices,  I don't they don't add much else here) and then I have mixed feelings with the recent double, Rewiring Genesis (apart from the transposing of the instrumental arrangements to an orchestra, little else was obvious wrt change) - compare this against  Yngve Guddal & Roger Matte's arrangements of Genesis tunes on Genesis For Two Grand Pianos.

I'm not interested in tribute bands, but can enjoy tribute albums, especially if done creatively.  I like Hamtaï! Hommage à la musique de Christian Vander