Advent Sleep

Aerosmith

Aerosmith The 1993 Release from the Veteran Boston Rockers was their Fourth for the Geffen Records Label and Added Several Singles to their Second String of Hits that Began with 1987's "Permanent Vacation". Thanks to a Saavy Casting Director, the Trifecta of Promotional Videos for the Songs "Cryin'", "Amazing" and "Crazy" Featured the Video Debut of Alicia Silverstone, who Captured Many a Young Man's Fancy with her Portrayal of a Rebellious Chick. In Addition, the Videos for "Livin' on the Edge", "Eat the Rich" were Groundbreaking. This Edition Includes the Bonus Track, "Can't Stop Messin'", which Does Not Appear on the Us Equivalent.

Aerosmith Building on the success of the more pop-oriented Permanent Vacation, this 1989 release banished any doubts that Aerosmith's unlikely late-'80s comeback was a fluke of nature—or merely the product of shrewd record company calculations. That Aerosmith could produce a pair of albums to rival Toys in the Atticand Rocksafter a decade-and-change of decay and despair seemed all but unnatural. While Vacation's other key players (producer Bruce Fairbairn, outside songwriters Jim Vallance and Desmond Child) are still part of the mix, it's the band's familiar, tough swagger that powers this collection from the get-go. And while the Vallance-Child collaborations ("The Other Side" and the power ballad "What It Takes," respectively) were successful, it's telling that the album's twin pop-rock evergreens, "Love in an Elevator" and "Janie's Got a Gun," originated entirely within the band; the old dogs had not only learned a few new tricks, they seemed bent on tutoring their would-be trainers in the bargain. Pumpis the high point of Aerosmith's improbable second chapter—and one of their best albums, period. —Jerry McCulley

Alain Boublil Claude-Michel Schonberg

Alanis Morissette Her intensely personal lyrics grabbed the headlines, but the bravest departure here is the way Morissette's unique vocals stand naked in the mix—a technique that drives home the painful honesty of tracks like "Right Through You,""Forgiven," and "All I Really Want." Sheryl Crow or an earthier Tori Amos are fair analogies, but Morissette is a genuine original with a rare ability to make listeners care, think, and question. —Jeff Bateman

Andrea Bocilli From his childhood on the family farm in rural Tuscany to the worldwide stage, Andrea Bocelli has achieved phenomenal success. His singing is only partially the point, and his fame owes much more to the aura of romance and the romanticarchetype that's attached to him. Romanzais by far Bocelli's largest success, winning adoration thanks to the swooning vocals and the easy, sometimes lush, always pop-safe instrumental textures and melodies. As far as his opera chops go, Bocelli has won the approval of Pavarotti but likely will not wow enthusiasts. The upside is that Bocelli will likely grow the opera pie, convincing labels to take on more operatic projects. —Andrew Bartlett

Andrew Lloyd Webber What's left to be said about Andrew Lloyd Webber's adaptation of The Phantom of the Operaa decade after its premiere? That it's maddeningly ubiquitous? A stitch-up of various themes shoplifted from the Italian operatic repertoire? A critic-proof crowd pleaser that's probably being staged somewhere in the world as you read this? A megahit that will likely outlive Titanicin the pop-culture pantheon, Phantomhas largely redefined—for better or worse—the manner in which modern musicals are conceived, staged, and marketed. Its influence has reached far beyond the traditional confines of London and Broadway. A favorite example: an abridged version that was the centerpiece of Los Angeles's longest-running transvestite revue, replete with 14-inch chandeliers and a man-playing-a-woman-playing-a-man in the title role. —Jerry McCulley

Apotheosis

Avril Lavigne Self-professed skate punk Avril Lavigne sings that she'd "rather be anything but ordinary" on her debut. While the fact that she had a record deal by the age of 16 separates her from the pack, too often Let Go's lyrical shortcomings drag the teenager's musically impressive recording entrée into the realm of the typical. The catchy choruses of Goare substantial, though, thanks to Lavigne's riff-driven melodies and powerful vocals, which at times adopt the unorthodox intonation quirks of fellow Canadian Alanis Morrissette. The nuanced, dynamic "Losing Grip,""My World" (which perfectly captures the ennui of suburbia), and the buoyant power-pop blast "Sk8er Boi" are the collection's highlights. But Lavigne's honest yet awkward words weigh down the likes of "Mobile,""I'm with You," and "Naked.""Nobody's Fool," which displays her Pink-like take-me-as-I-am credo, hints that someday Lavigne's lyrics will match the strength of her music. —Annie Zaleski

Bad Religion Bad Religion, one of the last bands you'd expect to join the ranks of major-label rockers, makes the leap from its own Epitaph Records to Atlantic for its eighth album, Stranger Than Fiction. The quintet doesn't compromise its integrity or its aesthetics, delivering its familiar Ramones-style pop songs at crash-and-burn tempos and continuing to rail against business as usual in corporate America. (The band's social critiques have always been a cut above the average hardcore punk's, as befits a group led by a vocalist pursuing his PhD at Cornell.) Especially effective is the opening track, "Incomplete," which features guest guitar by Wayne Kramer of the MC5. —Jim DeRogatis

Benny Andersson Bjorn Ulvaeus Tim Rice Chessis a musical that sounds like it shouldn't work but instead succeeds surprisingly well. This is the original concept album that was recorded before the musical was staged in London. Chessis the story of a love triangle told against the backdrop of an international chess tournament during the height of the cold war. The composers are Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (the Bs in ABBA) and the lyrics are by Tim Rice, who supplied the words for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstarand Evita, as well as Disney's Aladdin(with Howard Ashman), The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast. The six-member cast does a beautiful job with the songs, which are a combination of ballads, rock, and operatic choruses. Murray Head's version of "One Night in Bangkok" became a surprise hit in the mid-'80s and it still turns up on the turntables in dance clubs around the world. —Michael Simmons

Benny Andersson Bjorn Ulvaeus Tim Rice It was a success in London but a bomb in New York in 1988, but Chess's cult reputation has only grown over the years—quite a feat for a dramatic musical about love and cold war politics at a chess tournament! While Tim Rice's lyrics aren't too shabby, Chessowes it all to the team of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, a.k.a. the BB in Abba. Their score has the drama that makes for good musical theater, and it doesn't shy from canny pop hooks either. "One Night in Bangkok" was a hit in Europe, while Judy Kuhn particularly shines on the poignant "Nobody's Side." Indeed, Chessis full of superb numbers that basically fall into two types: instantly memorable and growing-on-you memorable. —Elisabeth Vincentelli

Billy Idol

Billy Idol The tracks are: 1. White Wedding - Parts I & II, 2. Mony Mony, 3. Hot In The City, 4. Dancing With Myself, 5. Flesh For Fantasy, 6. To Be A Lover, 7. Love Calling, and 8. Catch My Fall.

Billy Joel

Billy Joel

Billy Joel He may have made his name as one of those strangely genre-resistant singer-songwriters of the 70s, but Billy Joel's pedigree in pop dates back at least a decade prior to 1973's breakthrough Piano Manalbum. In 1964, Joel's prowess on Hammond organ even saw him playing on The Shangri-Las'"Leader Of The Pack". It was to these fledgling years in pop that Joel looked for inspiration when recording the most successful album of his career. To spend an afternoon in the company of An Innocent Manis to transport yourself to a New York diner in the early 60s, not a care in the world beyond waiting for your date to turn up. And when it works, it's positively life-affirming. "Uptown Girl" is surely the finest song The Four Seasons never recorded, while "The Longest Time" and "Leave A Tender Moment Alone" offer a humane return to the thrill of young love. Less successful are a couple of forays in more R&B influenced material (Joel doesn't quite have the voice for it) but never again did he quite sound like he was having this much fun. —Peter Paphides

Billy Joel

Billy Joel Billy Joel's chameleonlike leaps from style to style have never resulted in a more audacious album than 1982's Nylon Curtain. Gloriously overreaching both musically—Joel seems compelled to act as both Lennon and McCartney on this heavily Beatles-influenced disc—and thematically, he takes on everything from romance in an age of alienation ("Laura,""A Room of Our Own") to the sociopolitical causes of that alienation ("Goodnight Saigon," the moving recession saga "Allentown"). And it all works. As a portrait of a pop artist getting the Big Ideas out of his system, The Nylon Curtainis hard to beat. —Rickey Wright

Billy Joel This, pop superstar Joel's breakout LP, came years after he first hit the charts with the novelty-ish "Piano Man." In the meantime, the New York-based songwriter released two lackluster and stylistically confused platters that blunted interesting songs with a sound that was neither Elton mellow nor Elton attitude. Produced by Phil Ramone, The Strangertook those who had written Joel off as a one-hit wonder by surprise ("Just the Way You Are" was among the biggest hits of 1977) and it remains a solid introduction to Joel's restless muse at a crucial point in his career. It invited a few comparisons to Bruce Springsteen, with its prominent sax breaks, hard-edged rebel-rockers ("Only the Good Die Young"), and slice-of-life dramatics ("Scenes From an Italian Restaurant"), recounting life in a lower middle-class (Eastern Urban) setting; but Joel's chameleonic, formalist approach to pop wasn't to be so easily pigeonholed (Glass Houses, The Nylon Curtain, An Innocent Man...). —Don Harrison

Billy Joel

Billy Joel

blink-182 Terrific sales of their independent Cheshire Catgot Blink-182 signed to a major label (MCA) for 1997's Dude Ranch, which led to radio hits ("Dammit,""Josie") and platinum sales. No "sell-out" on the band's part, though, as Dude Ranchsimply features another infectious collection of snotty vocals, punchy rhythms, vivid lyrics, and aggressive chords. San Diego producer Mark Trombino shines some of the scuffed edges, but this is still good ol' Blink at its sunny, effervescent best. Nice "emocore" spoof here ("Emo"), plus an odd knack for crafting bass-lines that recall—seriously!—New Order, and vocal harmonies that owe debts to the Beach Boys. —Mark Woodlief

blink-182

Concrete Blonde Concrete Blonde's best and most mainstream album benefits considerably from a stronger focus and good production. Consistent songwriting means a lack of weak material, and the dark inflection of most of the music gives the songs an edge. The title track remains a favorite of the goth set, though it was the hit single "Joey" that garnered the most attention. The up-tempo songs are the best;"The Sky Is a Poisonous Garden", "Days and Days", and "The Beast" really stand out. Of the slower songs, "Tomorrow, Wendy" has an irony that gives it an edge. Concrete Blonde's later albums don't really measure up to the quality of this one. — Genevieve Williams

Concrete Blonde

Concrete Blonde A fabulous, flame-throwing alternate version of "Still In Hollywood" titled "It'll Chew You Up and Spit You Out" leads off this superb collection of rare, live, and previously unreleased material. Other highlights include covers of Leonard Cohen ("Everybody Knows") and Nick Cave ("The Ship Song," sung as a duet by Johnette Napolitano and Steve Wynn); an acoustic "Joey," the now-defunct trio's biggest hit; and a spooky remix of "Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)."Jeff Bateman

Course of Empire

The Cranberries Practically BRAND NEW condition, never played, includes original CD, case, and paperwork, First class shipped, ask me for my CD List! :)

Danny Elfman Marilyn Manson Panic!@ the Disco Fiona Apple Fall Out Boy Paul Reubens Catherine O' Hara Citizens of Halloween Patrick Stewert Not only is The Nightmare Before Christmasone of the best musicals of the past two decades; it may well be Danny Elfman's masterpiece, successfully integrating his main influences (from Cab Calloway to Nino Rota) into a fantastic whole. The first disc of this reissue features the original soundtrack, its songs still teetering between dark humor and poetic flights of fancy; this so-called kids' music is at least as sophisticated and skilled as anything you're likely to hear on Broadway. The second disc includes demo versions of four songs on which Elfman plays and sings everything, and five new covers of some of Nightmare's best-loved songs. Marilyn Manson successfully applies his spooky Weimar-circus style on "This Is Halloween" while Panic! At the Disco's lushly orchestrated take on the same tune is closer to the original. Fiona Apple's poignant "Sally's Song" is enhanced by very nice string charts, and She Wants Revenge does a disco take on "Kidnap the Sandy Claws." Best perhaps is Fall Out Boy's cover of "What's This?" which sounds like an unexpected cross between the Beach Boys and Queen. A highly recommended set. —Elisabeth Vincentelli

David Bowie The 1976 best-of Changesonebowie(slyly named for a Charles Mingus disc issued the previous year) was the Thin White Duke's last major commercial hit of the decade. Collecting famed singles and album cuts from an amazingly fertile period, it clicked both with those who got into Bowie through his mainstream popularity and with the crowd who loved him for his challenge to it. This expanded edition goes forward from "Golden Years," the original closer, with a hopscotch through later radio favorites like "Let's Dance." Flaws? A remixed "Fame '90" that already sounded dated when it was new, and the disc's omission of almost all of Bowie's collaborations with Brian Eno. The upside? A generally smart update of a key compilation. —Rickey Wright

David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie 39 Tracks Plus Bonus Disc of Bing Crosby Duet of "Little Drummer Boy"

David Bowie

David Bowie The second most important moment in Bowie's glam period, Aladdin Saneis full of smart, cutting-edge songs that hold up decades later as classic moments in rock. Standout tracks include "Panic in Detroit," with Mick Ronson's screaming guitars and Mick Woodmansey's urgent drumming;"Watch that Man," a piano-driven, rollicking number perfect for the Bowie strut; the lascivious and sweaty "Cracked Actor"; the punky "Jean Genie"; and a perfectly raucous cover of "Let's Spend the Night Together.""Time" hearkens back to the theatrics of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, while "Drive in Saturday,""The Prettiest Star," and "Lady Grinning Soul" serve as precursors to Bowie's "plastic soul" sounds that came later in the '70s. Aladdin Saneis even more impressive when considering that the same year this album was made, Bowie was also working with artists like Iggy Pop and Lou Reed, producing some of their most heralded works (the Stooges'Raw Powerand Reed's Transformer). —Lorry Fleming

David Bowie

David Bowie

Dead Kennedys Jello Biafra wasn't the first to realize punk and leftist radicalism were a perfect fit, but he used music as a political tool with far more consistency than any of his contemporaries. The problem is, even 16 years after its original release, the band's second full-length album is incredibly difficult to listen to. "Terminal Preppie" still rings true, even after preppies have grown into yuppies, and "Forest Fire" and "Winnebago Warrior" are powerful if you listen closely enough to decipher the words. One song at a time, the San Francisco quartet's purposefully fast, ugly hardcore is enough to liberate anybody's inner slam-dancer. —Steve Knopper

Denis Leary Denis Leary's stance as an unregenerate, chain-smoking, meat-eating, angry young man is intense, to say the least. But his act made him a star for one reason: His jokes are funny. No Cure for Canceris drawn mostly from Leary's one-man show of the same name, which is full of tough love for '90s therapy-addicted crybabies, and no-holds-barred advice for idiots (which is to say, anyone who gets in Leary's way). Head for the hills when he picks up a guitar, as he does on several ill-advised comedic songs here, but listen up when Leary's straight talk makes perfect (and hilarious) sense. To crack addicts, for example, his message is simple: "Never do a drug named after a part of your own ass."—Daniel Durchholz

Depeche Mode Violatoris Depeche Mode's most mainstream, chart-climbing album. Although it contains only nine tracks, half of them are tailor-made for the dance floor. This album was conceived when dance-club DJs were gaining recognition alongside original composers. Heavily influenced by techno-pop, the singles "Policy of Truth,""Enjoy the Silence," and "World in My Eyes" prove that DM did their homework. A particular highlight on this fantastic album is the bluesy guitar line Martin Gore lays down on top of the synth-dominated grooves on "Personal Jesus."—Beth Bessmer

Depeche Mode A live album and a greatest-hits album all in one, 101proves that Depeche Mode are just as capable of performing onstage as they are working in a studio. The listener is easily swept up in the hysteria of the fans screaming in the audience. From the brooding "Never Let Me Down Again" to the sickly sweet "Somebody," the live component of this album makes one realize that there really are humans behind the machines, accompanied by a range of real human emotions. —Beth Bessmer

Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode This album is a culmination of Depeche Mode's middle-period experimentation. More informed by Goth than techno, it is still anchored by plenty of the larger-than-life-baritone melodrama so distinctive of David Gahan's vocals. The most experimental track is "Pimpf"—a song that heave-hoes along with the synthesized emulation of a Russian men's choir. Although nowhere near fast enough to be danceable, the commanding "Never Let Me Down" ranks as the best single on the track, with the most hummable "Strangelove" coming in at a close second. Each song is a praiseworthy accomplishment, but the singles here set off the experimental tracks, making the album seem thematically schizophrenic. —Beth Bessmer

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode's lyrical content, at times impossibly contrived, is a potential source of frustration. "I don't want to start any blasphemous rumours / But I think that God's got a sick sense of humour / And when I die / I expect to find him laughing," goes the chorus of "Blasphemous Rumours," an antireligion song using attempted teenage suicide and fatal car accidents as testimonial. Lyricist Martin Gore always scores points for creative rhyming, but one gets the feeling the choice of subject matter is nearly arbitrary, that the band could write equally depressing songs about a bad hair day—and mean it. But this is the fun, and maybe even the genius, of Depeche Mode. When it comes to patent controversy, they are as self-indulgent as they wanna be. Depeche's first U.S. single, "People Are People," also contained on Some Great Reward, is no less of an eye roller than "Blasphemous Rumours," but its tone is inversely inspiring to the nihilistic picture painted by "Rumours." Two other opposites that attract, the naughty little industrial-lite, S/M-colored "Master and Servant" perfectly juxtaposes the leaning-on-the-windowsill-staring-at-the-moon love song "Somebody."—Beth Bessmer

Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode

Eagles The pre-Hotel Californiayears were arguably the best for The Eagles (though there were, thanks to Joe Walsh, some stellar future moments). Their mix of country, folk, and rock had a harder, grittier edge, and helped define what would become known as the Southern California sound. There was just enough of a country feel in the beautiful harmonies of "Best of My Love," to blur the edges between the genres. "Take It Easy" and "Lyin' Eyes" could easily have come out of the new Nashville school, as well. The twang that characterizes the guitar intro to "Already Gone" and the leads in "Witchy Woman" and "One of These Nights," also pays tribute to country's guitar greats. Greatest Hits 1971-1975houses a scant ten singles, but not only does it illustrate the magic of the collaboration between Glen Frey and Don Henley, it shows the breadth of The Eagles impact on the many who would follow their lead. —Steve Gdula

Eagles This second collection of hits features a hardening of sorts for these laid back southern California rockers. The emphasis shifts away from the lazy, rolling rhythms of the first collection to the tighter and harder-edged material contained herein. Part of the blame may be the inclusion of James Gang veteran Joe Walsh who adds noticeable lead guitar work and galvanizes Don Henley and Glenn Frey into taking greater chances. "Hotel California" is the obvious potboiler, but "Heartache Tonight,""Life in the Fast Lane," and "The Long Run" are close runners-up. Timothy B. Schmit's vocals on "I Can't Tell You Why" return the band full circle to their mellow, country-rock roots. —Rob O'Connor

Elton John Tracklisting: 1)Take me To The Pilot 2)Burn Down The Mission 3)Friends 4)Saturday Night`s Alright (For Fighting) 5)Madman Across The Water 6)Tiny Dancer 7)Honky Cat 8)Crocodile Rock 9)Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters 10)Levon

Evanescence The Daredevilsoundtrack provided a nice boost for this previously unknown quartet from Little Rock, Arkansas. Evanescence's songs "My Immortal" and the imposing "Bring Me to Life" are clear standouts in the film, mainly because they work so well with the dramatic, eerie undertones of the storyline. They reappear here on the band's debut, alongside a selection of similarly brooding tracks that evoke pensive artists like Tori Amos and the Cranberries. Vocalist Amy Lee has the kind of voice that can cause weeks of insomnia, but on songs like "Tourniquet" and "Haunted" she belies the music's sinister mood with evenhanded spirituality, thoughtfully letting some light shine through the tempest. —Aidin Vaziri

Everlast When you think about it, House of Pain really were ahead of their time. Tracks like "Jump Around" may have been light on the content side, but they delivered in the production department—they played with sounds in the same way that Missy Elliott and Timbaland have popularized, and they crossed over to a rock audience long before Puffy ever tried it. On Whitey Ford Sings the Blues, Everlast's second solo album, the opening is an appropriation of "The Fat Boys are Back"; a couple of songs favor a sensitive folk-rock touch, with Everlast on guitar; and others reach back for House of Pain's best rock-influenced sounds. Though plenty of others have rhymed over rock and folk tracks, Everlast has a good feel for it and his songs are solid. If this isn't a career album, it's damn close. —Randy Silver

Faith Hill From the suggestive series of photos in the CD's packaging to the aerobicized dance-floor workouts within, Faith Hill refuses to concede an inch of crossover dominance to Shania Twain. Except for a seductive duet with husband Tim McGraw on "Let's Make Love" and an occasional pinch of fiddle or steel guitar, there's little here to characterize Hill as a country artist. As pop, the results range from pretty ("Breathe,""Love Is a Sweet Thing") to pretty slight ("I Got My Baby,""If My Heart Had Wings") to borderline inane ("Bringing Out the Elvis," the voyeuristic twist of "The Way You Love Me"). Though Hill's version of Bruce Springsteen's "If I Should Fall Behind" is admirably understated, too much of the album substitutes surface dazzle for emotional depth. —Don McLeese

Garbage Cool, calculating, and Euro-trashy in the grand tradition of Roxy Music and the Eurythmics. —Jeff Bateman

Garbage It's not that Garbage is doing anything particularly new. At times, singer Shirley Manson borrows Chrissie Hynde's phrasing, Patti Smith's rock beat poetry, and Brian Wilson's chorus from "Don't Worry Baby." But producer Butch Vig provides a modern sheen to Version 2.0 that makes it sound fresh and distinctly modern. Purists may blanch—the album is a hybrid of rock guitars, dance rhythms, and pop choruses—but songs such as "I Think I'm Paranoid" (a rip of Elastica) and "The Trick Is to Keep Breathing" (Depeche Mode, without the chill) sound great no matter what they're called. —Keith Moerer

George Carlin

George Carlin George Carlin may be known today for all sort of things aside from his comedy recordings—HBO specials, concert tours, books, and film roles. But his most beloved work, the mother lode of humor upon which his reputation is based, are the recordings in the seven-CD collection George Carlin: The Little David Years (1971-1977). On albums such as Class Clown, Occupation: Foole, and the Grammy-winning FM & AM, Carlin redefined what it meant to be stand-up comic: he was a hip, intelligent, social satirist who was also extremely funny and entertaining. And he still is. The issues he was making fun of in the '70s are still around, which is why routines such as "7 Dirty Words" have lost none of their punch or humor. It's all here in a wondrous box set, including the complete contents of six classic records and a CD of rarities from his early years. Recent Carlin converts (as well as those who remember laughing at this stuff when it came out on LPs and 8-tracks) should all consider this great career retrospective. —John Sulak

Green Day Take one part Ramones, one part Buzzcocks, and one part Husker Du, and you've got the basic foundation of Green Day, a punky, witty, melodic San Francisco Bay area trio who became overnight stars in 1994 when this album, their third overall release and major label debut, catapulted them to the top of the pop charts. Led by guitarist/vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong and their secret weapon, powerhouse drummer Tre Cool, Green Day put '70s and '80s punk in a compact '90s package with songs like "Longview,""Basket Case,""Pulling Teeth," and the hit semi-ballad, "When I Come Around." One the few modern alternative rock bands with a bona fide sense of humor. —Billy Altman

Green Day

Guns N' Roses A glimpse of the future, and not because of its huge influence and umpteen million sales. The poor-little-rich-boy protest "Out ta Get Me" intimates that Axl Rose's egotism and martyr complex were soon to grow bigger than his head; still, Appetite's night-train wreck of punk and metal sounds and sensibilities make it more than just an emblem of its time. Whether GN'R are dancing with Mr. Brownstone, penning a callow kiss-off letter to some chick named Michelle, or passing out on somebody else's sofa, this was and remains a savage journey to the heart of the American—or at least the Hollywood—dream. —Rickey Wright

Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses Part one of Guns N' Roses' ambitious second album is arguably the better of the two. It certainly rocks harder, though this seems to be more coincidence than anything else; which songs went on which CD looks to have been a random selection. Use Your Illusion Istays closer to the band's bluesy hard-rock roots, with guitarist Izzy Stradlin contributing some of the best songs, including "Dust N' Bones" and "You Ain't the First.""November Rain" (clocking in at over nine minutes) became an instant classic, and there are a fair number of straight-ahead rockers, such as "Perfect Crime,""Don't Damn Me," and "Garden of Eden." Taking the best from this album and Use Your Illusion IIwould have made a killer single CD, but there's enough good stuff here to make it worthwhile. —Genevieve Williams

Guns N' Roses Had Use Your Illusion IIbeen combined with Use Your Illusion I, keeping only the best material while dropping the filler, it would have been one of the best rock albums ever recorded. Instead, great songs like "Civil War,""14 Years,""Estranged," and "So Fine" compete with the inexcusable "Get in the Ring" and the well-intentioned but off-target cover of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." There's no point to the second version of "Don't Cry," either. On the other hand, when Guns N' Roses were good, they were very, very good, and some of the material on this album is unsurpassable. —Genevieve Williams

Guns N' Roses

Hawthorne Heights

Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins Black Coffee Blues is Henry Rollins best selling book to date. This CD features 9 entries from this book.

Henry Rollins For his DreamWorks debut, spoken-word artiste Henry Rollins turns the funny-dude charm way up on 13 jocular monologues. Recorded live at 1997 and 1998 gigs in Chicago and Australia, Think Tankpresents a far lighter side than Rollins previously has recorded. He shows another side here, one different from the counterculture icon—the guy with so much pain, he had to tattoo it all over his body and scream it out through rad punk tunes as the human throat for Black Flag and the Rollins Band—and, surprisingly, the lighter Rollins isn't Rollins Lite. The 30-something performer has found his ultimate calling as a caring but angry über-punk who's on your side in the fight against evil. Channeling his rage into prosaic humor, Rollins details the really big problems of life (homophobia, lyrics to Journey songs, racism, vegetarians) and small everyday bummers (the cast of Friends, idiots everywhere, fax machines) alongside detailed postcards from the rock-star life. —Mike McGonigal

Henry Rollins On the track "Clintonese," Mr. Henry Rollins sums up the former United States president's Paula Jones case deposition: "Basically, he had 800 spears a minute thrown at him for five hours, and dodged every one of them." Rollins throws plenty spears of his own on his latest spoken-word album, recorded from a series of weekly shows at the Cafe Luna club in Los Angeles. He nearly always hits his targets—which range from people who shop at Rite-Aid to his own tired pick-up lines—and he does so with a dexterity and penchant for free association that is both brutally funny and honest. A Rollins in the Wryis, without a doubt, a comedy album. While he may not be quite as incisive as Dennis Miller, as prone to screaming as Sam Kinison, or as pissed-off as Bill Hicks, Rollins combines elements from all three in a way that assures you'll be laughing and, later, playing your favorite cuts for your friends. —Mark Huntsman

Henry Rollins It's Henry Rollins as standup comedian! Airport gags and all! He's good at it, too, and this two-disc "talking record" is far more enlightening and entertaining than his angry poetry or his hard-rock histrionics. After all, how many times can he scream about his pain before we all get a little numb? On The Boxed Life(which refers to an endless string of hotel rooms, dressing rooms, and waiting rooms on the road), Rollins eases up and lets fans in on the joke—taking the happy campers in the live audience on hilarious side trips through his teenage career in animal husbandry ("Strength"), his tortured sense of humor ("Funny Guy"), and his low-down life in countless bars ("Blues"). —Michael Ruby

Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins Rollins reads from his best selling book, "Eye Scream" on this double CD set with background musical accompaniment by Charles Gayle (sax, piano, violin) and Rashied Ali (drums, percussion).

"...What Rollins appears to be selling us is the spectacle of his hatred and paranoia in itself, an autistic savant with Tourette's Syndrome and a World Trade Center-sized chip on his shoulder. Is he that knowing: both ringmaster and freakshow, pimp and prozzie? Or is it just an expert acting job? Who cares? Roll up!..."—Melody Maker

"Ali and Gayle's playing is undoubtedly among the best in post-Coltrane free jazz....And Rollins' lyrics and spoken-word semi-comedy are among the best of anyone who belongs to the post-punk slipstream..."—Alternative Press

Henry Rollins This is the first of three CDs, documenting Henry's 2001 talking tour. It was a long one, spanning many countries. Volume one showcases his two nights at the Enmore Theater in Sydney, Australia. Henry wanted to put the recordings out with very little editing and with, he says, "all my inherent motor-mouthed flaws intact."

Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins Welcome back to the mouth that never shuts. "Talk Is Cheap Vol. 2" contains the second night of Henry's spoken word shows at the Enmore Theater in Australia, recorded live in April 2001. More stories, bile, and ranting diatribes from your favorite graying, limping, philosophic, misanthropic curmudgeon.

Henry Rollins "On the 2003 tour, I happened to be at the Enmore [Sydney, Australia] two years later to the day that we did 'Talk Is Cheap Vol. 1' so it was too conceptually cool to not record. You can gather that 'Talk Is Cheap' Volumes 1 and 2 were recorded April 23 and 24 of 2001 and in the tradition of the earlier installments of the recurring bloviating nightmare, not a great deal of editing was done. Remember talk is cheap and we're all judged by what we do, not what we say" - Henry Rollins.

Hilary Duff She may have played a teenaged girl mistaken for a pop star in The Lizzie McGuire Movie, but after releasing a Christmas album in 2002, and crooning two songs on the movie's soundtrack, Hilary Duff looks like she means business. The only trouble is, she doesn't sound like it. Although dubbing her first album Metamorphosis, the disc is anything but. Her singing is as coy and kittenish as her on-screen persona and she mugs her way through most of the 13 songs with charm and aplomb, but little natural singing talent. But to her credit, the actress has managed to cover a multitude of vocal sins by hiring a team of crack producers, who double her voice whenever possible, giving many of the tracks the rather anthemic feel of a cheerleading squad. The best songs on the disc are the three masterminded by the Matrix, the same production team that oversaw Avril Lavigne's hit disc and they give the lissome actress's singing some attitude and grit, like on the infectious and spectacularly bratty "So Yesterday," and the cleverly conceived "Math," complete with heavy metal guitar riffs. But Duff is not inhabiting that saucy jailbait territory staked by Britney Spears. At the ripe old age sixteen, she's much more Barbies than bustiers. —Jaan Uhelszki

Jane's Addiction Though the songs aren't quite as good as those on Ritual De Lo Habitual, this album is much more consistent, with a heavy rock-funk-punk mix that's a pleasure to hear. The slower songs (especially "Summertime Rolls" and "Jane Says") work well, while the up-tempo material—in particular the closer "Pig's in Zen"—is both catchy and ambitious. It's a fine album overall, and if the band's Zeppelin-ward aspirations don't quite work, their music is still quite good in its own right. —Genevieve Williams

Jean Michel Jarre

Jean-Michel Jarre Jarre, the son of film composer Maurice Jarre, had already cemented his reputation as a seminal electronic/new age figure with the late-'70s albums Oxygeneand Equinoxe. But 1984's Zoolookwas a more urbane effort, fleshing out tape-looped voices with gurgling, washy synthesizers and on-the-money live players, notably Zappa/Talking Heads guitarist Adrian Belew and Miles Davis bassist Marcus Miller. Less cosmic pretense and more information-age irony, Zoolook, with bizarre titles like "Wooloomooloo" and "Zoolookologie" had as much to do with media-manipulators like Laurie Anderson-who also makes a cameo-as proto-ambientists like Robert Rich or Brian Eno, with whom Jarre is usually bracketed. —James Rotondi

Jean-Michel Jarre

Jean-Michel Jarre Canadian edition of European electronic artist's 1986 album.

Jean-Michel Jarre

Jeremy Rowe

Jewel Jewel's debut album, Pieces of You, reveals a special voice—strong and focused on both the whispery verses and the hooky choruses. The recording also exposes an unfortunate tendency to present trite, hackneyed sentiments as if they were oracular visions from a young prophet to a jaded world. For the most part, Jewel sings to her own acoustic guitar accompaniment, but she has a lot more in common with, say, the Indigo Girls or Lisa Loeb than with Judy Collins or Nanci Griffith. Despite her soft soprano and pretty melodies, her songs have an iconoclastic edge which make her more of an unplugged alternative rocker than a folkie. Her songs too often betray their origins as written verse in their hard-to-sing meters, unmusical phrasing, and diary-like pronouncements. Nonetheless, a few numbers, such as "Morning Song" and "You Were Meant for Me," show a spark of humor about romance, and hint that Jewel may yet write songs worthy of her remarkable voice. —Geoffrey Himes

Jewel It's time for an update of our image of Jewel, the ingenue who set the music world on fire with her 1995 debut album, Pieces of You. After all, that effort consisted primarily of songs Jewel had written several years before, some of them dating back to her days as a free- spirited waif living in a van on the beach in San Diego. Now, at 25, she's become a sort of guru for self-expression and full disclosure, revealing perhaps too much of herself in see-through dresses worn to awards shows and a critically drubbed (yet bestselling) book of poetry. Spiritmakes plain why Jewel's well-intentioned yet sometimes facile lyrics strike a chord with her audience while her poetry lies flat on the page. On songs like "Deep Water,""Hands," and "Down So Long," her words are borne aloft by sparkling melodies and her soaring voice, making even the most cynical observer take a schoolgirl-notebook image such as "your heart like grape gum on the ground" or an unreassuring platitude like "If I could tell the world just one thing / It would be that we're all OK" somewhat in stride. On Pieces of You, Jewel posed the musical question "Who will save your soul?" On Spirit, it sounds like she wants to do it herself. And the truth is, if you don't overanalyze it, the album does act as a sort of balm for wounded psyches or maybe a primer for raising your own inner child. Maybe she's right and we areall OK. Who knew? —Daniel Durchholz

Jewel It's easy to see that Jewel wants to lighten up. With two previous multimillion-selling albums (and a couple of much-scorned but popular books) filled with earnest, clueless revelations behind her, the singer-songwriter comes a little closer to ground with This Way. "Give it hell 'til the end," a former compatriot urges her on "Till We Run Out of Road," her version of Jackson Browne's "The Load Out." Could that be a hard-bitten road warrior deep inside the woman who makes a point of pronouncing the O's in the opening line ("Mirror, mirror") of this CD's "Serve the Ego"? Maybe. But despite her icky streak's spread to cutesy jokes ("Jesus Loves You"), Jewel hasn't quite abandoned her old judgmental ways (in "I Won't Walk Away," she spies a couple "resisting being one") and ambitions to, you know, really saysomething, as in the "Desolation Row"-lite "The New Wild West." Still, with some nice, if bland, arrangements set around her, This Wayis the Jewel album most likely to appeal to Jewel non-fans. —Rickey Wright

John Swihart Various Artists In a promising filmmaking debut, young BYU grad Jared Hess informs this indie tale of an aggressively nerdy backwater teen's foibles with the bittersweet dimensions of the director's own small-town upbringing, making it the dry comic hit of Sundance. Its soundtrack picks up on that earnest awkwardness via dollops of '80s new wave, both underexposed (Yaz's "Only You", Alphaville's "Forever Young") and otherwise (Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy," a faithful cover of "Time After Time" by Sparklemotion), as well as moodier contemporary cuts by Rogue Wave (a live take on "Every Moment"), Figurine in full synth-pop revivalist mode, and the nuevo-soul of Jamiroquai and Money Mark. Interspersed with a generous sampling of dialogue snippets, John Swihart's shrewd, intimate underscore runs the gamut from "The A-Team Theme" to geek-friendly exotica and nervous cocktail jazz, stitching the score's disparate parts into a memorably quirky whole. —Jerry McCulley

Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal Starring multiplatinum artist Josh Groban, Tony-winning Idina Menzel (Wicked) and Tony nominated Adam Pascal (RENT), Chess In Concert
revives the eclectic yet wonderfully pop 1984 concept album featuring the music of ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and lyrics of Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar, The Lion King, Evita). Recorded at London's Royal Albert Hall in May 2008, this spectacular Chess In Concert - introduced by Rice and with the 50- piece City of London Philharmonic and 100-voice West End Chorus - finally fulfills the promise of the popular cult musical.

Kid Rock

The KLF

The KLF

KMFDM

KMFDM

KMFDM

KMFDM

KMFDM

KMFDM

KMFDM

KMFDM

KMFDM

KMFDM KMFDM's previous album, Xtort, was a corrosive industrial metalfest that burned as deeply as most anything by Ministry or Nine Inch Nails. But fans expecting more gut-pounding, head-smashing euphoria are in for a surprise. The band's self-titled successor is light on the metal, heavy on the electronic—which isn't to say KMFDM are hopping on some Chemical Brothers/Prodigy bandwagon. They were futzing around with samplers and keyboards over a decade ago. It's just that diehard metalheads might find KMFDM's skittering beats and blipping keyboards a little too left-field. But for open-minded souls who like to dance anddestroy, KMFDMshould prove to be a hedonistic cauldron of carnal delight. —Jon Wiederhorn

Kool & The Gang The double-disc soundtrack to the blockbuster Saturday Night Fever(available on a single CD) marks both the zenith and the nadir of disco. It was such a popular sensation that it catapulted the music to stratospheric levels of mainstream popularity, and the album was the bestselling movie soundtrack of all time (until The Bodyguard, and then Titanic). But "Disco Fever" became so hot, it could only flame out just as quickly (along with the careers of the Bee Gees). With this record, disco became a phenomenon and a fad. The Bee Gees' contributions are the strongest, especially the once-ubiquitous "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever," and they still hold up. Then there's Walter Murphy's "A Fifth of Beethoven," a trivial piece of pop ephemera that may have set new standards for ephemeral triviality. How often will you listen to this record—and how much will you play when you do? There's no telling—but it remains a classic piece of pop history, and when you're in the mood it's a good thing to have around. —Jim Emerson

Lard

Led Zeppelin Here are the original monsters of rock in all their epic, bombastic glory. The Who may have had more decibels (a dubious distinction), but no band took hard rock higher into the stratosphere than the Zep did with their cosmic mixture of deep blues, gothic melodrama, and the supernatural chops of Page, Plant, Bonham, and Jones. For listeners new to the Zep canon, there's no better primer of the band's range and power than this 4 CD box set, compiled and remixed in 1990 by Page himself. All the obvious song choices are here. But even if you've already heard "Black Dog" once too often on the car radio, this set wisely spotlights several overlooked gems, including their ultimate blues lament "I'm Gonna Crawl." It's a blueprint that later generations of head-bangers tragically failed to follow. —Steve Appleford

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin As it turned out, Led Zeppelin's infamous 1969 debut album was indicative of the decade to come—one that, fittingly, this band helped define with its decadently exaggerated, bowdlerized blues-rock. In shrieker Robert Plant, ex-Yardbird Jimmy Page found a vocalist who could match his guitar pyrotechnics, and the band pounded out its music with swaggering ferocity and Richter-scale-worthy volume. Pumping up blues classics such as Otis Rush's "I Can't Quit You Baby" and Howlin' Wolf's "How Many More Times" into near-cartoon parodies, the band also hinted at things to come with the manic "Communication Breakdown" and the lumbering set stopper "Dazed and Confused."—Billy Altman

Led Zeppelin Buoyed by the runaway commercial success of Led Zeppelin IV, Jimmy Page used this 1973 follow-up to hone his already impressive production skills, and the result was a collection sporting an impressively expansive sound. Benefiting—especially on tracks such as "Dancing Days Are Here Again,""The Crunge," and "Over the Hills and Far Away"—was Zeppelin's always underrated rhythm section: thunder-fisted drummer John Bonham and rock-solid bassist John Paul Jones. Jones also emerged here as a secret weapon on keyboards with his subtle work on more pensive fare such as "No Quarter" and "The Ocean." And the goofy "D'yer Ma'ker" showed that Zeppelin had more of a sense of humor than most people ever gave them credit for. —Billy Altman

Led Zeppelin Also known as the "rune" album or Zoso because of the medieval symbols adorning the inner sleeve, Led Zeppelin's fourth album, released in 1971, turned them from mere superstars into giant behemoths of the rock world. On tracks like "Black Dog,""Misty Mountain Hop," and "Rock and Roll," the combination of Robert Plant's banshee wails and Jimmy Page's frenetic guitar playing forever altered the stylistic bent of hard rock music. And the foreboding "When the Levee Breaks" demonstrated that Zeppelin could indeed play the blues fairly straight if they so desired. Still, everything here ultimately took a back seat to the album's (and, ultimately, the band's) magnum opus—the expertly constructed and deftly executed classic, "Stairway to Heaven."—Billy Altman

Led Zeppelin After plundering the Yardbirds' legacy and Willie Dixon (among others) for their blues-riff-heavy first two albums, Jimmy Page and company surprised many listeners with the strong acoustic/folk sensibility displayed on III. Page aficionados shouldn't have been caught off guard; the guitarist had toyed with similar sensibilities and modalities during his brief tenure with the Yardbirds (most notably "White Summer" from the Little Gamesalbum). Ever the creative thieves, Zep kick off the album by nicking the riff from "Bali Ha'i" no less, with Robert Plant wailing it to punctuate the thundering FM warhorse "Immigrant Song." Even other electric rockers like "Celebration Day" and "Out on the Tiles" have an inventive, offbeat musicality to them that suggest the band was already wary of stereotyping. But it's the decidedly mellower acoustic groove of the album's latter half that's the news here, from the graceful beauty of "That's the Way" and "Tangerine" to the raw, folksy charm of "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp,""Hats Off (to Roy Harper)," and the traditional "Gallows Pole."—Jerry McCulley

Lennon With lyrics like "My mommy's in the closet finding God" in the in the album's opener, it's clear that 19-year-old Lennon Murphy is no Lilith-style female singer-songwriter. Slow, industrial, and grinding, yet melodic and rhythmic, songs like "Trying to Make Me" sound not unlike Nine Inch Nails, with creepy musical moments that work even when a song is basically uplifting, such as within the mostly straight-ahead, pop-influenced gem "Brake of Your Car." The Tennessee-bred Lennon is cohesive yet varied, at times akin to PJ Harvey, with touches of Nelly Furtado and Marilyn Manson. She's a poster-child for the smart, artistic, and disenfranchised, who cites author Ayn Rand as an influence. Songs like "My Beautiful," permeated by lovely strings, and "Asking You," a pure, if David Lynch-ian ballad, along tour dates with Alice Cooper, confirm Lennon as a dark rock diva. Dramatic yet ethereal, 5:30 Saturday Morningis a uniquely deep debut. —Katherine Turman

Lewis Black

Lewis Black As "America's Foremost Commentator On Everything", Black is a weekly political commentator on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart", and has starred in four top-rated comedy specials for the network. He's one of the nation's top stand-up comics and has done numerous films and television appearances. Recently, he's been touring constantly to packed theaters on his "Rules Of Enragement" tour, having finished a series of dates with Dave Attell and Mitch Hedberg. This CD catches him live at the Luther Burbank PAC.

Madonna

Madonna A quintessential '80s pop artifact, Madonna's third album was a huge musical leap forward and ranks with Like a Prayerand Ray of Lightin the top echelon of her works. Only the title track (a bit too obviously a '60s girl-group homage) and the fine-but-nothing-special "Jimmy Jimmy" slightly lower the quality bar. Most of the songs share a jittery dance-pop sound, edgy, distracted, and nerve-jangling but simultaneously invigorating and exhilarating and almost dangerously giddy—a perfect soundtrack for the mid-'80s. Highlights include the hedonist's credo of "Where's the Party," the subtle and pretty Latin pastiche "La Isla Bonita," and, towering above all, three stunning mega-hits. "Papa Don't Preach," with its gorgeous pseudo-classical strings intro, is a sumptuous airwaves banquet, as Madonna wrestles with the have-the-baby-or-give-it-up dilemma (abortion's not in the picture) in newly gritty tones. "Open Your Heart"'s marriage of jitter-pop and wistful melody underscores the singer's yearning but forceful stance ("You better open your heart to me, buster"). And "Live to Tell" is a riveting ballad, lushly melodic yet spare and haunting—a place, as the song says, where beauty lives. —Ken Barnes

Madonna

Madonna You can dance and you probably will if you put on this 1987 compilation of the material girl's best jams. The eight-and-a-half minute "Into the Groove," remixed by Shep Pettibone, may be Madonna's single best tune and it's sure to fill the dance floor. There are only 10 tracks here, and a couple of songs get multiple remixes, but you do get "Holiday" and "Everybody," lesser known but not lesser grooves. Madonna had a few dance hits after this collection came out, and one day they'll most likely be a Madonna dance box set, but until then this will give you a fine aerobic workout. —Charles R. Cross

Madonna The naughtily titled Immaculate Collectionculls 15 of Madonna's Top 10 singles from 1984 to mid-'90, plus 2 new ones that continued the run (the dirty, trunk-bumping funk of "Justify My Love"—a Lenny Kravitz production that justifies his entire career—and the danceable desperation of "Rescue Me"). Rooted in disco and classic AM pop from girl groups and ABBA to Strawberry Alarm Clock, Madonna made savvy, touching music throughout her first golden era. These tracks retain their sonic and historical significance while, like "She Loves You" or "Rocket Man," still brightening any space they're being played in. Far more than just a wise, irreverent image-maker—like the Beatles or Elton, come to think of it—Madonna during these years was the gift that kept on giving, forever fresh, sexy, hooky, and joyously sharp. —Rickey Wright

Madonna Never underestimate Madonna's power of persuasion: By nearly all critical accounts, Ray of Light, Madonna's first album of new material since 1994's Bedtime Stories, and her first since motherhood, is her richest, most accomplished record yet. While Ray of Lightis being tagged as Madonna's big leap into electronica, it's important to note two things: First, her music has always had close ties to dance culture, and, second, her collaborator William Orbit is no Chemical Brother. Though it has all the latest blips, bleeps, and crackles electronica has to offer, Ray of Lightis still largely an adult album, completely within Madonna's realm. Still, Orbit's tasteful sonic constructions provide Madonna with her most adventurous, hippest musical backdrop ever. What's more, the arrangements and production are understated enough to highlight an even bigger development: Fresh from singing lessons on the Evitaset, Madonna's vocal range, depth, and clarity have never been stronger. But larger pipes don't necessarily make for deeper, truer music. Never a master lyricist, Madonna's words have worked best when they've practically been slogans ("Vogue,""Express Yourself"). This time she goes for more emotional depth, and even tries her hand at ethno-techno-mysticism ("Shanti/Ashtangi"). She largely stumbles, however. The tone conveyed on songs like "Nothing Really Matters" is a self-centered pat on the back that belies her claim to a newfound altruism. It's enough to make you wonder, now that Madonna's given up being our material girl, if maybe she's set her sights on becoming the center of our spiritual world too. —Roni Sarig

Madonna

Marcy Playground Marcy Playground's John Wozniak was one of those kids who, like Charlie Brown, got a bag of rocks for Halloween instead of candy. Fortunately, Wozniak used his childhood ostracism as the inspiration and fuel to write charmingly quirky pop songs. Wozniak woos the listener with his smooth, low-key vocals and lighthearted delivery of weighty, somewhat twisted, and darkly humorous songs. "Poppies" gives a cheery history lesson on the origins of the international opium trade, while "Elvinkind" and "Dog and His Master," with its chorus of "One little, two little, three little idiots," could become new, if slightly warped, children's standards. And then there's the country feel of the chartbuster, "Sex & Candy," with the sing-along refrain "I smell sex and candy here." One of the qualities of an exceptional band is the ability to tell a story through their music; something that Marcy Playground succeed at beautifully. —Gail Worley

Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson Mostly a collection of remixed tracks from Portrait of an American Familyand samples swiped from talk-radio dialogue, Smells Like Childrenis how Marilyn Manson passed the time prior to beginning work on Antichrist Superstar. Of note among the remixes is Tony Wiggins's acoustic country "White Trash" version of "Cake and Sodomy." This is really a keeper, though, for Manson's clever choice of covers, including an authentically creepy interpretation of Eurythmics'"Sweet Dreams" and the shot-in-the-arm he gives to Patti Smith's "outside of society" anthem, "Rock 'N' Roll Nigger." (Attention trivia buffs: Manson's unrestrained reworking of Howling Wolf's "I Put a Spell on You" was later included on the soundtrack to David Lynch's Lost Highway.) —Gail Worley

Marilyn Manson Marilyn Manson started out as a depraved, marginally talented group of freaks that played a caustic but undeveloped brand of metallic industrial noise. Then Trent Reznor stepped into the studio for seven months with the band, and Manson emerged with the most intense, visceral, mechanical metal album since The Downward Spiral. Antichrist Superstaris a horror-house of grisly atrocities that stains as indelibly as a bathful of warm blood. Brooding rhythms collide with corrosive samples and buzzsaw guitar riffs, while vocalist Marilyn croons irresistible melodies in the voice of a vagrant regurgitating broken light-bulb shards. Essential listening, regardless of how much input Reznor had. —Jon Wiederhorn

Marilyn Manson There's no question that Marilyn Manson's 1995 album Antichrist Superstarwas a great-sounding record. It brooded, ripped, and clattered in all the right places, mixing industrial beats and samples with roaring heavy-metal riffs, echoing Goth keys, and the occasional tuneful pop vocal. But for all the sonic appeal, some of the songwriting wasn't too strong. No such problem on Manson's new record, Mechanical Animals, which forsakes some of the band's former grind in favor of dynamic glam rhythms and good old-fashioned melody. When the band tones down, as on the largely acoustic "Speed of Pain" and "Fundamentally Loathsome," Manson even sounds like a candidate for an Unpluggedsession. Most often, however, as on "Rock Is Dead,""User Friendly," and "The Dope Show,"Mechanical Animalsis a brash, decadent, and glittery display of self-indulgent hooks and melodramatic vocals that sounds like Aladdin Sane-era David Bowie and T. Rex at their most boisterous crossed with the more modern sounds of today's industrial nation. —Jon Wiederhorn

Marilyn Manson The impact of Marilyn Manson's subversive musical agenda has waned, and what's left is a provocative, talented artist writing affecting, powerful, and yes, controversial songs. Although Holy Woodis the third title of a trilogy that began with 1996's Antichrist Superstar, the album stands on its own. Rife with references to the Beatles and the Kennedys, and full of pop-culture barbs, Holy Woodis a musically diverse and powerful statement. The memorable sing-along "Disposable Teens" boasts the same kind of staccato, Teutonic, first-thrusting power introduced with "Beautiful People," while "Fight Song" is the Sex Pistols meets Blur by way of Nirvana. While a futuristic, nihilistic tint pervades Manson's work, passion is also prevalent, notably in the spooky acoustic number "A Place in the Dirt" and the brutal "Death Song." Like Marilyn Manson the man, Holy Woodis intelligent, dynamic, and multifaceted, with myriad charms that are evident to the tuned-in listener. —Katherine Turman

Marilyn Manson The Golden Age of Grotesquewas inspired by the seamy of Weimar Berlin, circa 1930. The album is constructed along the lines of Alice Cooper's 1975 gem, Welcome to My Nightmare, dipping in to the same cabaret of Cooper's "Some Folks." Unlike Cooper, however, this is no comic nightmare. "This isn't a show / This is my f*cking life / I'm not ashamed / You're entertained," Manson snarls in "Vodevil," making it abundantly clear that the singer was born in the wrong time and place and is more at home among the absinthe-drinking revelers in pre-Nazi Germany. The album possesses a dark, accessible beauty rather than the twisted industrial dissonance that pervades much of his earlier stuff. "mOBSCENE" is a thumping rocker that features a deranged cheerleading squad. "Ka-Boom Ka-Boom" is a rousing stomper that Manson penned in response to an exec's complaint that the new songs didn't rock. Its simple yet seditious chorus decries, "I like a big car, 'cause I'm a big star / I'll make a big rock & roll hit." Since 1998's Mechanical Animals, Manson's albums have become progressively more tuneful, and Grotesque continues the trend. —Jaan Uhelszki

Marilyn Manson

MDFMK A prediction: "Torpedoes" will soon feature prominently on goth-industrial play lists around the world. It's got a good beat and, boy, can you dance to it. The demise of KMFDM appears to have been good for former members Tim Skold and Sascha Konietzko, who with the addition of former Drill singer Lucia Cifarelli have acquired a new lease on musical life. MDFMKis less techno, more noise, fewer politics, more emotion, and sounds more like a collaborative effort, as opposed to an assemblage of pieces that fit together really well but never quite jell. It is, in short, really good stuff and incredibly addictive, especially the aforementioned "Torpedoes." Other notable tracks include "Rabble Rouser," which often shifts rhythmic gears; the thoughtful "Stare at the Sun"; and the aptly titled "Witch Hunt," which seems to refer to the unfortunate correlation between the release date of KMFDM's final album and the Columbine High School shootings. Turn on the strobe lights and bring on the noise. —Genevieve Williams

Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hellis probably remembered most for its rock operetta about every teenage boy's plight, "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." Certainly the most dramatic piece on the album, it engaged Meat Loaf's testosterone-crazed tenor in an incremental game of sexual bargaining with the resistant, but willing, Ellen Foley. By employing exaggerated power chords, screaming vocals, over-the-top arrangements, and a sense of rock & roll as Broadway theater, Batmade Meat Loaf a star. Jim Steinman's contribution to the record is invaluable. His classically tinged piano give a certain lush quality to his collaborations with Meat Loaf, making songs such as the hit "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" all the more emotional. Larger than life in every sense of the word, Bat Out of Hellsometimes sounds a bit dated, but has retained most of its appeal. This expanded, remastered version of the '78 smash includes an extended live version of the title track. —Steve Gdula

Metallica This record has so much good material that it's a shame the production is so shoddy. Songwise, this is probably Metallica's most sophisticated album, exploring the theme of justice and perversions thereof with a vengeance. "One" is one of their best songs ever, building from a slow, edgy beginning into effortless overdrive. The title track is excellent and never boring, despite clocking in at more than nine minutes. It's the epic of the album, but all of the songs are long, displaying impressive chops and songwriting. Metallica took a commercial turn after ...And Justice for All, and it's interesting to speculate on what would have happened to their music had they continued in the direction suggested by this album. —Genevieve Williams

Metallica One of the defining albums of thrash metal, Master of Puppetsis arguably Metallica's best album (as well as their last with bassist Cliff Burton). Focusing on the concept of power and abuses thereof, this is a collection of complex, intelligent music, played at about a hundred miles an hour. Not that these are short songs; this eight-song album clocks in at over an hour, which makes it all the more impressive that not one moment on this recording is boring. In tackling various approaches to their subject, Metallica is insightful lyrically as well as musically: "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" is from the point of view of an institutionalized inmate and "Disposable Heroes" is the perspective of a soldier. If all you've heard of Metallica is what's been on the radio recently, check this one out. You're in for a surprise. —Genevieve Williams

Metallica Called "the Black Album" by many (due to its monochrome cover), Metallicamarks the group's entrance into the mainstream, with shorter songs, simpler song structures, and slower tempos overall. That said, this is an excellent album, featuring some of the best songwriting Metallica has ever done. "Enter Sandman,""Wherever I May Roam," and "God That Failed," despite being slower and more groove-oriented than the band's earlier work, feature the same heavy riffs and heavier rhythms that have always been a feature of Metallica's music. The band goes introspective with "Unforgiven," and proves that they can write a ballad with "Nothing Else Matters," which succeeds better than one might expect. Overall, this is a high-energy album despite its laid-back approach, and is in many ways superior to the previous . . . And Justice for All, which was weakened by overly complicated song structures and mediocre production. — Genevieve Williams

Metallica Never underestimate the regenerative powers of Metallica. Following the stripped-down Loadand Re-Load, they've returned to the raw, vitriolic savagery of their earlier canon, using 1984's Ride the Lightningas a template for St. Anger. The title track provides the psychic lynchpin of the album by combining the bombast and defiance of the band's earliest high-water marks with more deliberate lyrics and emotional nakedness. Equally cathartic is "Some Kind of Monster," a lumbering beast of a song that declares, "This is the voice of silence no more." Despite that claim, there's an economy to these lyrics; James Hetfield's raw-toothed growl only occasionally punctuates the menacing soundscapes. In fact, "Dirty Windows," the standout track here, is a shimmering five-minute instrumental that's free of the baroque trappings that sometimes clutter the Metallica landscape. —Jaan Uhelszki

Ministry This was the record that definitively turned Ministry from an electro-industrial dance band into a cutting-edge metal act. With distorted vocals, pounding drum machines, and ripping guitar chords, songs like "Thieves" and "Burning Inside" merged computer technology with metallic riffology, setting the pace for dozens of second-rate computer nerds to follow. —Jon Wiederhorn

Ministry This was Al Jourgensen's first full-length venture into the darker possibilities of electronic music. Harsh synthesizers, brutal drums and cynical lyrics defied the easy classification of "techno-dance" when this album was released in the mid'80s. The programming is proficient and creative, taking the limited sound technology of the time into new areas. "Just Like You" and "All Day" make early use of processed vocals and cryptic spoken-word fragments. In "We Believe" and "Over The Shoulder" Jourgensen renders ominously driving bass lines and metallic percussion to project pessimistic visions of a cold, technocratic society. The album's second half is dominated by a long drum & noise piece: an interesting experiment that would lead to intriguing sound collages on subsequent albums. —Mark McCleerey

Ministry This is a six-song live documentation of Ministry's 1989-90 North American tour. It is arguably the band at its peak: the material is drawn exclusively from their two best albums (The Land of Rape and Honey, The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste). The lineup is a virtual "all-stars" of hard electro, including Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy, Martin Atkins of Pigface, and singer Chris Connelly. This is not mere rehash, as all the songs boast heavier guitar sounds than their studio counterparts. "Burning Inside" and "Stigmata" are distinctly different, both featuring longer arrangements and additional sound effects. There is also a rotation of singers, with Connelly taking the lead on "So What" and Ogre roaring in front on "Thieves."—Mark McCleerey

Ministry This is a brilliant hybrid of electronic music and conventional guitar-heavy rock. The first three tracks in particular pound out the overall method: furious, punk-metal guitars over slamming, machinelike rhythms. This release exemplifies Al Jourgensen's and Paul Barker's skill at producing remarkably creative musical aggression. "You Know What You Are" and the album's title track are fist-in-the-air electro-anthems upon first listen. But upon closer scrutiny, the songs reveal themselves to be works of complex sonic architecture, with components drawn from a wide variety of sources. The same is also true with "Flashback," a techno-punk foray into loosely controlled fury. —Mark McCleerey

Ministry

Ministry

Ministry Ministry's followup to The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Tastemakes use of the same aggressive approach but sinks to a darker and fiercer level. Chokehold opener "N.W.O." uses tape loops of then-President Bush calling for a "New World Order," which Ministry delivers by infusing their industrial savvy with machine-gunned, thrash metal guitars, relentless beats, and vocals that run the gamut from deranged auctioneer of the damned ("Jesus Built My Hotrod") to terrifying screams ("Just One Fix"). Fast and furious, Psalm 69is an acidic taste of Ministry at their most focused and diabolical. —Erin Amar

Ministry Ministry's early career is either a dirty secret or a case of abandoned potential, depending on how you see things—that is, depending on whether you're a dirtbag or a wimp. As a wimp with dirtbag tendencies, I can see both sides of the question. On one hand, while Ministry's early new wave radio hits were never quite as convincing as, say, Depeche Mode's or Blancmange's, or Men Without Hats', or whosever, Ministry were the only serious entries America had in the poof-wave sweepstakes (save the one-hit Combo Audio)—and they had great hooks besides. On the other hand, later Ministry rocked, which this stuff resolutely does not. Key tracks are missing, like "Work for Love" and "I Wanted to Tell Her"—so try the album, In Sympathy. —Gavin McNett

Ministry Filth Pigarrived after an extended break that found Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker giving rural Texas life a try before retreating back to the chilled concrete of Chicago. But, despite the Lone Star roots of some of its songs and much talk of Jourgensen's budding taste for country music, Filth Pigisn't Ministry's Nashville Skyline. There may be more organic elements as guitars more to the fore at the expense of keyboards and samples, but Jourgensen and Barker's forte remains the bitter screed powered by insistent beats and pummeling riffs. Ministry may have some new tools these days (most notably standout drummer Rey Washam, formerly of Scratch Acid and Rapeman), but they're working on the same old chassis. —Steven Stolder

Ministry To hear longtime Ministry mainstays Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker tell it, Dark Side of the Spoonis some sort of lighthearted comic romp. Getting there was anything but; virtually completed in 1997, most of the original Spoonwas scrapped and rerecorded the following year for an eventual 1999 release. But longtime Ministry devotees needn't worry that Jourgensen and Barker have traded in the band's formulaic hard-edged mix of heavy-riffing guitars, percussion loops, and techno-industrial flourishes for a dash of Noël Coward. In fact, aside from the song titles——"Nursing Home,""Eureka Pile,""Vex and Siolence"—listeners without a lyric sheet handy are going to be hard-pressed to enjoy the witticisms present in the album's typically overwrought, electronically subverted vocals. And who knows? Maybe if one sang Gilbert and Sullivan through a distorted megaphone in an echo-prone parking structure, it would sound just like this. Allow us the liberty of mixing our equestrian metaphors: Spoononly proves how tough it is to paint a horse of a different color when you're a one-trick pony. —Jerry McCulley

Modern English

My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult

My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult

Natalie Imbruglia A cross between Alanis Morissette and Kylie Minogue, you couldn't engineer a more likely late '90s pop star than Natalie Imbrugila if you tried. Blessed with a stunning bone structure and a passable voice, Australian soap star Imbruglia and producer Phil Thornally turned Ednaswap's gritty "Torn" into a swirling pop confection. Nothing else on her debut quite matches it, in part because Left of the Middlehews closer to the center than it cares to admit. Imbruglia manages to touch on a wide range of female styles—angry ("One More Addiction"), electronica ("Big Mistake"), and yearning ("Smoke")—without leaving her fingerprints on any of them. —Steven Mirkin

New Order Manchester's pivotal post-punk quartet offer a 16-track opus that skips obscurities and early material in favor of their greatest singles. Highlights include "Blue Monday,""Thieves Like Us" and "The Perfect Kiss" and sparkling Stephen Hague remixes of "True Faith" and "Bizarre Love Triangle."—Jeff Bateman

Nine Inch Nails As a placeholder between the full-length Pretty Hate Machine and The Downward Spiral, Broken packs a serious punch. Angrier and less poppy than Machine, this EP is full of noisy hooks, if such a thing is possible (check out that guitar riff on the full-throttle "Wish"), and much closer aesthetically to the industrial subgenre that informs Trent Reznor's music. As song titles like "Help Me I Am in Hell" suggest, Broken is a work of undiluted rage, which is, of course, a big part of its appeal. —Genevieve Williams

Nine Inch Nails The acclaimed debut album on Universal records by Trent Reznor & company released in 1989. Pretty Hate Machine contains 10 tracks, including 'Head Like A Hole', 'Sin', 'Terrible Lie' and 'Down In It'.

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails CD single features 3 mixes by Adrian Sherwood & Keith LeBlanc - 1. 'Skin' 2. 'Shred' & 3. 'Singe'. TVT Records.

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails are a pretty amazing phenomenon when one considers what they—um, he—have done with just a few studio recordings. The Downward Spiral, NIN's second full-length album, is just as packed with vitriol as Pretty Hate Machine and the EP Broken—and has just as solid a base of pop hooks that go a long way toward explaining NIN's popularity. Most recognizable is the down-tempo single "Closer," which remains a staple of dance clubs everywhere. But for the most part, the album is all heavy beats and aggressive guitars—industrial music with a pop angle. That winning combination is what makes Trent Reznor a law unto himself, becoming insanely popular while the main body of industrial music retains its subculture status. —Genevieve Williams

Nine Inch Nails A must-stock piece! Do the math, this value-laden piece features all of the tracks from BOTH the U.K. singles of 'Closer' all on one disc for just $1 more than buying one of our regularly priced import CD singles ($7.99)! 'Closer' is off the 1994 album 'The Downward Spiral'. Includes six mixes of 'Closer', a mix of the album track 'Heresy', a mix of 'March Of The Pigs' re-titled 'March Of The Fuckheads' and a cover of Soft Cell's 'Memorabilia'.

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails Limited Re-press of this Long Deleted Australian Exclusive EP. Features Five Mixes of the Title Track, plus the Original Version Not Available on the USA Version.

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor took five years to record this monstrous double-CD set, wielding a perfectionist's touch in the production and the subtlety of a chainsaw in the musicianship. The result is uncompromising, full of hysterical noise and yet utterly accessible. Somehow, someway, this is one of the best pop records of the year. —Matthew Cooke

Nine Inch Nails The first single from Trent Reznor & co.'s 1999 and fourth full length outing 'Fragile'. Pt.1 contains 'We're In This Together', '10 Miles High' and 'The New Flesh'. Slimline jewel case.

Nine Inch Nails The first single from Trent Reznor & co.'s 1999 and fourth full length outing 'Fragile'. Pt.1 contains 'We're In This Together' (Radio Edit), plus 'The Day The World Went Away' (Quiet Version & Porter Rick Mix). Slimline jewel case.

Nine Inch Nails The first single from Trent Reznor & co.'s 1999 and fourth full length outing 'Fragile'. Pt.3 contains 'We're In This Together', 'Complications of the Flesh' & 'The Perfect Drug'.Slimline jewel case.

Nine Inch Nails After the two nihilistic epics The Downward Spiral (1995) and its belated follow-up The Fragile (1999), Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails are settling into a loud, predictable rut. The same thrashy, complex-yet-melodic industrial rock that sounded so groundbreaking on Downward Spiral is beginning to show its limitations. Though often mesmerizing in the way Reznor's inventive sonic structure and relentlessly bleak tone congeal so convincingly around the catchiest of pop melodies, the man seems to have run out of places to go. Things Falling Apart, a collection of severely remixed songs from The Fragile, adds precious little to Rezner's familiar, impossibly angry milieu. Almost all the songs fall short of their original versions, especially all three versions of "Starf***ers Inc" (though, to be fair, that may have been The Fragile's best track). There are a few previously unreleased tracks here that shine; the Fragile outtake "10 Miles High" throws a simple, pounding chorus into a swamp of washed-out ambient noise, while the Gary Numan cover "Metal" makes convincing use of Reznor's gift for pop melody. Still, it's apparent that, despite how great he is at what he does, Reznor just can't keep doing it forever. —Matthew Cooke

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails The biggest difference between a kick-ass studio album and a kick-ass live album? Intensity. Live: And All That Could Have Been, recorded on Nine Inch Nails' 2000 "Fragility 2.0" U.S. tour, provides that trait in abundance. It helps that Trent Reznor has a band, instead of just a battery of keyboards, to help him work through 16 tracks of the raging yet surprisingly listenable musical vitriol that made him a star. The live musicians, who allow him some freedom to play with tempo, help kick "Closer" up a notch and lend some atmospheric weight to a slow version of "The Frail." The band rips into older material with gusto; Reznor sounds just as pissed off performing "Head Like a Hole" as he did in 1989. The CD closes with "Hurt," which might seem like an odd choice, but somehow, after everything that's come before, it's like the denouement of a tragedy. While a CD can only capture a piece of NIN's onstage energy, their first live album is an intense, sometimes overwhelming recording, further vindication of NIN's continuing popularity and influence. —Genevieve Williams

Nine Inch Nails Something I Can Never Have Adrift and at Peace The Fragile The Becoming Gone, Still The Day the World Went Away And All That Could Have Been The Persistence of Loss Leaving Hope

Nine Inch Nails Originally released in 1994, Trent Reznor created THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL as both a concept album and modern day classic. This influential 90’s classic is Trent Reznor’s industrial cum-tragic opera view of the world and the soul’s sonically detailed fall from grace. The Downward Spiral delves into despair and anger with hard guitars and brutal beats.

This SACD/Hybrid DELUXE EDITION of THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL celebrates the 10 Anniversary of the modern masterpiece.

DELUXE EDITION includeds 2 hybrid SACD/CDs: Disc One - The original album in SACD Surround Sound (remixed by Trent Reznor), and newly remastered SACD Stereo and CD Stereo program. Disc Two - Bonus material (13 B-Sides, Remixes, and Rarities) in SACD Stereo and CD Stereo.

Nine Inch Nails The first single to be lifted from the 2005 album,'White Teeth'. This UK limited edition includes three versions of the title track, Album Version, Photek Straight Remix and Photek Dub. Interscope.

Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor has always been a one-trick-pony, but it's a damn good trick: sunny melodies filtered through ferocious electronics. Unfortunately, the trick's impact was often watered down by a tendency toward petulance and self-absorption. Still, almost six years after NIN's last release, The Fragile, the trick itself has lost none of its Teen-Beat-from-hell appeal. With Teeth blisters from the start with "All the Love in the World," and tracks like "The Collector" take full advantage of Dave Grohl's sledgehammer drumming. Reznor stretches occasionally, trying out different tactics, from crunchy, overtly commercial rave-ups ("The Hand That Feeds") to borderline New Wave ("Only"). But Teeth isn't about stretching. It's about doing the same trick, only better, with less clutter and more bite. By neatly distilling the sparseness of Pretty Hate Machine with Downward Sprial-style density, it ends up being the most focused record in the NIN catalog. –Matthew Cooke

Nine Inch Nails The Second Single from the 2005 Return to Form of Trent Reznor and Company, the Album "With Teeth". The Title Track is Backed with a Dfa Remix of "The Hand that Feeds" (The First Single from the Album) and a Live Performance of "Love is Not Enough" as Well as the Enhanced Video of the Title Track!

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails NINE INCH NAILS: Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D

YEAR ZERO ALBUM REMIXED: STEPHEN MORRIS, BILL LASWELL, KRONOS QUARTET, SAUL WILLIAMS, OLOF DREIJER, THE FAINT AND MORE

REMIX IT YOURSELF: EVERY MASTER MULTI-TRACK MADE AVAILABLE

"I'm very pleased with the way it turned out," says Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails' Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D (Interscope Records). "Remix records can be disposable garbage (of which I myself have been guilty to some extent) but this collection feels good to me."

Spun off from Year Zero, the #2-charting album issued in the spring, Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D features a stunning diversity of remixers, from Joy Division and New Order's Stephen Morris to classical crossover pioneer Kronos Quartet and hip-hop poet Saul Williams; from avant-garde leader Bill Laswell, electronica's Olof Dreijer from The Knife, Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino and post-punk revivalists The Faint to an unknown fan who submitted a remix via the Internet.

"I reached out to heroes, friends and strangers," says Reznor. "I encouraged those I approached to do anything and insert themselves as much as possible into the track. Some of the stuff that was done earlier led me to choosing other people to balance things out. The Pirate Robot Midget mix is a fan's work—I thought it was great, it filled a need and I asked permission to use it here. It's always interesting for me to hear my work reinterpreted—I hope it is for you as well."

In fact, purchasers can even reinterpret and remix Year Zero themselves. The CD package for Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D includes a DVD-ROM containing every track from Year Zero in multi-track format (Mac and PC). Perhaps for the first time, the master multi-tracks for every recording on a major album are being made available to the public. The tracks are pre-formatted for Apple GarageBand and Ableton Live (Mac or PC); the DVD-ROM also adds the demo version of Ableton Live (Mac or PC) and generic WAVE files at 16 bit 44K that can be loaded into any audio editor.

A special Web site, remix.nin.com, will debut upon Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D's release date. Says Reznor,"Remixes and fun encouraged."

Nine Inch Nails Ghosts I-IV, the new album from Nine Inch Nails, sees the legendary rockers explore some serious new sonic territory. Comprised of almost two hours of music composed and recorded over a ten-week period, Ghosts I-IV boasts 36 tracks described by Trent Reznor as a "soundtrack for daydreams". That's perhaps true—especially if your daydreams are particularly dark and surreally beautiful. Swelling synths, infectious (and often maudlin) piano melodies, baleful drones and glitchy textures are the unorthodox instruments employed here rather than the standard guitars, drums and stadium-fuelled braggadocio. The immediate impression is more post-rock than indie rock, with sincere nods to avant practitioners like Sigur Ros and Radiohead. But contributions from the likes of Adrian Belew (King Crimson) ensure the mystical ambience is punctuated with blasts of electric psychedelia, and the NIN sound remains somehow recognizable beneath the surface. A hugely successful and beautifully otherworldly trip to outer musical realms. —Danny McKenna

Nirvana Nirvana changed the course of popular music forever and remains an inspiration to those who have followed. The band's musical legacy was illuminated further in November 2004 by the release of the 3-CD/1-DVD box set With the Lights Out, the definitive collection of rarities and outtakes. Now the 22-song, single-disc Sliver: The Best of the Box offers fans audio highlights from With the Lights Out with the bonus inclusion of three unreleased tracks: "Spank Thru," "Sappy," and a rehearsal recording of "Come as You Are."

Ozzy Osbourne In February, OZZY OSBOURNE made the ground-breaking announcement that OZZFEST will be free for all this summer. In continuing to give back to his fans, a limited number of specially marked copies of BLACK RAIN (Epic Records) — OSBOURNE's first studio album of all new material in six years — will contain a unique code which can be redeemed for reserved seats to the Ozzfest show of your choice.

Peter Gabriel Peter Gabriel has never been one to stand on tradition. The former Genesis singer bends and hammers fashionable pop forms to his liking (à la his massive MTV-fueled hit "Sledgehammer") or uses the obligatory soundtrack assignment to explore the world music that has been his obsession for decades (as in "Zaar" from Passion). This 16-track anthology explores the width—and, crucially, depth—of Gabriel's rich post-Genesis music, from the post-prog obliquities of "Solsbury Hill" and "Here Comes the Flood" to the African musical and political concerns of the title track (available only on this collection) and the epic "Biko." But what makes the compilation even more compelling is the way it eschews the chronology of its decade-plus body of music, instead weaving and segueing Gabriel's music into a tapestry of compelling mood and color. It's a rewarding listening experience for fan and novice alike. —Jerry McCulley

Pink Floyd The Wallis less a collection of songs than a single work, which is sometimes frustrating; the plot lacks enough coherence to hold the snippets of music together. However, there are occasional flashes of brilliance on what ranks as Pink Floyd's most ambitious project. Most of these come from the fully developed songs, which have become classics in their own right. "Hey You,""Mother," and especially "Comfortably Numb" are subtle, incredible pieces of music. Though complex, they move at a relaxed pace, allowing the listener to absorb them slowly; this kind of pacing was something Pink Floyd excelled at. Also worth noting is the "Another Brick in the Wall/The Happiest Days of Our Lives" medley, which has become a staple of rock radio. —Genevieve Williams

Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon, originally released in 1973, is one of those albums that is discovered anew by each generation of rock listeners. This complex, often psychedelic music works very well because Pink Floyd doesn't rush anything; the songs are mainly slow to mid-tempo, with attention paid throughout to musical texture and mood. The sound effects on songs like "On the Run,""Time" and especially "Money" (with sampled sounds of clinking coins and cash registers turned into rhythmic accompaniment) are impressive, especially when we remember that 1973 was before the advent of digital recording techniques. This is probably Pink Floyd's best-known work, and it's an excellent place to start if you're new to the band. —Genevieve Williams

Pink Floyd For all that menacing, hatchet-happy growl at the beginning of Meddle's opener, "One of These Days," Pink Floyd really weren't about to "cut you into little pieces."Meddledid, however, show that the reigning British monarchs of 1970s-era psychedelia could rip into galloping jams. It also showed what its predecessor, Atom Heart Mother, promised—that the band could excel in long, breathtaking suites that revealed strains of late-classical music, Sun Ra-inspired space explorations, and a patchwork approach to colliding sounds that together took on acid-drenched proportions. And if all that isn't enough, "San Tropez" revealed a playful side of the band, playing footsy with loungy jazz and having good fun in the process. —Andrew Bartlett

Pink Floyd As Roger Waters's solo career set into a sunset of suspiciously self-serving Wallrevivals and compelling if modest-selling solo efforts, his former band became one of the few outfits in the soft live market of the 1990s to burnish its stadium-filling appeal. But their recorded output wasn't quite so rosy. As all post-Dark Side of the Moonalbums must have a Big Important Theme, The Division Bellis vaguely about levels of separation (did you say, duh!?), with more than one not-so-opaque lyrical jab at the estranged Waters. But there's a sense that the band may have put more thought into its trademark audio gimmickry (well represented here by the actual sound of the earth's crust cracking—you don't get thaton Rage Against the Machine albums!—and a "spoken" intro by Dr. Stephen Hawking, or rather his voice synthesizer) than it did into its songs this time around. The opening "Cluster One" has a hypnotic minimalist lure that dissolves all too quickly into the bluesy waffle of "What Do You Want From Me," while Floyd Mach III leader Dave Gilmour's usually lyrical guitar work is uninspired throughout, a definite Floydian slip. Still, the band maddeningly manages a few moments of the old grandeur here and there. The Division Bellis not a great Pink Floyd album, but an all-too-fallible simulation. —Jerry McCulley

Primus Released on the independent Caroline label in 1990, Frizzle Frydocuments the San Francisco Bay area thrash-funk trio at its energetic best. The bare-bones production serves the group's skeletal sound well and makes the most of nearly live performances of gems such as the antiwar "Too Many Puppies," the stoner testimony of "Spegetti Western," and the madcap litany of "Groundhog's Day." Larry LaLonde's guitar is more melodic and concise than the squirrelly avant-gardisms of later albums such as Pork Soda(many of the lines were written by original guitarist Todd Huth). Bassist Les Claypool, meanwhile, is just stunning. By turns sounding like a scrappy Larry Graham or a dirty-minded John Wetton, his four-string slaps, slurs, and squeaks form a perfect union with drummer Tim Alexander's jazz-informed power beats. Claypool's goofy vocals owe a lot to P.I.L.-era John Lydon, with lyrics about Corn Chex, striped bass, and porn films. An inspired and assured studio debut. —James Rotondi

Primus Opening with the creaky sounds of a ship at sea, Sailingcharts the funk-punk waters the San Francisco Bay area band returns to again and again. It's all here: the acerbic humor, Les Claypool's gurgling fretless bass lines, Larry LaLonde's seasick metal guitar, and Tim Alexander's Bill Bruford-inspired syncopation. The narrator of "Sgt. Baker" aims to "rape your personality," while the reapers of the "American Life" live out their dreams "residing in a cardboard box." Tom Waits makes a cameo on the funky back-alley tale "Tommy the Cat," and the protagonist of "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" has "too many cold beers one night" and "wraps himself around a telephone pole." Primus concert fave "Those Damned Blue Collar Tweakers" helps round out this bizarre prog-punk masterpiece. —James Rotondi

Primus

Primus Corrosive grooves, minimalist noise, and surreal banjo interludes make this weird and not very wonderful. —Jeff Bateman

Queen Import pressing includes additional tracks over the US pressing. EMI.

Queen This is an excellent collection of one of the most popular and influential rock bands of all time, though it omits "We Are the Champions" and "Fat Bottomed Girls" (these, however, can be found on the Greatest Hitsalbum, which together with Classic Queengets you a comprehensive selection of their work). There's some great stuff here, including rockers like "Hammer to Fall,""Stone Cold Crazy,""I Want It All,""Headlong," and the hilarious "Tie Your Mother Down." There's also a good sampling of ballads, performed with an energy and sincerity that sets them apart: "Who Wants to Live Forever" is sorrowfully beautiful, and "The Show Must Go On" is only echoed by songs like Queensryche's "Is There Anybody Listening." Rounding things off is a fine selection of the unclassifiable, such as "Under Pressure,""I'm Going Slightly Mad," and "Radio Ga Ga."—Genevieve Williams

Queen Queen brought a whole new meaning to the phrase over the top. While rock & roll flamboyance stretched back at least as far as Little Richard, Freddie Mercury continued to camp it up, taking little seriously and smirking at the music's growing pretensions while partaking in them no small bit. Many of the band's singles hold up extremely well, such as "Killer Queen" and "You're My Best Friend". The quartet's canny sense of melody and sophisticated vocal harmonies—not to mention Mercury's raised eyebrow—have traveled well through the years. —Rickey Wright

Queensryche Exploring the uncharted territory between heavy metal and progressive rock, Queensryche has always been difficult to categorize. While Operation: Mindcrimeis their most highly-praised album, Empireremains their most accessible, with a somewhat more commercial approach that has no negative impact on the quality of the material. Empireproduced a string of hit singles, including "Best I Can," the title track, "Jet City Woman," and "Silent Lucidity" (probably their best-known song, and ironically unlike most of their other work). At times sounding a great deal like Pink Floyd, Empireis an impressive collection that is all substance, no filler. "Anybody Listening?", which closes the album, is probably the best perspective on a life lived on stage since Rush's "Limelight". Highly recommended. —Genevieve Williams

Queensrÿche Long dubbed "the thinking man's metal band," Queensryche have always been difficult to classify; somewhere between Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd. Mindcrimewas their breakthrough album, garnering the band commercial and critical success. Arguably their best release, this is a complex, ambitious effort, with top-notch music and a complicated storyline (a disillusioned fortune hunter of the Reagan era joins an underground movement to assassinate political scumbags) that flows smoothly from start to finish. The combination of experimental, progressive music with shorter, more radio-friendly songs works well, and enabled the band to release singles from the album while keeping the story intact. These shorter songs provide the album's most exciting moments;"Revolution Calling,""Eyes of a Stranger," and "I Don't Believe in Love" are some of the best metal songs out there. —Genevieve Williams

R.E.M. Greencatapulted R.E.M. from campus cult favorites to rock stars of the highest order. The album contains three of the Athens, Georgia, quartet's most popular radio hits ("Pop Song 89,""Stand," and "Orange Crush"), punching up the big rock hooks and letting the spooky independent production slip away. Some diehard fans cried "Sellout!" but that's a strange attitude given singer Michael Stipe's environmental activism. "I'm very scared of this world," he sings above jangling mandolins on "You Are the Everything." It's still unclear what he's trying to say, but at least we can understand the words this time. —Steve Knopper

R.E.M. Though R.E.M. titled a later album Monster, this 1991 smash was the true monster, with the little Athens, Georgia, quartet graduating once and for all from its jangling independent-rock roots. The confusion Michael Stipe communicates in the catchy "Losing My Religion" and the dark-and-dreamy "Low" hit the mainstream-rock audience when it was most primed for uneasy angst. (Nirvana's Nevermindwas released a few months later.) There are also odd but successful experiments, like ceding the opening "Radio Song" to rapper KRS-One (with Stipe playing the moaning straight man) and going peppy for the surprisingly nonsarcastic "Shiny Happy People."—Steve Knopper

R.E.M. Continuing to specialize in the art of curve-throwing, R.E.M. followed up its 1991 smash, Out of Time, with this fragile album of soft melodies and string arrangements. The sympathetic ballad "Everybody Hurts" must have prevented countless suicide attempts, while the Andy Kaufman tribute "Man on the Moon" (with Michael Stipe affecting an Elvis Presley imitation) and the rock-into-oblivion "Drive" are among the quartet's strongest hits. (The opening line, "Hey, kids, rock and roll," isn't so much a rallying cry as an expression of anxiety.) It takes a few listens for its charms to unfold, but Automaticis the gem between bigger hits Out of Timeand Monster. —Steve Knopper

R.E.M. Singer Michael Stipe finally confesses that even he doesn't know what he's trying to say—among the lines flying by are "tryin' to tell you something we don't know" and "there's something going on that's not quite right." But R.E.M.'s roar is at its sharpest, as Peter Buck's guitars twist up surf riffs and the Bill Berry-Mike Mills rhythm section captures the force of forebears Big Star and the Byrds. After half a decade of college-rock heroism, R.E.M. achieved its first hit album thanks to the rambling "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" and the gentle (but subtly barbed) "The One I Love."—Steve Knopper

The Ramones

Rollins Band

Rollins Band UK reissue of 1992 album that's unavailable in the US. Remastered by Henry Rollins, the first disc includes one bonus track, 'Next Time'. The initial limited copies of the album include a bonus disc pulling together studio & live material including extended jams of previously unreleased material. Bonus disc tracks, 'Ghost Rider', 'Earache My Eye' (live in Sydney May 22, 1990), 'Do It' (live in Lyon March 2, 1992), 'Crazy Lover' (live April 25, 1992), 'Low Self Opinion' (live April 26, 1992), 'Tearing' (live April 26, 1992), 'Another Life' (live April 26, 1992), 'Lie Lie Lie' (edit 718), 'Move Right In' (live)/'Move Right In' (set 2) (live April 25, 1992), 'Jam' (with Vernon Reid) (April 24, 1992) &'Jam' (with Butthole Surfers) (Lollapallooza '91). 2002.

Sam Kinison

Sarah McLachlan The Sarah McLachlan cottage industry rolls with Rarities. This disc of hard-to-finds and extended remixes offers some choice morsels for casual fans and a whole plateful for the faithful. The Freedom Sessionsproved that McLachlan can do some nice stuff with a cover tune, and she offers a sweet handful here. Fellow Canadians Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell get lushed-out respectively with "Song For A Winter's Night" and "Blue," and McLachlan also works her magic with XTC's "Dear God" and the Billie Holiday classic "Gloomy Sunday." Each is dark, but engaging, like so much of McLachlan's own material, including this set's brooding "Full of Grace" and "I Will Remember You."—Michael Ruby

Sarah McLachlan Apart from a director whose relationship with his subject seems skittish—there—there's a shyness about the DVD, as though the camera was afraid to linger on its subject too long—and the CD's lamentable incompatibility with iPods, "Afterglow Live" leaves little to nitpick over. Nearly two dozen songs, zigzagging across Afterglow, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, and Surfacing, solidify McLachlan's reputation as a peerless performer on the DVD; the careful attention she layers over these already full-bodied, melodic songs gives each additional shape, as if she were singing them for the first time, and her easy magnetism in front of a mic draws her wholly rapt audience in close enough to feel her guitar strings vibrate. The same likable star quality carries over to the CD, a 15-song sampler culled from the DVD's 2004 Toronto concert. Though fans of less weighty McLachlan material may miss the comparative wispiness of confections like "Ice Cream," her full-throated pourings-on for "Building a Mystery,""Angel," and "Train Wreck," among others, will keep Afterglow Live'sbulb burning brightly for years to come. -Tammy La Gorce

The Sex Pistols Recognizing that there's no such thing as bad publicity, manager-Svengali Malcolm McLaren molded the Pistols into the most confrontational, nihilistic band rock & roll had ever seen. Propelled by Johnny Rotten's maniacal vocals, Steve Jones's buzz-saw guitar, and (most importantly) bass player Glen Matlock's hook-filled compositional skills, the Pistols' early singles "Anarchy in the U.K." and "God Save the Queen" defined the raging style of British punk. By the time they recorded their lone 1977 album, Matlock had been bounced, replaced by the image-correct but utterly untalented (and ultimately group-dooming) Sid Vicious. Not a 10th as good as the singles, the album nontheless remains a bile-filled emblem of the times. —Billy Altman

The Sex Pistols

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Crow's proper debut—an earlier, slicker record was scrapped in favor of Tuesday Night—occasionally reaches too far in attempting Significance, as when the album opens by name-checking Aldous Huxley. Usually, though, Crow and her band of L.A. session and singer/songwriter collaborators strike just the right tone. The "Stuck in the Middle with You" homage of "All I Wanna Do," the clanking guitar riff of "Can't Cry Anymore," and the funky threat of "What I Can Do for You" meld perfectly with the lyrics, resulting in a peak of mainstream pop-rock. —Rickey Wright

Sisters of Mercy

Snake River Conspiracy More than just a straight nu-metal collection, Sonic Jihadis a journey, lyrically and musically, through human emotions. The luscious, slo-mo cinematic strains of "Casualty," with its dragging beats and Bond-esque strings, is an homage to longing. The Phil Spector-inspired production of "You and Your Friend" and the ultra hi-tech aching of the Cure's "Love Song" encapsulate love and obsession. And the concoction of drum & bass, cheesy lounge elements, and demonic guitars on "Somebody Hates You" makes a convincing stab at—not surprisingly—hate. And their distressed and blissfully aching cover of the Smiths'"How Soon Is Now" is nothing short of staggering. With femme fatale Tobey Torres vocals in the fore and the entire group creating drama and attitude, Sonic Jihadis the triumph of passion over technology. —Dan Gennoe

South Park Matt Stone

Squirrel Nut Zippers How clichéd—make that calcified—has the concept of "irony" become in alternative music? When North Carolina's Squirrel Nut Zippers scored an unlikely late '90s hit with "Hell" (from their Hotalbum), many cynics (and a few critics) thought the band was merely mocking the hot jazz stylings of the '20s and '30s. But having put a couple more albums and some trying times (the defection of singer-guitarist Tom Maxwell and passing of horn player Stacy Guess) under their belts, it's clear that musical affection was no mere passing affectation. The Zippers have honed both their chops and their courage here, with subtle new influences from the 20th-century American musical pantry (a dash of country, a pinch of Spanish guitar, more Crescent City bump) tastefully simmered into the stew. Katherine Whalen's vocal turns are as convincingly smoky as the lighthearted material is jokey—an inviting balance that's equally true to its historical sources. More than mere opportunistic swing revivalists, the restless curiosity displayed on this album argues that the Zippers are in it for the long haul. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but this band is clearly more interested in inspiration, and that's not a bad compliment, either. —Jerry McCulley

Stone Temple Pilots

Styx

System of a Down This debut by the L.A.-based quartet is a hybrid of explosive rap-metal, politically incendiary lyrics, and wide-ranging cultural influences. The members are of Armenian descent, but their diverse stylistic background transcends easy cultural labeling. Singer Serj Tankian's throaty roar competes with any mosh-pit rocker around, but his real trademark is his emotional wail and refreshingly melodic singing, especially on songs such as "Spiders" and the condemnatory "P.L.U.C.K." Guitarist Daron Malakian, bassist Shavo Odadjian, and drummer John Dolmayan lock in tight on the capricious arrangements of "Know,""Ddevil," and "CUBErt." Their musical diversity runs wonderfully wild on "Sugar" and "Suggestions" with dizzying shifts of style and intensity. The tracks "Peephole" and "War?" reveal the band at perhaps its eclectic best, with vaguely Eastern European-sounding guitar riffs, passionate battle cries, and samples provided by legendary hip-hop producer Rick Rubin. —Mark McCleerey

Tchaikovsky Ozawa Bpo

The Timelords

Tool Everything about Tool's fourth album is an experience, starting with the packaging, which consists of liner credits printed on a translucent plastic sleeve over the CD and a booklet that layers anatomical representations atop one another—the first page pictures musculature and blood vessels; the next, bones; the third, internal organs; and so on. It's worth describing the packaging of Lateralusbecause it says much about the astonishing music within. Maynard James Keenan and company understand the expectations riding on this much-anticipated release and they've delivered the goods! While it remains in the Tool tradition of trance-inducing progressive metal, Lateralusis tighter, clearer, crisper, and all around a notch above their admirable previous releases. Aenimawas marred by muddy production and a certain predictability. Undertowhad a cleaner sound but wasn't as confident or adventurous. With Lateralus, Tool have raised an already lofty bar still higher by coming up with a collection that kicks major ass. —Genevieve Williams

Tool Japanese Release of the 1993 album

Tori Amos Emotionally and musically intense, Little Earthquakesshows that the piano is as much a rock & roll instrument as the guitar. Tori Amos's debut (if one disregards Y Kant Tori Read, as one would be well advised to do) is at once listenable and challenging; she takes on every topic, from sex to gender to religion, in an uncompromising manner. Her music appears gentle at first, but this appearance is deceiving, as one quickly learns upon listening to the wrenching "Crucify" or the almost violent "Precious Things." By the time the album gets around to "Me and a Gun," sung hauntingly by Amos without accompaniment from her piano, the juxtaposition of Amos' sweet voice and the emotional complexity of her lyrics is both familiar and shocking. Sandmanfans should listen for a reference to author Neil Gaiman in "Tear in Your Hand."—Genevieve Williams

Tori Amos Granted, it was her timely cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" that gained Tori Amos instant notoriety—if only because we all got to hear what Kurt was actually saying. But that track pales before Amos's cover of "Thank You"—a thoughtful rendition that reminds us just how many dimensions Led Zeppelin's music had. Also found on this 1992 EP is Amos's take on the Stones'"Angie," as well as "Winter," a beautiful ballad in which the artist lives up to her reputation as the American Kate Bush. On the other hand, the "Crucify" remix isn't particularly crucial—especially when compared to the more adventurous mixes Amos would commission for subsequent singles. —Bill Forman

Tori Amos Under the Pinkwas Tori Amos' follow-up to the sensationally successful Little Earthquakesand demonstrates that she had by no means run out of faeries and demons to sport with. Amos herself describes it as her "impressionistic" album—her piano playing is perfectly attuned to the subtle, shifting colors of her lyrical moods on "Bells for Her," while "Past the Mission" indicates her growing use of distinctive arrangements to illustrate her songs. Highlights include "God," in which Amos demonstrates her often-missed humor, openly taunting the Almighty for his indifference to humanity, asking "Do you need a woman to look after you?" —David Stubbs

Tori Amos

Tori Amos Boys for Pele, the title of Tori Amos's epic third album, is as awkward and confusing as the music inside. Though it sounds like a recruitment slogan for Little League soccer, the name actually refers to the lost temples of feminine divinity. Pele, you see, is the Hawaiian volcano goddess; the boys, well, they're the sacrifices that quell the rumbling lady's rage. Attempting to regain fires stolen long ago, Pele rewrites the crucifixion to star a girl Jesus and in doing so conjures a forgotten matriarchal mythology. While Amos's characters—Jupiter, Muhammad, Lucifer—are male by name, the aural landscape into which they're thrown is as symbolically and expressionistically female as Georgia O'Keeffe's skull-and-roses paintings. Peleis a complex and formless—and often impenetrable—work of gothic-pop chamber music, both beautiful and ghostly in its nearly complete reliance on Amos's rolling Bosendorfer grand piano, chilling harpsichord (which she bangs like a courtly punk rocker), and acrobatic voice (as earthy as Joni Mitchell's and as otherworldly as Bjork's). Unfortunately, she takes us only halfway: her songs engage and challenge us to understand, but the imagery offers few clues to help us crack their frustrating opacity. Peleends up as much a pretentious and self-indulgent trip as it is a synthesis of talent, imagination, and skewed vision. Still, there's reason to celebrate that an album as formalistically and thematically alien to pop audiences as Pelewould win such quick success upon its original release. —Roni Sarig

Tori Amos

Tori Amos For Tori Amos, sex can be a weapon, a spiritual offering, or an act of protest; it's certainly been the singer-pianist's big subject since her 1989 debut, Little Earthquakes. But where her earliest compositions tried to punch every emotional hot button at once and came off merely overblown, From The Choirgirl Hotel packs a greater punch by toning down the mock-symphonic excess in favor of stark, haunting tracks that contain their own veiled mysteries. Love cuts both ways on Choirgirl. Songs such as "She's Your Cocaine" and "cruel" view relationships as vicious, sexually-charged power plays, while the protagonists in "playboy mommy" and "Northern Lad" are desperately seeking salvation in the form of some emotional connection. Hypnotic, affecting, and frequently gorgeous, From The Choirgirl Hotel is Amos' most accomplished album to date. —Marc Weingarten

Tori Amos For many pop-music cynics, excess can be neatly summed up in three things: live albums, double-CD's, and Tori Amos records. Damned if To Venus and Backdoesn't hit the trifecta. But perhaps Amos is just trying to prove what we've always suspected: that her muse possesses a sly, ironic wit and has been frantically trying to give us a wink while Tori whipped up her heady cocktail of quiet Sturm, desperate Drang, and angst in the panties. There's teasing moments on this double-dose of Tori's love affair with her own melodic and mystical dramaturgy to support that notion, even in the disc of powerful new studio recordings that inaugurates this set. Dubbing a song "Glory of the 80's" is burlesque enough, but yearning to have oneself cloned as Kim Carnes at its climax is simply inspired. Amos is to Kate Bush's distaff mysticism what Mark McGwire was to Roger Maris; she hasn't so much broken the mold as willfully hammered it into her own image. After Bush hit the snooze-bar on her career in the late `80s, Amos boldly stepped into the fray, building a body of work that demanded to be taken seriously, even while the thrift-store chic set were laughing up their tattered sleeves at her ambitious chutzpah. They're not laughing now; in fact, many may find Venusto be a deliciously guilty pleasure. Amos supporters have long maintained that the key to understanding her intrigue lies in her live performances. Disc two boldly states their case as Amos coos, whoops, and warbles through a hit-sprinkled set, her shrewd, sorely undervalued band hanging with every nuance and turn of phrase. Cynics are from Mars; Tori is from Venus—that—that's just the way her galaxy crumbles. Jerry McCulley

Tori Amos After a full decade of unbroken success, the world's premier singer/songwriter marks her departure from east/west with Tales of a Librarian, her first best-of compilation. But where most acts simply slap together a few crowd-pleasers, preferring to concentrate on new material for their new label, Amos brings her usual perfectionism. Taking the very rare opportunity to revisit her songs, she has personally and purposefully remastered 18, while adding two new beauties in "Angels" and "Snow Cherries from France". For the most part this remastering has entailed a rearranging of the backgrounds, particularly the percussion and backing vocals (one of Amos's greatest strengths). The result is that the early tracks now sound more contemporary and sophisticated, making this album an easier entry-point for new listeners. The biggest difference is in the vocals, now even more up close and personal—and the originals were already frighteningly intimate. If anything's lost it's a certain fragility, some moments where Amos seemed about to be buried under the music and perhaps forced to stay silent for yet more years. Drama, that is. Still, it's an interesting exercise and the songs, naturally, are superb. Many of the best are here——"Winter—"Winter", "Cornflake Girl", "Crucify", "Baker Baker"—more than enough to satisfy even the most rabid fan. —Dominic Wills

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas Eve and Other Storiesa holiday rock opera? Or perhaps just a holiday prog-rock disc? Or maybe it's New Age? Whatever the case may be, this isn't your typical Christmas album. Filled with electric guitar solos, plenty of synthesized keyboards, a children's choir, and lively drumming, Christmas Evecan only be compared to one other record, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's otherholiday disc, The Christmas Attic. On this CD, angelic vocal solos (on numbers such as "The Prince of Peace") are interspersed with driving instrumentals. Sentimental, occasionally bombastic, but as high-concept as holiday albums can be. —Jason Verlinde

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Trans-Siberian Orchestra's first two recordings, a pair of late-'90s Christmas albums, hinted that some day TSO might evolve into a latter-day ELOor even an ELP. Instead, this overwrought concept album shares more common ground with ALW (Andrew Lloyd Webber) or Meat Loaf. TSO, in fact, aims to retrace a path once traveled by producer Jim Steinman, the mastermind behind the theatrical, over-the-top rock opuses that briefly transformed Mr. Loaf and Bonnie Tyler ("Total Eclipse of the Heart") into mass-audience favorites. TSO ringmaster Paul O'Neill (once a guitarist in Broadway productions of Jesus Christ Superstarand Hair) here ditches the holiday themes and instead scores a simple-minded fairy tale (whose text spans a 32-page CD booklet) that involves Beethoven's soul, the devil, and an imaginary Symphony No. 10. Too often, the music is the servant of the project's thin plot, and the rock-classical instrumental bravura that initially attracted public attention to TSO (at times, the group sounds like a symphonic Boston) is obscured by overheated vocal rantings. Meanwhile, the guitar-driven rendering of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony ("Requiem") is mundane. Yet, one vocal track, "After the Fall" with singer Patti Russo, jumps off the record as a Tyler-esque knockout, raging with emotion and melodic luster. It doesn't save the album, but it helps. —Terry Wood

Various Artists

Various Artists

Various Artists

Various Artists This Album was crafted to take you from a stressful state to a stress- free state. Use it at work for a 10 minute stress break at work or use it at home when you simply want to relax. Guitar and Keyboards.

Various Artists If you're going to pitch a movie about cyber-revolutionaries to plugged-in audiences, you'd best mind your MP3s and BPMs when choosing soundtrack selections. The cynical wireheads who flock to such high-tech conspiracy flicks as Braziland Hackersare thrillseekers of the highest caliber, and The Matrixsoundtrack meets this challenge faster than a speeding cyborg. The opener, Marilyn Manson's anti-consumerism rant "Rock Is Dead," paints an aural portrait of urban decay. Ominous sirens permeate the Propellerheads' drum 'n' bass track "Spybreak!"; mournful piano alternates with hard shiny beats on Rob D's "Clubbed to Death"; and Meat Beat Manifesto fills "Prime Audio Soup" with enough bleeps to make one imagine being trapped inside a motherboard in Hell. It may sound dismal, but the friction permeating this compilation of techno, grindcore, and heavy metal is energizing enough to make fans of these genres feel the same unity as a clandestine community of hackers. —Kristy Ojala

Various Artists The 'tweens have spoken and Lizzie McGuire is their choice—or at least she's among the choices for a school-age, almost-everyday-girl heroine. This 12-song soundtrack is rife with artists those same 'tween listeners have found most compelling. Smash Mouth lead the charge after Hilary Duff's paean to nearly adolescent emotion, "I Can't Wait," with their poppy, horn-laden charge through "Why Can't We Be Friends." This effervescent morsel stands with the Wiseguys'"Start the Commotion" as the most mature stuff Lizzieponies up. The beats are big and the refrains impossible to resist. Then there's the more patently kid-leaning material: Play and their charming love ditty "Us Against the World," Mandy Moore's "Walk Me Home," and Jessica Simpson's faux street-smart "Irresistible." If these pop tunes turn you away, consider the timeless "ABC" from Jackson 5, with its snappy soul and young Michael Jackson's irrepressible bravado marking it as a true classic. —Andrew Bartlett

Various Artists It would be impossible—and unfair—to expect The Matrix Reloadedto surpass the dizzying special effects, philosophical mind-twisters, and wicked sci-fi mayhem of the first Matrixmovie. The same holds true for its soundtrack sequel which, like the original, sets an ominous atmosphere with industrial beats, in-your-face metal riffs, and supersonic computerized techno. Highlights include Linkin Park's swirling morass of scratches, stutters and keyboards; the grooves thrown down by Oakenfold and Fluke that party with the gloom of a burned-out factory; and Rob Zombie, P.O.D., and Marilyn Manson's explosive, brain-bending digi-rock. Unfortunately, for the most part, the dark patches of Reloadedplod rather than soar (the Deftones' murky "Lucky You"), and rehash tired ideas instead of creating new frontiers (an Oakenfold remix of Dave Matthews Band that sticks out like khaki pants at a goth club). Surprisingly monotonous, Reloadedis unfortunately yet another second act that pales in comparison to its predecessor. —Annie Zaleski

Violent Femmes Emerging, literally, from the streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they gained notoriety through busking, this strange trio led by guitarist-vocalist Gordon Gano became a cult favorite with their self-titled debut album in 1983. Influenced greatly by Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers, the Femmes' minimalist sound pitted Gano's low-volume electric guitar against Brian Ritchie's acoustic bass guitar and Victor De Lorenzo's ashcanlike homemade drum kit—all of which only served to make Gano's angst-ridden adolescent tirades more arresting. Highlights here are the rockabillyish "Gone Daddy Gone," the snotty "Kiss Off," and the emblematically nervous "Blister in the Sun." All in all, a fond reminder of the innocent days of alt-rock. (Note: The 20th anniversary deluxe version of the album includes an additional 26 demos and live tunes, 22 of them never before released.) —Billy Altman

Warrant

White Zombie The title of White Zombie's first mainstream success promises some good, trashy fun, and boy does this album deliver. White Zombie is not a nihilistic, the-world-is-rotten heavy metal band; on the contrary, one doubts that they're in danger of taking anything too seriously, and the humor is audible in every riff. La Sexorcistois rife with distorted guitars, snippets of dialogue from horror movies, and songs about fast cars ("Black Sunshine"), loose women ("Grindhouse (A-Go-Go)"), and the generally weird. Don't think about it too hard; sit back, relax, pop a cool one and crank up the stereo until it shakes your ceiling. — Genevieve Williams

Whoopi Goldberg The accompanying album to her late-'90s HBO special is quintessential Whoopi-outspoken, occasionally crude and usually on target. Forget her films and Academy Award hosting gigs, this is the girl at her funniest! A Collectors' Choice Music exclusive. 2002.

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