The KLF - The White Room (1991)

After the incredible success of their "Doctorin' the Tardis" single in 1988 (better known as that theme from Dr. Who), Drummond and Cauty had plenty of money to hire talented musicians (instead of merely sampling them, as on their early recordings). The White Room is the result, an album bursting with hit singles that nevertheless flows as well as any concept album. Often overlooked as a classic from the acid house era (mostly because of the KLF's retirement one year later), The White Room represents the commercial and artistic peak of late-'80s acid-house.

"The downside to a success like Thriller is that it's nearly impossible to follow, but Michael Jackson approached Bad much the same way he approached Thriller -- take the basic formula of the predecessor, expand it slightly, and move it outward. This meant that he moved deeper into hard rock, deeper into schmaltzy adult contemporary, deeper into hard dance -- essentially taking each portion of Thriller to an extreme, while increasing the quotient of immaculate studiocraft. He wound up with a sleeker, slicker Thriller, which isn't a bad thing, but it's not a rousing success, either. For one thing, the material just isn't as good. Look at the singles: only three can stand alongside album tracks from its predecessor ("Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"), another is simply OK ("Smooth Criminal"), with the other two showcasing Jackson at his worst (the saccharine "Man in the Mirror," the misogynistic "Dirty Diana"). Then, there are the album tracks themselves, something that virtually didn't exist on Thriller but bog down Bad not just because they're bad, but because they reveal that Jackson's state of the art is not hip. And they constitute a near-fatal dead spot on the record -- songs three through six, from "Speed Demon" to "Another Part of Me," a sequence that's utterly faceless, lacking memorable hooks and melodies, even when Stevie Wonder steps in for "Just Good Friends," relying on nothing but studiocraft. Part of the joy of Off the Wall and Thriller was that craft was enhanced with tremendous songs, performances, and fresh, vivacious beats. For this dreadful stretch, everything is mechanical, and while the album rebounds with songs that prove mechanical can be tolerable if delivered with hooks and panache, it still makes Bad feel like an artifact of its time instead a piece of music that transcends it. And if that wasn't evident proof that Jackson was losing touch, consider this -- the best song on the album is "Leave Me Alone" (why are all of his best songs paranoid anthems?), a tune tacked on to the end of the CD and never released as a single, apart from a weirdly claustrophobic video that, not coincidentally, was the best video from the album."

4 and a 1/2 stars, given how negative that review is...

The last Beatles album to be recorded (although Let It Be was the last to be released), Abbey Road was a fitting swan song for the group, echoing some of the faux-conceptual forms of Sgt. Pepper, but featuring stronger compositions and more rock-oriented ensemble work. The group was still pushing forward in all facets of its art, whether devising some of the greatest harmonies to be heard on any rock record (especially on "Because"), constructing a medley of songs/vignettes that covered much of side two, adding subtle touches of Moog synthesizer, or crafting furious guitar-heavy rock ("The End," "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," "Come Together"). George Harrison also blossomed into a major songwriter, contributing the buoyant "Here Comes the Sun" and the supremely melodic ballad "Something," the latter of which became the first Harrison-penned Beatles hit. Whether Abbey Road is the Beatles' best work is debatable, but it's certainly the most immaculately produced (with the possible exception of Sgt. Pepper) and most tightly constructed.

Spawning four hit singles, But Seriously topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. While pursuing much of the same formula as on No Jacket Required, there was also a move toward more organic production as Collins abandoned some of the drum machines and prominent keyboards in the up-tempo numbers in favor of live instrumentation. The decision was a good one as there's no doubt that tracks such as "Find a Way to My Heart" and "Hang in Long Enough" have enough bite to outlast his more dated sounding mid-80s material. As usual, there are a bit too many generic ballads here, but when Collins moves out of his formula as on the dramatic gospel-influenced "I Wish it Would Rain Down," featuring Eric Clapton, the results are staggering.

Dr Dre - Chronic (2001)

Song after song, there's a never-ending litany of violence, drugs, pussy, bitches, dope, guns, and gangsters. After a full decade of this, it takes real effort to get outraged at this stuff, so chances are, you'll shut out the words and groove along since, sonically, this is first-rate, straight-up gangsta. Still, no matter how much fun you may have, it's hard not to shake the feeling that this is cheap, not lasting, fun.

****

This may be the soundtrack for Eminem's movie debut, but don't think of 8 Mile of as an Eminem album, because it's not. It's a soundtrack and plays like a soundtrack, with many cuts from current stars and new artists (several associated with Eminem's fledgling Shady imprint), plus a couple of previously released tracks, most of it very high quality, whether it's a hard-hitting Jay-Z, a sultry Macy Gray, or Taryn Manning's Boomkat's sexy slow burn "Wasting My Time." Sure, there's a couple of tracks that fall flat -- Young Zee and Obie Trice feel strained -- but it all flows well, and it's all strong. But it's also all overshadowed by four blindingly great new songs from Eminem (four and a half, if you count his show-stealing appearance on D-12's "Rap Game"), all illustrating a step forward from The Eminem Show, even if they work a familiar pseudo-biographical ground. What impresses is not just the wordplay and delivery, but the music itself -- fuller, richer than anything on his previous records, appropriately cinematic in scope and pushing Eminem toward new heights. The opening track and first single "Lose Yourself" is easily equaled by the title song with its layered pianos, while "Rabbit Run" is nearly as good. Hearing these, it's hard not to greedily hunger for a full album of this, but the soundtrack is excellent as is and these new Eminem cuts make it a necessary purchase.

I think I was embarrassingly old the first time I actually bought an album.

Of course allmusic.com does not have a review of this record, I'd write one myself but I haven't heard "Drag City" in forty plus years and I'm dog tired. "Drag City" was awesome!

Kiss - Alive! (1975)

Alive! was the album that catapulted Kiss from cult attraction to mega-superstars. It was their first Top Ten album, remaining on the charts for 110 weeks and eventually going quadruple platinum. Culled from shows in Detroit, New Jersey, Iowa, and Cleveland on the Dressed to Kill tour, the record features producer Eddie Kramer doing a masterful job of capturing the band's live performance on record. The band's youthful energy is contagious, and with positively electric versions of their best early material, it's no mystery why Alive! is widely regarded as one of the greatest live hard rock recordings of all time. "Rock and Roll All Nite" became a Top 20 smash and was the main reason for the album's success, but there are many other tracks that are just as strong — "Deuce," "Strutter," "Firehouse," "Parasite," "She," "100,000 Years," "Black Diamond," and "Cold Gin" all shine in a live setting. Although there's been some speculation of extensive overdubbing to correct mistakes, Alive! remains Kiss' greatest album ever. An essential addition to any rock collection.

4.5/5

i remember my first 10-15 albums, but have no idea which one came first

Though Simenon's breakout hit "Beat Dis" isn't quite as frenetic as contemporary material by Coldcut (or even M/A/R/R/S), the debut Bomb the Bass LP is an intriguing trip through sampledelic hip-hop, electro, acid-house and even dance-pop (as on his other hits, "Don't Make Me Wait" and the Burt Bacharach cover "Say a Little Prayer"). Much of the album mines territory similar to "Beat Dis" -- that is, inventive hip-hop tracks like "On the Cut," "Megablast (Hip Hop on Precinct 13)," and "Dynamite Beats" which are somewhat indebted to Mantronix.
4/5

I haven't heard this album in nearly 20 years, and I'm guessing it sounds horribly, horribly dated now.

There is no review for Jive Bunny - The Album. I think we can safely assume it would've been given five stars, mind.

Modern Life Is Rubbish established Blur as the heir to the archly British pop of the Kinks, the Small Faces, and the Jam, but its follow-up, Parklife, revealed the depth of that transformation. Relying more heavily on Ray Davies' seriocomic social commentary, as well as new wave, Parklife runs through the entire history of post-British Invasion Britpop in the course of 16 songs, touching on psychedelia, synth pop, disco, punk, and music hall along the way. Damon Albarn intended these songs to form a sketch of British life in the mid-'90s, and it's startling how close he came to his goal; not only did the bouncy, disco-fied "Girls & Boys" and singalong chant "Parklife" become anthems in the U.K., but they inaugurated a new era of Britpop and lad culture, where British youth celebrated their country and traditions. The legions of jangly, melodic bands that followed in the wake of Parklife revealed how much more complex Blur's vision was. Not only was their music precisely detailed -- sound effects and brilliant guitar lines pop up all over the record -- but the melodies elegantly interweaved with the chords, as in the graceful, heartbreaking "Badhead." Surprisingly, Albarn, for all of his cold, dispassionate wit, demonstrates compassion that gives these songs three dimensions, as on the pathos-laden "End of a Century," the melancholy Walker Brothers tribute "To the End," and the swirling, epic closer, "This Is a Low." For all of its celebration of tradition, Parklife is a thoroughly modern record in that it bends genres and is self-referential (the mod anthem of the title track is voiced by none other than Phil Daniels, the star of Quadrophenia). And, by tying the past and the present together, Blur articulated the mid-'90s zeitgeist and produced an epoch-defining record.

my 10 year old self loved this record. reading this review i am reminded that it's probably still excellent.

The Prodigy's response to the sweeping legislation and crackdown on raves contained in 1994's Criminal Justice Bill is an effective statement of intent. Pure sonic terrorism, Music for the Jilted Generation employs the same rave energy that charged their debut, Experience, up the charts in Britain, but yokes it to a cause other than massive drug intake. Compared to their previous work, the sound is grubbier and less reliant on samples; the effect moved the Prodigy away from the American-influenced rave and acid house of the past and toward a uniquely British vision of breakbeat techno that was increasingly allied to the limey invention of drum'n'bass. As on Experience, there are so many great songs here that first-time listeners would be forgiven for thinking of a greatest-hits compilation instead of a proper studio album. After a short intro, the shattering of panes of glass on "Break & Enter" catapults the album ahead with a propulsive flair. Each of the four singles — "Voodoo People," "Poison," "No Good (Start the Dance)," and "One Love" — are excellent, though album tracks like "Speedway" and "Their Law" (with help from Pop Will Eat Itself) don't slip up either. If Experience seemed like an excellent fluke, Music for the Jilted Generation is the album that announced the Prodigy were on the charts to stay.

no pinky and perky 'have a party' album...absolute outrage

Quirky and often highly clever, BANDNAME had one of the most appealing alternative rock releases of 1996 in ALBUMNAME -- which grossed some listeners out with a cover depicting tarantulas. This eccentric, risk-taking band (not to be confused with the late-'70s disco group BANDNAME) doesn't take itself too seriously, and brings an enjoyably twisted sense of humor to such goofy numbers as "SINGLENAME" (an ode to a lover who practices witchcraft), "ALBUMTRACK" and "ALBUMTRACK." BANDNAME's inspirations range from hip-hop to brooding East European folk, which is incorporated with inspired results on "ALBUMTRACK" and "ALBUMTRACK." To be sure, the rockers can be overly self-indulgent, but like Frank Zappa and George Clinton, generally use their eccentricity advantageously.

but still just 3*

Divorced from the controversy that surrounded its release, Body Count's self-titled debut is a surprisingly tepid affair. Apart from the previously released "Body Count" (which appeared on Ice-T's 1991 album O.G. Original Gangster), the record is devoid of serious commentary, trading intelligence for a lurid comic book depiction of sex, violence, and "Voodoo." All of Ice-T's half-sung/half-shouted lyrics fall far short of the standard he established on his hip-hop albums. The controversial "Cop Killer" — which is nothing more than a standard thrash metal chant — stands out because it is one of the few tracks that doesn't rely on garish, cartoonish imagery. There's the saga of "Evil Dick," which tells Ice-T not to "sleep alone." There's "KKK Bitch," where he crashes a Ku Klux Klan meeting and screws the grand dragon's daughter. There's "Voodoo," where a witch doctor cripples our hero with a voodoo doll. There's "Mama's Gotta Die Tonight," where Ice-T offs his mother cause she's a racist. By the time the band works around to the power ballad "The Winner Loses" and Ice-T is crooning "My friend's addicted to cocaine," it's unclear whether the record is a parody or a horribly flawed stab at arena metal. It would help if the band wrote riffs that were memorable or if they conveyed a sense of kinetic energy instead of tossing out their riffs in a workmen-like fashion. Perhaps Body Count was intentionally humorous — although the group's follow-up, Born Dead, suggests that it wasn't — but in any case, the record was simply embarrassing. After "Cop Killer" was pulled from the album, it was replaced with a bland version of Ice-T's rap classic "The Iceberg" recorded with Jello Biafra.

Jeff Lynne reportedly regards this album and its follow-up, Out of the Blue, as the high points in the band's history. One might be better off opting for A New World Record over its successor, however, as a more modest-sized creation chock full of superb songs that are produced even better. Opening with the opulently orchestrated "Tightrope," which heralds the perfect production found throughout this album, A New World Record contains seven of the best songs ever to come out of the group. The Beatles influence is present, to be sure, but developed to a very high degree of sophistication and on Lynne's own terms, rather than being imitative of specific songs. "Telephone Line" might be the best Lennon-McCartney collaboration that never was, lyrical and soaring in a way that manages to echo elements of Revolver and the Beatles without ever mimicking them. The original LP's second side opened with "So Fine," which seems like the perfect pop synthesis of guitar, percussion, and orchestral sounds, embodying precisely what Lynne had first set out to do with Roy Wood at the moment ELO was conceived. From there, the album soars through stomping rock numbers like "Livin' Thing" and "Do Ya," interspersed with lyrical pieces like "Above the Clouds" (which makes striking use of pizzicato bass strings).

In the simplest terms, The Great Escape is the flip side of Parklife. Where Blur's breakthrough album was a celebration of the working class, drawing on British pop from the '60s and reaching through the '80s, The Great Escape concentrates on the suburbs, featuring a cast of characters all trying to cope with the numbing pressures of modern life. Consequently, it's darker than Parklife, even if the melancholia is hidden underneath the crisp production and catchy melodies. Even the bright, infectious numbers on The Great Escape have gloomy subtexts, whether it's the disillusioned millionaire of "Country House" and the sycophant of "Charmless Man" or the bleak loneliness of "Globe Alone" and "Entertain Me." Naturally, the slower numbers are even more despairing, with the acoustic "Best Days," the lush, sweeping strings of "The Universal," and the stark, moving electronic ballad "Yuko & Hiro" ranking as the most affecting work Blur has ever recorded. However, none of this makes The Great Escape a burden or a difficult album. The music bristles with invention throughout, as Blur delves deeper into experimentation with synthesizers, horns, and strings; guitarist Graham Coxon twists out unusual chords and lead lines, and Damon Albarn spits out unexpected lyrical couplets filled with wit and venomous intelligence in each song. But Blur's most remarkable accomplishment is that it can reference the past -- the Scott Walker homage of "The Universal," the Terry Hall/Fun Boy Three cop on "Top Man," the skittish, XTC-flavored pop of "It Could Be You," and Albarn's devotion to Ray Davies -- while still moving forward, creating a vibrant, invigorating record.

Months after the release of the harrowing The Holy Bible, Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey James disappeared, leaving no trace of his whereabouts or his well-being. Ultimately, the remaining trio decided to carry on, releasing their fourth album, Everything Must Go, in 1996. Considering the tragic circumstances that surrounded it, Everything Must Go is the strongest, most focused, and certainly the most optimistic album the Manics ever released. Five of the songs feature lyrics Richey left behind before his disappearance, and while offering no motivation for his actions, they do hint at the depths of his despair. Nicky Wire wrote the remaining lyrics, and his songs give the record its weight and balance, confronting the issue of Richey's disappearance in a roundabout way, never explicitly mentioning the topic but offering a gritty dose of realistic optimism offering the hope that things will get better; after the nihilism of The Holy Bible, the outlook is all the more inspiring. Furthermore, the Manics' musical attack has become leaner; their music still rages, but it's channeled into concise, anthemic rock songs that soar on their own belief. Above all, Everything Must Go is a cathartic experience — it is genuinely moving to hear the Manics offering hope without sinking to mawkish sentimentality or collapsing under the weight of their situation.

"If you're going to pillage someone else's ideas, then go for broke. Because even if you find yourself crammed between the barriers of creative space, utterly at a loss for ideas, expression, or thought, you'd still have a self-respect buzzing in your ear like a mad angelic insect, putting down the newspaper and taking out a cigar to remind you that, hell, if want to sound like Radiohead when even Thom Yorke doesn't want to sound like Radiohead, you might as well take it to preposterous, bombastic, over-the-top levels. Add church organs, mental electronics, riffs bouncing off each other like the monolithic screams in 2001: A Space Odyssey, and you'll finally be in position to crack skulls like coconuts and make the world's speakers ooze gooey blood. "

After the muddled production and ultracomplicated song structures of ...And Justice for All, Metallica decided that they had taken the progressive elements of their music as far as they could and that a simplification and streamlining of their sound was in order. While the assessment made sense from a musical standpoint, it also presented an opportunity to commercialize their music, and Metallica accomplishes both goals. The best songs are more melodic and immediate, the crushing, stripped-down grooves of "Enter Sandman," "Sad but True," and "Wherever I May Roam" sticking to traditional structures and using the same main riffs throughout; the crisp, professional production by Bob Rock adds to their accessibility. "The Unforgiven" and "Nothing Else Matters" avoid the slash-and-burn guitar riffs that had always punctuated the band's ballads; the latter is a full-fledged love song complete with string section, which works much better than might be imagined. The song- and riff-writing slips here and there, a rare occurrence for Metallica, which some longtime fans interpreted as filler next to a batch of singles calculated for commercial success. The objections were often more to the idea that Metallica was doing anything explicitly commercial, but millions more disagreed. In fact, the band's popularity exploded so much that most of their back catalog found mainstream acceptance in its own right, while other progressively inclined speed metal bands copied the move toward simplification. In retrospect, Metallica is a good, but not quite great, album, one whose best moments deservedly captured the heavy metal crown, but whose approach also foreshadowed a creative decline.

Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers anticipated the megamix boom of the mid-to-late '90s, assembling a seemingly endless series of dancefloor-friendly medleys of pop oldies. The brainchild of British producers John Pickles and Ian Morgan, Jive Bunny came out of nowhere in 1989 to top the UK charts with their debut single "Swing the Mood"; when the follow-ups "That's What I Like" and "Let's Party" both reached number one as well, the duo became only the third act in history (behind Gerry & the Pacemakers and Frankie Goes to Hollywood) to score chart-topping singles with each of their first three releases. Jive Bunny--The Album appeared in 1989 as well; subsequent singles including "That Sounds Good" and "Can Can You Party" reached the British Top Ten,

For the Lightning Seeds' third album, Jollification, Ian Broudie wrote his strongest batch of songs yet and managed to return to the top of the British charts. At ten tracks, Jollification is overly brief; eight of the ten tracks are genuine keepers and rank amongst the band's best work. "Lucky You," "Marvelous," "Perfect," and "Change" (which received some recognition in the U.S. due to its exposure in the movie Clueless), were all modern British pop gems that arrived at the height of Brit-pop. While the album is occasionally too produced — this is especially pronounced in the more synthesizer-driven songs — the melodies dominate despite their occasional stiffness. Jollification is Broudie's most cohesive and consistent album to date.

To paraphrase David Bowie, this ain't rock & roll. It's genre-cide. Showaddywaddy broke through with a pounding, spangle-soaked approximation of all that made the '50s palatable to an early-'70s Brit teen audience, and racked up three major hits in the blink of an eye. But just how glam were they really — and how glam did they intend remaining? So aptly named if one believes there really was a fiendish plan to subvert a nation of glitterkids into zombie Eddie Cochran clones, Step Two arrived bereft of all but the most superficial layers of spangle and spark, confident in the knowledge that anyone who had traveled this far was hardly going to bail out now. And so it transpired. Step Two was just as big as its predecessor, and its hits were even bigger. Band originals consumed the bulk of the album, but whereas once the group could glitter with the best of them, now the drapes were tightly drawn, and the brothel creeper boots were the platforms du jour. Almost any one of the album's songs could have spun securely on a vintage Sun label, while three crucial covers place the 'Waddy in even darker context. If anything distinguished the British rock & roll crowd (the Teddy Boys of legend and infamy), it was their undying obsession with the movement's fallen heroes. Showaddywaddy's masterful recreation of ochran's "Three Steps to Heaven" and Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang," and a wry medley of Tommy Dee's "Three Stars" and Buddy Holly's "Rave On," tell you all you need to know on that score. All of which would be a major problem if Showaddywaddy didn't carry it all off with such aplomb, and a die-hard enthusiasm which is impossible to resist. So what if songs like "If You Know What I Mean," "Blue Jean Baby" (dedicated, of course, to Gene Vincent), and "The Latest Craze" have more pelvis than Presley? Catch a glimpse of the band at the peak of their powers, and the smiles are as elvish as they are Elvis, as hearty as they're Haley. In other words, Showaddywaddy might have taken their mission very seriously indeed. But they didn't expect their audience to be even half as dedicated — and would probably have been disappointed if they were. Who else, after all, was going to buy "Hey Mr. Christmas"?

"Now That's What I Call Music" Compilations on there.
LAME

For the Lightning Seeds' third album, Jollification, Ian Broudie wrote his strongest batch of songs yet and managed to return to the top of the British charts. At ten tracks, Jollification is overly brief; eight of the ten tracks are genuine keepers and rank amongst the band's best work. "Lucky You," "Marvelous," "Perfect," and "Change" (which received some recognition in the U.S. due to its exposure in the movie Clueless), were all modern British pop gems that arrived at the height of Brit-pop. While the album is occasionally too produced -- this is especially pronounced in the more synthesizer-driven songs -- the melodies dominate despite their occasional stiffness. Jollification is Broudie's most cohesive and consistent album to date.

It is probably true that Bon Jovi's breakthrough success with Slippery When Wet, their third album, had more to do with lead singer Jon Bon Jovi's mop of curls and winning smile than with anything in the grooves of the record. Nevertheless, the album contained competent contemporary pop/rock, from its Eddie Van Halen-inspired guitar solos to the singer's enthusiastic, husky wail (which owed a lot to Bruce Springsteen). Jon Bon Jovi, guitarist Richie Sambora, and songwriter-for-hire Desmond Child had little more on their minds than girls and rock-as-mythology (even the working-class anthem "Livin' on a Prayer" featured a character who was forced to hock his "six string"), but that may only mean they had identified their audience — young white adolescent males — and were targeting it accurately.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Bore-Get-Chorus-CASSETTE/dp/B000053MYZ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1213890928&sr=8-3

On their second album, TLC downplay their overt rap connections, recording a smooth, seductive collection of contemporary soul reminiscent of both Philly soul and Prince, powered by new jack and hip-hop beats. Lisa Lopes contributes the occasional rap, but the majority of CrazySexyCool belongs to Tionne Watkins and Rozonda Thomas. While they aren't the most accomplished vocalists — they have a tendency to be just slightly off-key — the material they sing is consistently strong. As the cover of Prince's "If I Was Your Girlfriend" indicates, TLC favor erotic, mid-tempo funk. Yet the group removes any of the psychosexual complexities of Prince's songs, leaving a batch of sexy material that just sounds good, especially the hit singles. Both "Creep" and "Red Light Special" have a deep groove that accentuates the slinky hooks, but it's "Waterfalls," with its gently insistent horns and guitar lines and instantly memorable chorus, that ranks as one of the classic R&B songs of the '90s.

5 Stars. Jeees, i had it all right back then.
Haven't played this in about 13 years,might have to indulge myself laters

and i thank you...

Totally Krossed Out, the debut album by kiddie-rap sensations Kris Kross, is so tailored to a particular audience in a particular time period that it's nearly impossible to judge by any objective standard. So let's try anyway. Producer Jermaine Dupri -- still a teenager himself -- wrote all the songs here, and he delivers a catchy, pop-friendly batch of tracks that manage to stay pretty consistently engaging (perhaps in part because they are short). The album's interview intro disses playground rivals Another Bad Creation (that would have been a great hip-hop feud) before segueing into the irresistible smash "Jump" (oh, just try and listen to it without smiling, you heartless grinch). Actually, the miggeda-miggeda-mack bit proves they're not bad rappers, if they're able to borrow technique from Das EFX -- though they don't keep it up, if for no other reason than that kids want to understand the words to songs they like. And "Warm It Up" is nearly as good. Some of the album tracks are lyrically generic, but the story song "Party" finds Chris and Chris trying to sneak into a club to meet girlies. There are some surprisingly serious notes struck on "Lil' Boys in da Hood" and "A Real Bad Dream," which paint the duo as knowing street kids who are all too aware of the dangers they could easily fall into. There's nothing terribly frightening, but it's more realistic than the innocent bubblegum you might expect. Of course, then there's the self-explanatory "I Missed the Bus." But overall, Totally Krossed Out isn't nearly as obnoxious or cutesy as adults might fear -- even if the lads' MC boasts just make you want to pat them on the head.
4/5

If Definitely Maybe was an unintentional concept album about wanting to be a rock & roll star, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? is what happens after the dreams come true. Oasis turns in a relatively introspective second record, filled with big, gorgeous ballads instead of ripping rockers. Unlike Definitely Maybe, the production on Morning Glory is varied enough to handle the range in emotions; instead of drowning everything with amplifiers turned up to 12, there are strings, keyboards, and harmonicas. This expanded production helps give Noel Gallagher's sweeping melodies an emotional resonance that he occasionally can't convey lyrically. However, that is far from a fatal flaw; Gallagher's lyrics work best in fragments, where the images catch in your mind and grow, thanks to the music. Gallagher may be guilty of some borrowing, or even plagiarism, but he uses the familiar riffs as building blocks. This is where his genius lies: He's a thief and doesn't have many original thoughts, but as a pop/rock melodicist he's pretty much without peer. Likewise, as musicians, Oasis are hardly innovators, yet they have a majestic grandeur in their sound that makes ballads like "Wonderwall" or rockers like "Some Might Say" positively transcendent. Alan White does add authority to the rhythm section, but the most noticeable change is in Liam Gallagher. His voice sneered throughout Definitely Maybe, but on Morning Glory his singing has become more textured and skillful. He gives the lyric in the raging title track a hint of regret, is sympathetic on "Wonderwall," defiant on "Some Might Say," and humorous on "She's Electric," a bawdy rewrite of "Digsy's Diner." It might not have the immediate impact of Definitely Maybe, but Morning Glory is just as exciting and compulsively listenable.

Bill and Ted go to Hell accompanied by a stomping, pounding soundtrack that ranges from Steve Vai to Kiss to Primus. As always, some material stands out and other material can be ignored -- Kiss' plodding "God Gave Rock & Roll to You II" makes them sound as though they should be covering Frank Sinatra songs. Steve Vai's contribution (repeated with sampled dialog from the movie) is a definite standout, along with Faith No More's "The Perfect Crime," Megadeth's gloomy "Go to Hell," Primus' "Tommy the Cat" (featuring Tom Waits) and Love on Ice's "Showdown." Oddly enough, along with full credits and pictures the album also gives you complete lyrics.

At the time of its release, Shaved Fish didn't attract as much attention as any compilation of John Lennon's work would have either a few years before or a few years after. Lennon had just issued the somewhat disappointing genre album, Rock 'n' Roll, and was only a year from Walls and Bridges, not one of his strongest albums, and had also grown somewhat stale as a public figure. Drawing on his singles up to that point in his career, it shows a punkier, more defiant vision of Lennon's work than subsequent compilations, which would dwell on a broader cross section of his output. "Happy Christmas" and "Imagine" are moments of peace in the company of artifacts from his political/agitprop ("Power to the People") and primal scream ("Mother") periods, and his attempts at topical songwriting ("Woman Is the Nigger of the World"), and "Whatever Gets You Through the Night," which was unique to this LP, was a better piece of mainstream rock & roll than any of the late-'50s numbers that he ground out for Rock 'n' Roll. This collection, which was the last LP release to come from Lennon in any form until Double Fantasy five years later, was the only compilation of his work released in Lennon's own lifetime, and has since been supplanted by various posthumous assemblies of his music.

Songs in the Key of Springfield collects music and dialogue from The Simpsons, the greatest television series in the history of mankind. Among the selections are the "'Itchy and Scratchy' Theme," "It Was a Very Good Beer" (Homer's elegiac ode to underage drinking), Tito Puente's spicy "Senor Burns," and Lisa's cover of Carole King's "Jazzman," and "Springfield, Springfield," in which Bart and Milhouse "go crazy Broadway style!"

Enjoy:
Chicago's early-'80s return from the scrapheap did more than bring the group its biggest chart successes: it finally shattered the carefully maintained "faceless" image that had prevented any member from becoming an individual star. In the dawning age of video, the band needed a focal point, and bassist Peter Cetera — already the voice behind Chicago's soft rock smashes like "If You Leave Me Now," which had made significant inroads with the MOR audience — was the logical choice. So it wasn't a huge surprise that, following Chicago XVII, Cetera decided to use his new celebrity to strike out on his own. He'd already come close to leaving a few years earlier, making his first solo album when Chicago was at a commercial low point; this time he had plenty of momentum, reinforced with a little cross-marketing for the movie The Karate Kid, Part II. Cetera's gallant "The Glory of Love" served as the film's theme and became a major hit as well as defined his post-Chicago sound — essentially XVII without the horns, with one ultra-slick L.A. producer (Michael Omartian) replacing another (David Foster). The loss of brass, even in the subservient role it had come to play in post-resurrection Chicago, leaves Solitude/Solitaire bland around the edges, and since Omartian went for more trendy embellishments than Foster (especially on up-tempo tracks like "Big Mistake") the album doesn't have the timeless sound of Cetera's former work. However, his familiar tenor and gift for melody insure a pleasant listen even today, the well-crafted balladry making the lack of bite bearable.

In his 2000 debut album, Craig David merges smooth-soul crooning with a cascade of glistening keyboards, circling guitars, and sophisticated rhythms. Displaying a healthy marriage of current R&B vocal stylings and U.K. club/dance fused beats, David's music skillfully evades feeling robotic and cold, while still sounding pristine and immaculate. As an artist who is in his late teens, he conjures up a personal and revealing work that delves into both his mature sound and youthful attitude. Co-writing and co-producing with Mark Hill of the British garage act the Artful Dodger, David wraps his scorching-cool vocals around a mellow attack of keyboards and drums, while distinctly focusing on romance, relationships, and clubbing. Guitars simmer on "7 Days," a day by day account of an adventurous first week with a woman he magically encounters while in a subway. In "Can't Be Messing 'Round," the performer's razor sharp vocals heat-seek while a keyboard hammers before being covered by a high-sounding whirlpool of strings. With the dance anthem "Time to Party," drums sting and a whispering guitar is faintly heard while he optimistically sings "Friday, payday/Ready to do the things we love." The lyrics do sometimes sound underdeveloped due to David's age, and the music can occasionally lack distinctiveness, yet those two factors do not hinder the celebratory power of Born to Do It. The album features an effortless presentation of limber and carefully articulated vocal talents by the singer that seamlessly glide through the polished collage of songs.
****

Nearly ten years after beginning U2 Mach II with their brilliant seventh album Achtung Baby, U2 ease into their third phase with 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind. The title signifies more than it seems, since the group sifts through its past, working with Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, all in an effort to construct a classicist U2 album. Thankfully, it's a rock record from a band that absorbed all the elastic experimentation, studio trickery, dance flirtations, and genre bending of Achtung, Zooropa, and Pop -- all they've shed is the irony. U2 choose not to delve as darkly personal as they did on Achtung or Zooropa, yet they also avoid the alienating archness of Pop, returning to the generous spirit that flowed through their best '80s records. On that level, All may be reminiscent of The Joshua Tree, but this is a clever and craftsmanlike record, filled with nifty twists in the arrangements, small sonic details, and colors. U2 take subtle risks, such as their best pure pop song ever with "Wild Honey"; they're so self-confident they effortlessly write their best anthem in years with "Beautiful Day"; they offer the gospel-influenced "Stuck in a Moment," never once lowering it to the shtick it would have been on Rattle and Hum. Like any work from craftsmen, All That You Can't Leave Behind winds up being a work of modest pleasures, where the way the verse eases into the chorus means more than the overall message, and this is truly the first U2 album where that sentiment applies -- but there is genuine pleasure in their craft, for the band and listener alike.

Since Noel Gallagher plays most of the parts on the album, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants isn't really the debut of the new, post-Guigsy/Bonehead lineup, but it is clearly the beginning of Oasis, Mark II. Such a grandiose statement may imply that it's a clear break from Oasis' past, yet that's hardly the case, since many signatures are still in place — strummed acoustic guitars, big hooks, undeveloped lyrics, familiar rhymes, and a gigantic wall of sound. The arrangements are every bit as detailed as Be Here Now, but they're clearer and better focused, since Oasis' brains weren't clouded with excess and hubris. Ironically, this is also their most overtly druggy, psychedelic release to date — Gallagher and Mark "Spike" Stent spent endless hours adding Mellotrons, swirling guitars, and vague dancefloor ideas borrowed from the Chemical Brothers and the Charlatans UK, while Noel's melodies invariably follow the minor-key patterns typical of '60s psychedelic pop. Yet for all of its heavy psychedelic influence, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants is really a self-consciously mature departure from the group's usual ebullience, a deliberately mellow, mid-tempo album spiked with hints of big beat and electronica to prove that they're with it. This may result in the most cohesive Oasis record since Definitely Maybe, but that cohesion has come at a price. Few songs are as bracing as Noel's best work from the first three albums; not even the rockers have the giddy rush or alluring sparkle of classic Oasis. Yes, this flows well, but it's the work of a self-consciously older band and it's hard not to miss the hard rock, pure attitude, and gigantic hooks that made the group's reputation in the first place.

Bit more favourable than i expected.

Attempting to follow up the crossover success of "Push It," Salt-n-Pepa hastily recorded A Salt With a Deadly Pepa, which essentially tries to replicate the charms of their debut without expanding on them very much. It doesn't end up quite as engaging, and the duo's limitations start to show themselves on the more underdeveloped material here. There are some good moments, but the album's centerpieces are once again borrowed ideas. "Shake Your Thang" is another hip-hop remake in the vein of "Tramp," this time of the Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing"; there's also a less-satisfying Isleys cover from a different era in "Twist and Shout" (which lifts the beat of Toni Basil's "Mickey"), plus a rap take on Joe Tex's "I Gotcha." Elsewhere, "I Like It Like That" recycles the beat and brash shout-outs of "Push It." Thankfully, the next time out, Salt-n-Pepa would rethink their music and assume much greater creative control.

2.5/5

The same blend of infectious techno-pop anthems and new-edge effects tracks which spotlighted En-Tact continued unabated on Boss Drum, with Colin Angus' new compatriot, combination rapper/DJ Mr. C. The singles "Ebeneezer Goode," "L.S.I. (Love Sex Intelligence)" and "Phorever People" all made the British Top Ten, and album tracks like "Space Time," "Re-Evolution" (with Terence McKenna) and "Scientas" chart the course of the Shamen's history with the astral/sociological collective Spiral Tribe. Boss Drum is a more solid collection than En-Tact.