Marjorie Fair's plinky strums, orchestral swells and hummable lyrics are hard to dislike and impossible to love. [Aug 2005, p.111]

He never quite rises to this lofty occasion, and without anything to prove other than that he can come back whenever he pleases, he reverts to gloating. [Jan/Feb 2007, p.81]

The parade of midtempo soul-pop snoozers and funk-lite fluff is no more memorable than Soul Asylum's last record. Which is to say, not very. [#9, p.153]

Not everything is as heart-stopping as the velvety, elegiac "Bitter Apple," but there's enough quality to suggest that Depeche Mode could use a few Dave Gahan songs. [#17, p.135]

At several points... the duo belatedly attempts to revivie its peak period formula, but... it's as old-fashioned as a Lollapalooza 1992 T-shirt. Fortunately, Jourgenson and Barker's new ideas are better. [#14, p.140]

They're old-fashioned ballads, all very tasteful, but few hooks poke through the froth. [Jun 2006, p.139]

Too often, though, Pebble is like a falsely vintage digital photo with specks, grain and worn edges Photoshopped in--it’s convincing on the surface but crumbles under close inspection.

The resulting monster is alternately charming and schizo. [July 2008, p.71]

This orderly collection of messy leftovers suits his disheveled talents. [Nov 2006, p.137]

No, it ain't rocket science. But when they're headlining arenas, it's gonna look fairly brilliant. [Jan/Feb 2006, p.98]

There's an intensity here that's hard to resist. [#14, p.142]

It's highly clinical, and Allison is as remote as ever. [#11, p.124]

Unexpectedly clean-cut... the time-signature shifts and feedback swirls that earned them minor adulation are sidelined in favor of pushy, arena-sized choruses. [Mar 2005, p.136]

This is music for the well-read rock fan and the would-be scoundrel. [Mar 2007, p.134]

Anyone expecting Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons to torch their formula--multiple vocalists drop by and trip the light fantastic--will be disappointed; but their best record since the '90s proves they don’t have to.

He's self-mocking enough to earn his laddish hell-raising. [May 2006, p.107]

After 25 minutes, they close with five worthy remixes instead of the typical filler—a startup rarity, knowing how to quit while you’re ahead.

Where his earlier music was a parade of bright primary colors, these plaintive melodies come in delicious shades of gray. [Oct 2006, p.138]

Even though there's nothing new, the album offers enough in the way of big-beat guitar and sing-along choruses to keep Smash Mouth on the charts for another two years. [#4, p.123]

Though the drones drift into Enya-like ambience on "Slip Away" more often, as on "Pieces and Parts" and the keening "Broken," Anderson dresses up her hard-won koans of personal wisdom just enough to make them alluring. [Aug/Sep 2001, p.120]

Like [Norah] Jones, Mayer never lets his personality talk over his elegant melodies, but unlike her, he has range. [Oct 2003, p.112]

Less hook-a-minute than its predecessor, 1998's Powertrip, but with a more heavily articulated wallop. [Jun/Jul 2001, p.114]

Sweat... is more fun, but that's the point. [Oct 2004, p.126]

Their Fire Songs can seem a little thin-boned--the twins’ intertwined voices are lovely but ethereal, the steel guitars melting into the horizon like a mirage.

It does what it's supposed to, giving Usher a grown-up R&B sound without reducing his boyish charm. [Aug/Sep 2001, p.131]

Prince made sexual audacity a trademark ages ago, but Legend is just too cautious to put it over--he sounds like a CPA on his first trip to the Hustler Club.

It's great fun, but Come Feel Me Tremble has more ballast. [Nov 2003, p.123]

An ephemeral, genre-less mix of beat-driven mood music. [#15, p.127]