Various

Lately, it seems like minor league punk labels are dependent on a theme when putting out compilations, perhaps with the prospect of keeping things exciting. But in the case of the Punk Chartbusters series, these intentions fall flat. Based out of Germany, Wolverine Records has compiled two discs of predominately European bands covering a wide spectrum of artists, from Neil Young to David Hasselhoff to whoever does the Spongebob Square Pants theme song. However, the collection does have some highlights, beginning with the Ramouns (a German Ramones tribute act) doing an honourable rendition of the Beach Boys' "Fun, Fun, Fun," which manages to embody both parties dead-on. A psychobilly version of Alice Cooper's "Poison" is well executed by the female-fronted Bonsai Kitten and Vancouver, BC oddball punks McCrackins manage to re-work '70s golden boy Shaun Cassidy's "Hey Deannie" into something tolerable. Beyond the handful of decent tracks though there are just too many misses on Punk Chartbusters and it would have been much more productive to showcase some of these artists' material instead of these lacklustre covers.