Luscious Jackson "In Search of Manny"

Luscious Jackson's connections to The Beastie Boys are significant -- debut EP In Search of Manny was the first release on the group's indie label Grand Royal, drummer Kate Schellenback played on The Beasties' Pollywog Stew, but most importantly, Luscious Jackson came from the same pop culture-soaked, carnival-esque New York underground scene where punkers and rappers ran in concentric club circles. Where The Beasties rooted themselves firmly in hip-hop, Luscious Jackson used its rhythms as a launching pad for a music that is elastic, casually expansive, darkly seductive, and perfectly realized on In Search of Manny. Although hip-hop beats underpin all seven songs on this EP and leaders Jill Cunniff and Gabby Glaser rap as often as they sing, it's difficult to call this rap, since the songs follow pop form, the samples are for texture and color, not groove, and the aesthetic is slacker bohemia. In short, it's a record that only could have happened in 1992, just as Gen-X alt-rock culture hit its stride but before it reached the mainstream. Not long after this, Luscious Jackson would gel into a full-fledged band and its music would become sunnier, but here, it was still primarily the product of Cunniff and Glaser, with the two working with limited means -- drum machines, acoustic guitars, primitive samples -- to create a work of vast imagination. It may come from a very specific time and place -- it evokes its era more than it transcends it -- and it doesn't court listeners (something they would immediately do with Natural Ingredients), but the music pulsates with a sense of discovery, as the duo carves out its own niche in underground hipster culture. Years later, it retains its alluring vibe and stands as one of the unheralded gems of the alt-rock explosion of the early '90s.

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Track Listing:

1) Let Yourself Get Down
2) Life of Leisure
3) Daughters of the Kaos
4) Keep On Rockin' It
5) She Be Wantin' It More
6) Bam Bam
7) Satellite

Blur "Modern Life Is Rubbish"

As a response to the dominance of grunge in the U.K. and their own decreasing profile in their homeland -- and also as a response to Suede's sudden popularity -- Blur reinvented themselves with their second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish, abandoning the shoegazing and baggy influences that dominated Leisure for traditional pop. On the surface, Modern Life may appear to be an homage to The Kinks, David Bowie, The Beatles, and Syd Barrett, yet it isn't a restatement, it's a revitalization. Blur use British guitar pop from The Beatles to My Bloody Valentine as a foundation, spinning off tales of contemporary despair. If Damon Albarn weren't such a clever songwriter, both lyrically and melodically, Modern Life could have sunk under its own pretensions, and the latter half does drag slightly. However, the record teems with life, since Blur refuse to treat their classicist songs as museum pieces. Graham Coxon's guitar tears each song open, either with unpredictable melodic lines or layers of translucent, hypnotic effects, and his work creates great tension with Alex James' kinetic bass. And that provides Albarn a vibrant background for his social satires and cutting commentary. But the reason Modern Life Is Rubbish is such a dynamic record and ushered in a new era of British pop is that nearly every song is carefully constructed and boasts a killer melody, from the stately "For Tomorrow" and the punky "Advert" to the vaudeville stomp of "Sunday Sunday" and the neo-psychedelic "Chemical World." Even with its flaws, it's a record of considerable vision and excitement.

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Track Listing:

1) For Tomorrow
2) Advert
3) Colin Zeal
4) Pressure on Julian
5) Star Shaped
6) Blue Jeans
7) Chemical World
8) Intermission
9) Sunday Sunday
10) Oily Water
11) Miss America
12) Villa Rosie
13) Coping
14) Turn It Up
15) Pop Scene
16) Resigned
17) Commercial Break
18) When the Cows Come Home
19) Peach

Brand Nubian "Foundation"

Foundation, the first album since Brand Nubian's 1990 debut to feature all four original members, is an incredible return to form. The rhymes by Grand Puba, Sadat X, and Lord Jamar are as striking as they were on the group's breakout, and the focus on message tracks is a refreshing turn from the rap world's played-out tales of thug life. "Don't Let It Go to Your Head" is a cautionary tale for arrogant one-hit rappers, while "Probable Cause" is a scathing attack on the notorious tactics of the New Jersey State Police and "I'm Black and I'm Proud" is an enjoyable roots epic. There are plenty of simple feel-good tracks as well, although those omnipresent Wu-Tang strings appear on several songs (just as on every other major rap album released in 1998). The group ably manages to sidestep another late-'90s rap cliché, enlisting a different outside producer for each track. Though Foundation is no different -- featuring DJ Premier, Lord Finesse, and Chris "CL" Liggio, among others -- most of the best tracks were helmed by Nubian members Grand Puba or DJ Alamo. Of the few N.Y.C. rap acts still left a decade on from rap's golden age, Brand Nubian sound the freshest.

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Track Listing:

1) Here We Go
2) The Return
3) Shinin' Star
4) The Beat Change
5) Migraine (Interlude)
6) Don't Let It Go to Your Head
7) Brand Nubian
8) Maybe One Day
9) Let's Dance
10) Back Up Off the Wall
11) Black on Black Crime (Interlude)
12) I'm Black & I'm Proud
13) Sincerely
14) Probable Cause
15) The Ghetto (Interlude)
16) Love vs. Hate
17) Too Late
18) Straight Outta Now Rule
19) Foundation
20) U for Me

Calexico "The Black Light"

Somewhere in between the creepy non-practicing cowboy aesthetic of Palace and the shuffling beats of Latin jazz clubs, Calexico's The Black Light resonates in gloriously cinematic tones. In the hands of less soulful musicians, such combinations would sound more wanky than wonderful. There's a remarkable amount of variety on The Black Light. "Fake Fur" takes a Brazilian rhythm and adds a subdued, shuffling bass that makes the head begin to sway. "Where Water Flows" weaves cello, vibes and expertly plugged guitar to conjure the end of yet another lonely night. The album's title track is a wonderfully reverb- drenched piece that captures the menacing tension of a convict on the loose. "Minas De Cobre (For Better Metal)" bursts into lusty mariachi trumpets that would feel at home in any Sergio Leone soundtrack. Virtually everything about this album bears an obscene attention to detail. Even the record's recording, performed in a seemingly spacious warehouse, is worth spewing oodles of idle, meandering prose. It's enough to make you want to move down South to partake in a life of crime.

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Track Listing:

1) Gypsy's Curse
2) Fake Fur
3) The Ride, Pt. II
4) Where Water Flows
5) The Black Light
6) Sideshow
7) Chach
8) Missing
9) Minas de Cobre (For Better Metal)
10) Over Your Shoulder
11) Vinegaroon
12) Trigger
13) Sprawl
14) Stray
15) Old Man Waltz
16) Bloodflow
17) Frontera

Neutral Milk Hotel "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea"

Perhaps best likened to a marching band on an acid trip, Neutral Milk Hotel's second album is another quixotic sonic parade; lo-fi yet lush, impenetrable yet wholly accessible, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is either the work of a genius or an utter crackpot, with the truth probably falling somewhere in between. Again teaming with producer Robert Schneider, Jeff Mangum invests the material here with new maturity and clarity; while the songs run continuously together, as they did on the previous On Avery Island, there is a much clearer sense of shifting dynamics from track to track, with a greater emphasis on structure and texture. Mangum's vocals are far more emotive as well; whether caught in the rush of spiritual epiphany ("The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. Two & Three") or in the grip of sexual anxiety ("Two-Headed Boy"), he sings with a new fervor, composed in equal measure of ecstasy and anguish. However, as his musical concepts continue to come into sharper focus, one hopes his stream-of-consciousness lyrical ideas soon begin to do the same; while Mangum spins his words with the rapid-fire intensity of a young Dylan, the songs are far too cryptic and abstract to fully sink in — In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is undoubtedly a major statement, but just what it's saying is anyone's guess.

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Track Listing:

1) The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. I
2) The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. II & III
3) In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
4) Two-Headed Boy
5) The Fool
6) Holland, 1945
7) Communist Daughter
8) Oh Comely
9) Ghost
10) The Penny Arcade in California
11) Two-Headed Boy, Pt. II

Gang Starr "Moment of Truth"

By the release of Moment of Truth in the spring of 1998, Gang Starr were rap veterans, having spent nearly ten years as professionals. That elapsed time meant that the album was positioned as something of a comeback, since the duo had been inactive for four years, and it had been even longer since they had a hit. They knew they had to come back hard, and Moment of Truth accomplishes their goals. Retaining the swing of their jazz-rap fusions, Gang Starr nevertheless have their rhythms hit at a street level, and Guru's rhymes are his best in years. It may not have the thrill of discovery that made their first albums so exciting, but on the whole it's a successful return.

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Track Listing:

1) You Know My Steez
2) Robin Hood Theory
3) Work
4) Royalty
5) Above the Clouds
6) JFK to LAX
7) Itz a Set Up
8) Moment of Truth
9) B.I. vs. Friendship
10) The Militia
11) The Rep Grows Bigga
12) What I'm Here 4
13) She Knowz What She Wantz
14) New York Strait Talk
15) My Advice 2 You
16) Make 'Em Pay
17) The Mall
18) Betrayal
19) Next Time
20) In Memory Of...

Billy Bragg & Wilco "Mermaid Avenue"

During the spring of 1995, Woody Guthrie's daughter Nora contacted British urban folk troubadour Billy Bragg about writing music for a selection of completed Guthrie lyrics. This was no minor task — Guthrie left behind over a thousand sets of complete lyrics written between 1939 and 1967 that had no music other than a vague stylistic notation. Bragg chose a number of songs to finish, as did Jeff Tweedy of the alt-country band Wilco (often with bandmate Jay Bennett). Nora Guthrie impressed a common goal upon them: Rather than recreating Guthrie tunes, they should write as if they were collaborating with Woody, creating new, vital music for the lyrics. Both artists completed more songs than could fit on Mermaid Avenue, which is neatly split between Bragg and Wilco, with Bragg taking lead on eight of the 15 songs. The results are almost entirely a delight, mainly because all involved are faithful to Guthrie's rowdy spirit — it's a reverent project that knows how to have fun. There are many minor, irresistible gems scattered throughout the album, and most of them come from Bragg. Where Wilco's fine contributions sound inextricably tied to the '90s, both for better and for worse, Bragg's music sounds contemporary while capturing Guthrie's folk traditions. That's not to say Wilco's contributions are failures — it's just hard to imagine Guthrie singing the plaintive "California Stars" or the plodding "Christ for President," neither of which quite fit the lyrics. Nevertheless, their hearts are in the right place; more often than not, they come close to the target, and their joyous playing invigorates Mermaid Avenue. The blend of Bragg's traditionalist sensibility and Wilco's contemporary style ultimately illustrates that Guthrie's words, ideals, and aesthetics remain alive in the '90s.

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Track Listing:

1) Walt Whitman's Niece
2) California Stars
3) Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key
4) Birds & Ships
5) Hoodoo Voodoo
6) She Came Along to Me
7) At My Window Sad & Lonely
8) Ingrid Bergman
9) Christ for President
10) I Guess I Planted
11) One by One
12) Eisler on the Go
13) Hesitating Beauty
14) Another Man's Done Gone
15) The Unwelcome Guest

A Tribe Called Quest "The Love Movement"

Continuing with the subdued, mature stylistic flow of Beats, Rhymes & Life, The Love Movement, the fifth album from A Tribe Called Quest, is the group's subtlest album yet -- which may just be a polite way for saying it's a little monotonous. Throughout the record, Tribe mines the same jazz-flavored, R&B-fueled beats that were the hallmark of Beats. Although the "love" concept provides a thematic cohesion to the album -- almost all of the songs are about love, in one way or another -- the overall effect is quite similar to its immediate predecessor: the music is enthralling for a while, but soon it all sounds a little too familiar. Part of the problem is that Tribe functions on a cerebral level, a point made painfully clear by Busta Rhymes' and Redman's roaring, visceral cameos on "Steppin' It Up." On their own, Tribe favors craft over raw skills. That means there are plenty of pleasures to be had from careful listening, but Tribe has reached a point where it's easier to admire the Ummah's stylish production and the subtle rhymes of Q-Tip and Phife than it is to outright love them, which is ironic for an album bearing the title The Love Movement.

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Track Listing:

1) Start It Up
2) Find A Way
3) Da Booty
4) Steppin' It Up
5) Like It Like That
6) Common Ground (Get It Goin' On)
7) Moms
8) His Name Is Mutty Ranks
9) Give Me
10) Pad & Pen
11) Busta's Lament
12) Hot 4 U
13) Against the World
14) The Love
15) Rock Rock Y'all
16) Scenario [Remix]
17) Money Maker
18) Hot Sex
19) Oh My God [Remix]
20) Jazz (We've Got It)
21) One Two Shit

Jay-Z "Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life"

Less than a year after his In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, Jay-Z released his third album, Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life, which would become his highest-selling album. Beyond its immense popularity, this album marks a turning point for Jay-Z. Over some of the most accessible and pop-sounding tracks he had rapped on until this point, he successfully condensed his formerly intricate rhymes, into shorter witty lines that sounded natural over the beats. And the album is full of big, booming beats-it's almost as if each track's producer is trying to outdo the others. Gone are the samples, in favor of heavy bass and synthesizers. Against this soundscape, Jay-Z is now larger than life, not the sharp, slightly paranoid hustler who emerged in 1996. Gone is the caution and subtlety in favor of big singles with catchy hooks all designed to showcase that Jay-Z is simply the biggest and best rapper on the block. Any plea for acceptance exuded on his earlier albums is gone, replaced with the brash expectation that we have already accepted him, even if we do not know it yet. Many of Jay-Z's talents are on display, though none so noteworthy as his ability to rap over a dizzying variety of tracks without the attendant records sounding forced. From rapid-fire triple-cadence rhymes on "Nigga What, Nigga Who" to deceptively simple raps over heavy bass, "Hard Knock Life," Jay-Z has vastly improved his flow, as well as his ability to pick catchy and innovative beats.

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Track Listing:

1) Hand It Down (Intro)
2) Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)
3) If I Should Die
4) Ride or Die
5) Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originator 99)
6) Money, Cash, Hoes
7) A Week Ago
8) Coming of Age (Da Sequel)
9) Can I Get A...
10) Paper Chase
11) Reservoir Dogs
12) It's Like That
13) It's Alright
14) Money Ain't A Thang

Lauryn Hill "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill"

Though The Fugees had been wildly successful, and Lauryn Hill had been widely recognized as a key to their popularity, few were prepared for her stunning debut. The social heart of the group and its most talented performer, she tailored The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill not as a crossover record but as a collection of overtly personal and political statements; nevertheless, it rocketed to the top of the album charts and made her a superstar. Also, and most importantly, it introduced to the wider pop world an astonishingly broad talent. Hill's verses were intelligent and hardcore, with the talent to rank up there with Method Man. And for the choruses she could move from tough to smooth in a flash, with a vocal prowess that allowed her to be her own chanteuse. Hill, of Haitian heritage, rhymed in a tough Caribbean patois on the opener, "Lost Ones," wasting little time to excoriate her former bandmates and/or record-label executives for caving in to commercial success. She used a feature for Carlos Santana ("To Zion") to explain how her child comes before her career and found a hit single with "Doo Wop (That Thing)," an intelligent dissection of the sex game that saw it from both angles. "Superstar" took to task musicians with more emphasis on the bottom line than making great music, while her collaborations with a pair of sympathetic R&B superstars (D'Angelo and Mary J. Blige) also paid major dividends. And if her performing talents, vocal range, and songwriting smarts weren't enough, Hill also produced much of the record, ranging from stun-gun hip-hop to smoother R&B with little trouble. Though it certainly didn't sound like a crossover record, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill affected so many widely varying audiences that it's no surprise the record became a commercial hit as well as a musical epoch-maker.

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Track Listing:

1) Intro
2) Lost Ones
3) Ex-Factor
4) To Zion
5) Doo Wop (That Thing)
6) Superstar
7) Final Hour
8) When It Hurts So Bad
9) I Used to Love Him
10) Forgive Them Father
11) Every Ghetto, Every City
12) Nothing Even Matters
13) Everything Is Everything
14) The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
15) Can't Take My Eyes Off of You
16) Sweetest Thing [Mahogany Mix]

Hieroglyphics "3rd Eye Vision"

Consisting of Del tha Funkee Homosapien, A-Plus, Opio, Tajai, Phesto, Casual, Domino, Pep Love, and Jaybiz, Hieroglyphics has an all-star lineup of underground talent. One might expect Hieroglyphics to have a gangsta rap or West Coast rap sound since Del tha Funkee Homosapien is related to the infamous Ice Cube; however, 3rd Eye Vision has a traditional underground rap feel reminiscent of albums by Common and Black Star. The 22-track album features strong, clever lyrics accompanied by creative, catchy background beats. Fortunately, Hieroglyphics manages to avoid the common error of over-sampling beats, which detracts from the lyrics. The hip-hop group also amazingly uses its large size as an advantage with memorable choruses, unique background voices and raps, and great interplay between lyricists. This synergy is future illustrated by the variety of songwriters and tracks like "You Never Knew" and "Miles to the Sun" that are a collaboration by six of the group members.

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Track Listing:

1) Intro
2) You Never Knew
3) All Things
4) Casual
5) The Who
6) Dune Methane
7) Phesto D
8) At the Helm
9) The Last One
10) Tajai
11) Oakland Blackouts
12) Mics of the Roundtable
13) See Delight
14) Pep Love
15) Off the Record
16) A-Plus
17) After Dark
18) Opio
19) No Nuts
20) Del
21) One Life One Love
22) Miles to the Sun

The Beta Band "The Three E.P.'s"

That Oasis and Radiohead, the two biggest names in U.K. rock during the '90s, separately made claims in 1999 about creating a "Beta Band record" (even though neither band actually did) speaks volumes about the impact of The Three E.P.'s. With reference points literally all across the map, the Beta Band still managed a sound that was startlingly fresh, broadly appealing to fans of jam bands, indie rock, electronica, and Brit-pop, which is no small feat in and of itself. Rather than a full-length debut, per se, The Three E.P.'s is, as the name suggests, a collection of three limited-edition EPs which were released between 1997 and 1998 on the U.K. indie Regal Records. As such, the songs display an off-the-cuff charm which is as refreshing as it is unforced, revealing a natural progression by the band from humble folk/indie rock beginnings ("Dry the Rain," made famous in a brilliant scene in 2000's High Fidelity) to full-out psychedelic pop endings ("Needles in My Eye"). Throughout The Three E.P.'s, rather than employing the typical verse-chorus-verse song structure exhausted by '90s alternative rock, the Beta Band successfully mines Krautrock, the Canterbury Scene, hip-hop drum loops, and even '70s funk and soul to build their songs around infectious beats, grooves, and melodies. And while many of the songs cause instant head-bobbing, they are also helped along by Stephen Mason's alternately mantra-like and free-association vocal lines, which also manage to display a trace of sadness and introspection amid hippie-ish come-together sentiments. Despite a couple of experimental clunkers (the overly long instrumental "Monolith" and the rap during "The House Song"), it is precisely the Beta Band's skill at juxtaposition which prevents The Three E.P.'s in being merely an exercise in met expectations. Although much of the album's popularity stemmed from its contrast with the tedious state of music upon its release, The Three E.P.'s indeed transcends on many levels. Only a band without anything to lose or gain could create music like this, and in the end eclecticism has and will rarely sound better.

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Track Listing:

1) Dry the Rain
2) I Know
3) B+A
4) Dogs Got A Bone
5) Inner Meet Me
6) The House Song
7) Monolith
8) She's the One
9) Push It Out
10) It's Over
11) Dr. Baker
12) Needles In My Eyes

Tortoise "TNT"

Expected by many to continue leading the post-rock brigade into a new fusion with dub and electronics, Tortoise instead turned yet another corner with their third album, TNT. Adding guitarist Jeff Parker to cement their musicianship as well as their connections to Chicago's fertile jazz/avant-garde scene, the band returned with a record of post-modern cool jazz, only slightly informed by the dub, Krautrock, and electronics of Millions Now Living Will Never Die. It shows from the first few seconds -- a lazy, slightly free drum solo frames a few tentative guitar chords and some teased effects, before the band kicks in with a holds-barred jam that encompasses a tremulous solo from trumpeter Rob Mazurek. With engineer/mixer/drummer John McEntire and company adding only a few post-production frills to the mix -- and those so complementary and subdued that they rarely even sound like effects -- TNT comes off as a surprisingly organic record. The evocative Spanish-style guitar on "I Set My Face to the Hillside" plays over an assortment of playground sounds, while "The Suspension Bridge at Iguazú Falls" deconstructs a classically angular Tortoise groove and re-emerges with an evocative, deeply affecting groove over shimmering vibes and precision guitar lines. There are plenty of nods to post-rock touchstones like Krautrock ("Swung From the Gutters"), dub, and minimalism ("Ten-Day Interval"), but Tortoise hardly sounds like a difficult band here. Instead of forcing studio experimentation to become an end to itself, the band mastered -- with a single, deft statement -- the far more difficult lesson of making technology work for the music.

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Track Listing:

1) TNT
2) Swung from the Gutters
3) Ten-Day Interval
4) I Set My Face to the Hillside
5) The Equator
6) A Simple Way to Go Faster Than Light That Does Not Work
7) The Suspension Bridge at Iguazú Falls
8) Four-Day Interval
9) In Sarah, Mencken, Christ, and Beethoven There Were Women and Men
10) Almost Always Is Nearly Enough
11) Jetty
12) Everglade

Boards of Canada "Music Has the Right to Children"

Although Boards of Canada's blueprint for electronic listening music -- aching electro-synth with mid-tempo hip-hop beats and occasional light scratching -- isn't quite a revolution in and of itself, Music Has the Right to Children is an amazing LP. Similar to the early work of Autechre and Aphex Twin, the duo is one of the few European artists who can match their American precursors with regard to a sense of spirit in otherwise electronic music. This is pure machine soul, reminiscent of some forgotten Japanese animation soundtrack or a rusting Commodore 64 just about to give up the ghost. Alternating broadly sketched works with minute-long vignettes (the latter of which comprise several of the best tracks on the album), Music Has the Right to Children is one of the best electronic releases of 1998.

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Track Listing:

1) Wildlife Analysis
2) An Eagle In Your Mind
3) The Color of the Fire
4) Telephasic Workshop
5) Triangles & Rhombuses
6) Sixtyten
7) Turquoise Hexagon Sun
8) Kaini Industries
9) Bocuma
10) Roygbiv
11) Rue the Whirl
12) Aquarius
13) Olson
14) Pete Standing Alone
15) Smokes Quantity
16) Open the Light
17) One Very Important Thought
18) Happy Cycling

Outkast "Aquemini"

Even compared to their already excellent and forward-looking catalog, Outkast's sprawling third album, Aquemini, was a stroke of brilliance. The chilled-out space-funk of ATLiens had already thrown some fans for a loop, and Aquemini made it clear that its predecessor was no detour, but a stepping stone for even greater ambitions. Some of ATLiens' ethereal futurism is still present, but more often Aquemini plants its feet on the ground for a surprisingly down-home flavor. The music draws from a vastly eclectic palette of sources, and the live instrumentation is fuller-sounding than ATLiens. Most importantly, producers Organized Noize imbue their tracks with a Southern earthiness and simultaneous spirituality that come across regardless of what Dre and Big Boi are rapping about. Not that they shy away from rougher subject matter, but their perspective is grounded and responsible, intentionally avoiding hardcore clichés. Their distinctive vocal deliveries are now fully mature, with a recognizably Southern rhythmic bounce but loads more technique than their territorial peers. Those flows grace some of the richest and most inventive hip-hop tracks of the decade. The airy lead single "Rosa Parks" juxtaposes front-porch acoustic guitar with DJ scratches and a stomping harmonica break that could have come from nowhere but the South. Unexpected touches like that are all over the record: the live orchestra on "Return of the 'G'"; the electronic, George Clinton-guested "Synthesizer"; the reggae horns and dub-style echo of "SpottieOttieDopaliscious"; the hard-rocking wah-wah guitar of "Chonkyfire"; and on and on. What's most impressive is the way everything comes together to justify the full-CD running time, something few hip-hop epics of this scope ever accomplish. After a few listens, not even the meditative jams on the second half of the album feel all that excessive. Aquemini fulfills all its ambitions, covering more than enough territory to qualify it as a virtuosic masterpiece, and a landmark hip-hop album of the late '90s.

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1) Hold On, Be Strong
2) Return of the 'G'
3) Rosa Parks
4) Skew It On the Bar-B
5) Aquemini
6) Synthesizer
7) Slump
8) West Savannah
9) Da Art of Storytellin', Pt. I
10) Da Art of Storytellin, Pt. II
11) Mamacita
12) Spottieottiedopalicious
13) Y'all Scared
14) Nathaniel
15) Liberation
16) Chonkyfire

The Afghan Whigs "1965"

With 1965, the Afghan Whigs finally made the gritty soul record just always out of their reach -- seamlessly integrating the R&B aspirations which have textured the band's sound since the beginning, the music simmers with raw energy, its deep, dark grooves not so much white-boy as simply white-hot. Recorded in New Orleans, the album is plainly the product of its environment -- sultry, sleazy, and more than a little menacing; here more than ever, Greg Dulli is the frontman you love to hate, strutting and swaggering his way through standout tracks like "Somethin' Hot," "Uptown Again," and "John the Baptist" with predatory aggression. (Who else would deliver a lyric like "I got the devil in me, girl" as though it were a pickup line?) Still, for all its cocksure arrogance, 1965 is nevertheless a sincere tribute to the classic music recalled by the album's title -- lyrics aside, even if Dulli did sell his soul, he's somehow managed to get it all back.

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Track Listing:

1) Somethin' Hot
2) Crazy
3) Uptown Again
4) Sweet Son of a Bitch
5) 66
6) Cito Soleil
7) John the Baptist
8) The Slide Song
9) Neglekted
10) Omerta
11) The Vampire Lanois

Quasi "Featuring 'Birds'"

Why do members of indie bands have to release records with side projects? Musicians used to pour all their dedication and creativity into their own group. And now that songwriters release every half-baked idea they record, there's a dreadful lack of editing. Quasi, though, are an exception. Drummer Janet Weiss still moonlights from Portland's dynamo Sleater-Kinney, but one-time Donner Party stalwart Sam Coomes is no longer distracted by his defunct Heatmiser, and Featuring "Birds" shows the benefit of full focus. Strangely, the song Weiss writes and sings is the best: "Tomorrow You'll Hide" has a knelling, chamber-spiritual ambiance with a wood-block-accentuated rhumba beat, underpinning her double-tracked, honey vocal. Great! (She should sing lead more; at least her harmonies add flavor throughout.) But Coomes' less vaporous, more hopeful tunes exhibit a command of the '60s/'90s pop lexicon spoken throughout the Pacific Northwest. His melodies are sunny, the guitars jangle with a My Bloody Valentine whir ("Nothing From Nothing" is a less vicious "You Made Me Realise"), and the organ is a harsh, '60s-ish fake harpsichord. Additionally, Coomes' sardonic lyrics avoid knee-jerk sneering, as he postulates our anesthetized, comfortably numb, TV-marketed future in "Our Happiness Is Guaranteed" and warns, "Walt Disney can't make me happy." Even "You Fucked Yourself" concludes without real rancor, tsk-tsk-style, "self-deceit is your worst mistake." Overall, Featuring "Birds" is cheerful, aggressive pop with disciplined writing, not some underfed, one-off mess of ego.

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Track Listing:

1) Our Happiness is Guaranteed
2) I Never Want to See You Again
3) The Poisoned Well
4) The Happy Prole
5) Sea Shanty
6) It's Hard to Turn Me On
7) Nothing From Nothing
8) Tomorrow You'll Hide
9) California
10) You Fucked Yourself
11) Ape Self Prevails in Me Still
12) Please Do
13) I Give Up
14) Birds
15) Repetition
16) Only Success Can Fail Me Now

Black Star "Black Star"

While Puff Daddy and his followers continued to dictate the direction hip-hop would take into the millennium, Mos Def and Talib Kweli surfaced from the underground to pull the sounds in the opposite direction. Their 13 rhyme fests on this superior, self-titled debut as Black Star show that old-school rap still sounds surprisingly fresh in the sea of overblown vanity productions. There's no slack evident in the tight wordplay of Def and Kweli as they twist and turn through sparse, jazz-rooted rhythms calling out for awareness and freedom of the mind. Their viewpoints stem directly from the teachings of Marcus Garvey, the legendary activist who fought for the rights of blacks all around the world in the first half of the 20th century. Def and Kweli's ideals are sure lofty; not only are they out to preach Garvey's words, but they also hope to purge rap music of its negativity and violence. For the most part, it works. Their wisdom-first philosophy hits hard when played off their lyrical intensity, a bass-first production, and stellar scratching. While these MCs don't have all of the vocal pizazz of A Tribe Called Quest's Phife and Q-Tip at their best, flawless tracks like the cool bop of "K.O.S. (Determination)" and "Definition" hint that Black Star is only the first of many brilliantly executed positive statements for these two street poets.

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Track Listing:

1) Intro
2) Astronomy (8th Light)
3) Definition
4) Re: DEFinition
5) Children's Story
6) Brown Skin Lady
7) B Boys Will B Boys
8) K.O.S. (Determination)
9) Hater Players
10) Yo Yeah
11) Respiration
12) Thieves in the Night
13) Twice Inna Lifetime

Queens of the Stone Age "Queens of the Stone Age"

Instead of trying to recreate the sound of his former band Kyuss, Josh Homme took a new approach to music. He crafted tight hard rock songs that were heavy on melody and light on vocals. While there is still a lot of fuzz coming from the amplifiers, the vocals are softly interwoven among the chords. There's no screaming or rock & roll antics, and the group takes an almost lo-fi attitude to heavy metal — an interesting combination that produced instant radio gems like "Regular John," the extreme ranges on "Avon," and the smoky, blues-influenced "Walkin' on the Sidewalks." Queens of the Stone Age are creating a new blend of heavy metal that makes it acceptable to produce creative music that doesn't rely on testosterone as the driving force.

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Track Listing:

1) Regular John
2) Avon
3) If Only
4) Walkin' on the Sidewalks
5) You Would Know
6) How to Handle a Rope
7) Mexicola
8) Hispanic Impressions
9) You Can't Quit Me Baby
10) Give the Mule What He Wants
11) I Was a Teenage Hand Model

Beck "Mutations"

Mellow Gold's loser thumbed his nose at the world; Odelay's winner put his mark on it. On this adjustment to musical fashion, a success story discovers what he already knew but hadn't seen up close--eventually, winners lose. No longer immersed in failure, which you joke about (and then beat), he takes on decay, which you hold at bay (for a while). Although he hones his insults when the occasion arises, forget jokes--he's in mourning for dead relationships and the bodily passing they prefigure, and he sounds it. But because he's kept up with the times, he also sounds lyrical and elegiac, evoking the soft nostalgia of folk-rock without falling into it. Embracing the new directness, he feints and sidesteps just like always, exploiting a fad's expressive potential like the shape-shifter he remains.

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Track Listing:

1) Cold Brains
2) Nobody's Fault But My Own
3) Lazy Flies
4) Canceled Check
5) We Live Again
6) Tropicalia
7) Dead Melodies
8) Bottle of Blues
9) O Maria
10) Sing It Again
11) Static

Belle & Sebastian "The Boy With The Arab Strap"

Belle & Sebastian quietly built a dedicated following after the release of their second album, If You're Feeling Sinister, as word of mouth spread from indie kids to record collectors to store clerks to critics. By the end of 1997, the Scottish septet had developed a following every bit as passionate as The Smiths did at their peak, which is only appropriate since leader Stuart Murdoch is as wittily literate as Morrissey. If You're Feeling Sinister proved this as did the three excellent EPs that followed, increasing expectations for The Boy With the Arab Strap. Even if the album doesn't match the peerless If You're Feeling Sinister or break new ground for Belle & Sebastian, it's not a sophomore slump. From the Motown stomp of "Dirty Dream Number Two" to the Paul Simon shuffle of the title track, there is more musical texture on Boy than Sinister, but much of this was already explored on the EPs, which means Arab Strap essentially consolidates the group's talents. Murdoch recedes from the spotlight on occasion, letting Steve Jackson deliver two music-biz spiels and giving Isobel Campbell space to shine with the lilting "Is It Wicked Not to Care?" All three songs are highlights, but Murdoch's songs still attract the most attention. His vicious wit, often overlooked in favor of his poetic narratives, surfaces on the title track, while "It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career" summarizes his effortless gift for elegant melancholia. Such small, precious gems are what Belle & Sebastian are all about, and The Boy With the Arab Strap offers another round of timeless, endlessly fascinating folk-pop treasures.

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Track Listing:

1) It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career
2) Sleep the Clock Around
3) Is It Wicked Not to Care?
4) Ease Your Feet in the Sea
5) A Summer Wasting
6) Seymour Stein
7) A Space Boy Dream
8) Dirty Dream Number Two
9) The Boy With the Arab Strap
10) Chickfactor
11) Simple Things
12) The Rollercoaster Ride

Cat Power "Moon Pix"

Cat Power's 1998 album Moon Pix continues Chan Marshall's transformation from an indie rock Cassandra into a reflective, accomplished singer/songwriter. Where her previous works were an urgent, aching mix of punk, folk, and blues, Moon Pix is truly soul(ful) music: warm, reflective, complex, and cohesive. For this album, Marshall moved the recording sessions for the album to Australia, and switched her rhythm section to The Dirty Three's Mick Turner and Jim White; the lineup changes add new depth and light to her compelling, intricate guitar work and gently insistent vocals. From the backwards drum loop on "American Flag" (borrowed from The Beastie Boys' "Paul Revere") to the fluttering, smoky flutes on "He Turns Down" to the double-tracked vocals and crashing thunderstorms of "Say," Moon Pix's expressive arrangements mirror the songs' fine emotional shadings. Marshall is sunny on the quietly hopeful "You May Know Him," hypnotic and seductive on "Cross Bones Style," and poignant on "Colors & the Kids," where she sings, "It's so hard to go into the city/Because you want to say hi, hello, I love you to everybody." As natural and refined as a pearl, Moon Pix is a collection of fragile yet strong songs that reveal Marshall's unique, personal songwriting talents in their full glory.

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Track Listing:

1) American Flag
2) He Turns Down
3) No Sense
4) Say
5) Metal Heart
6) Back of Your Head
7) Moonshiner
8) You May Know Him
9) Colors & the Kids
10) Cross Bones Style
11) Peking Saint

Pulp "This Is Hardcore"

"This is the sound of someone losing the plot/you're gonna like it, but not a lot." So says Jarvis Cocker on "The Fear," the opening track on This Is Hardcore, the ambitious follow-up to Pulp's breakthrough Different Class, thereby providing his own review for the album. Cocker doesn't quite lose the plot on This Is Hardcore, but the ominous, claustrophobic "The Fear" makes it clear that this is a different band, one that no longer has anthems like "Common People" in mind. The shift in direction shouldn't come as a surprise -- Pulp was always an arty band -- but even the catchiest numbers are shrouded in darkness. This Is Hardcore is haunted by disappointments and fear -- by the realization that what you dreamed of may not be what you really wanted. Nowhere is this better heard than on "This Is Hardcore," where drum loops, lounge piano, cinematic strings, and a sharp lyric create a frightening monument to weary decadence. It's the centerpiece of the album, and the best moments follow its tone. Some, like "The Fear," "Seductive Barry," and "Help the Aged," wear their fear on their sleeves, some cloak it in Bowie-esque dance grooves ("Party Hard") or in hushed, resigned tones ("Dishes"). A few others, such as the scathing "I'm a Man" or "A Little Soul," have a similar vibe without being explicitly dark. Instead of delivering an entirely bleak album, Pulp raise the curtain somewhat on the last three songs, but the attempts at redemption -- "Sylvia," "Glory Days," "The Day After the Revolution" -- don't feel as natural as everything that precedes them. It's enough to keep the album from being a masterpiece, but it's hardly enough to prevent it from being an artistic triumph.

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Track Listing:

1) The Fear
2) Dishes
3) Pretty Hard
4) Help the Aged
5) This is Hardcore
6) TV Movie
7) A Little Soul
8) I'm a Man
9) Seductive Barry
10) Sylvia
11) Glory Days
12) The Day After the Revolution
13) Like a Friend

Cocteau Twins "Heaven or Las Vegas"

Deciding to scale back the overly pretty sound on Blue Bell Knoll while experimenting with more accessibility, the Twins ended up creating their best album since Treasure. From the start, Heaven... is simply fantastic: on "Cherry-Coloured Funk," Guthrie's inimitable guitar work chimes leading a low-key but forceful rhythm, while Raymonde's grand bass work fleshes it out. Fraser simply captivates; her vocals are the clearest, most direct they've ever been, purring with energy and life. Many songs have longer openings and closings; rather than crashing fully into a song and then quickly ending, instead the trio carefully builds up and eases back. These songs are still quite focused, though, almost sounding like they were recorded live instead of being assembled in the studio. Due credit has to be given to the Cocteaus' drum programming; years of working with the machines translated into the detailed work here, right down to the fills. "Fifty-Fifty Clown," starting with an ominous bass throb, turns into a lovely showcase for Fraser's singing and Guthrie's more restrained playing. But the Twins don't completely turn their back on Knoll's sound; "Iceblink Luck," has the same lush feeling and a newfound energy -- the instrumental break is almost a rave-up! -- and everything pulses to a fine conclusion. There are many moments of sheer Cocteaus beauty and power, including the title track, with its great chorus, and two spotlight Guthrie solos: "Fotzepolitic," a powerful number building to a rushing conclusion, and the album-ending "Frou Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires." Possessing the same climactic sense of drama past disc-closers as "Donimo" and "The Thinner the Air," it's a perfect way to end a near-perfect album.

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Track Listing:

1) Cherry-Coloured Funk
2) Pitch the Baby
3) Iceblink Luck
4) Fifty-Fifty Clown
5) Heaven or Las Vegas
6) I Wear You're Ring
7) Fotzepolitic
8) Wolf in the Breast
9) Road, River & Rail
10) Frou-Frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires

Ghostface Killah "Supreme Clientele"

Just as the Wu empire appeared to be crumbling, along came the second installment from the Clan's spitfire element, Ghostface Killah (aka Tony Starks, aka Ironman). Every bit as good as his first release, Supreme Clientele proves Ghost's worthiness of the Ironman moniker by deftly overcoming trendiness to produce an authentic sound in hip-hop's age of bland parity. Some of the Wu's slump could be contributed to Wu-Abbott's (aka RZA) relative sabbatical. This album has RZA's stamp all over it, but the guru himself only provides three tracks. On this effort, the Wu-Pupil producers at times seem to outdo their teacher. RZA's best composition is the piano-driven, double-entendre-laced childhood retrospective "Child's Play." But of the many standout cuts, it's the slew of disciple producers paying homage to the Wu legacy that truly makes this album fresh-sounding: "Apollo Kids" (Hassan), "Malcolm" (Choo the Specialist), "Saturday Nite" (Carlos "Six July" Broady), "One" (JuJu of the Beatnuts), "Cherchez la Ghost" (Carlos Bess), "Wu Banga 101" (Allah Mathematics). While the album is complete and characteristically Wu-sounding, each track is distinctive lyrically, thematically, and sonically. Ghostface's Supreme Clientele is a step toward the Wu-Tang Clan's ascent from the ashes of their fallen kingdom. The once slumbering Wu-Tang strikes again.

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Track Listing:

1) Intro
2) Nutmeg
3) One
4) Saturday Nite
5) Ghost Deini
6) Apollo kids
7) The Grain
8) Buck 50
9) Mighty Healthy
10) Woodrow the Basehead
11) Stay True
12) We Made It
13) Stroke of Death
14) Iron's Theme (Intermission)
15) Malcolm
16) Who Would You Fuck?
17) Child's Play
18) Cherchez LaGhost
19) Wu Banga 101
20) Clyde Smith (Skit)
21) Iron's Theme (Conclusion)

Ween "12 Golden Country Greats"

This album marked the first time Ween limited themselves to a specific genre of music. Bringing in a wide variety of seasoned (and sometimes legendary) Nashville musicians (including Bobby Ogdin, Buddy Spicher and The Jordanaires), the album sought to recreate the sound of golden-age country music with a great amount of success, while also combining this sound with classic Ween on such tracks as "Piss Up a Rope." Later, Ween would assemble many of the session musicians again into a touring band dubbed The Shit Creek Boys.

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Track Listing:

1) I'm Holding You
2) Japanese Cowboy
3) Piss Up A Rope
4) I Don't Wanna Leave You on the Farm
5) Pretty Girl
6) Powder Blue
7) Mister Richard Smoker
8) Help Me Scrape the Mucus off My Brain
9) You Were the Fool
10) Fluffy

Ann Peebles "Straight from the Heart"

A lean, tough set that was not only a triumph for Peebles, but illustrated how Hi Records had surpassed its crosstown Stax rival for quality Memphis soul in the early '70s. The guitars are spare, funky, and bluesy, the horn section punchy, and the material far earthier and down-home than the increasingly formulaic grooves at Stax. There were three modest R&B hits on the album ("Slipped, Tripped and Fell in Love," "I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home," "Somebody's on Your Case"), much of which was penned by Peebles or her husband Don Bryant. Peebles' vocals were convincingly biting, and she never, unlike many other singers of the era, tried too hard for her own good.

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Track Listing:

1) Slipped, Tripped & Fell in Love
2) Trouble, Heartaches & Sadness
3) What You Laid on Me
4) How Strong Is A Woman?
5) Somebody's on Your Case
6) I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home
7) I've Been There Before
8) I Pity the Fool
9) 99 Pounds
10) I Take What I Want

Jimmy McGriff "Red Beans"

Red Beans was the second of Jimmy McGriff's disco albums guided by Groove Merchant house arranger, Brad Baker. McGriff helms most of the six disco tunes on instruments other then his familiar Hammond B-3. He leads on clavinet for "Red Beans," piano for "Space Cadet" and "Love Is My Life," electric Piano for "Cakes Alive," and finally gets back to the organ for the regrettably titled "Big Booty Bounce." McGriff riffs well, as expected, on the disco rhythms and, surprisingly, distinguishes himself on other keyboards with the same kind of soul and wit that's made him recognizable on the organ.

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Track Listing:

1) Red Beans
2) Big Booty Bounce
3) Space Cadet
4) Cakes Alive
5) Sweet Love
6) Love Is My Life

Ghostface Killah "Ironman"

Every Wu-Tang Clan solo project has a different flavor, and Ghostface's Ironman is no exception. Though it boasts cameos from nearly every other Wu-Tang member -- notably Raekwon and Cappadonna -- Ironman is unlike any other record in RZA's catalog of productions, particularly because it's significantly lighter in tone. There are still touches of the Wu's signature urban claustrophobia throughout the record, but the music is largely built on samples of early-'70s soul, from Al Green to The Delfonics, who make a guest appearance on "After the Smoke Is Clear." Consequently, the mood of the album can switch tones at the drop of the hat, moving from hard funk like "Daytona 500" to seductive soul with the Mary J. Blige duet "All That I Got Is You." The record is filled with inventive production and rhymes, and ranks as another solid entry in the Wu-Tang legacy.

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Track Listing:

1) Iron Maiden
2) Wildflower
3) The Faster Blade
4) 260
5) Assassination Day
6) Poisonous Darts
7) Winter Warz
8) Box in Hand
9) Fish
10) Camay
11) Daytona 500
12) Motherless Child
13) Black Jesus
14) After the Smoke is Clear
15) All That I Got is You
16) Marvel