Mathers slips only when he tries to play out the movie's rags-to-riches vibe with his friends.

A tasteful selection of pre-war era classics in a supper club jazz setting.

Sometimes beautiful, sometimes disquieting, Time (The Revelator) is something short of revelatory, but it's entrancing nonetheless.

Golden Lies shows that even when a good band goes bad, it can still make a great record.

As savvy and sophisticated as the movie itself.

What makes this disc cohere is the world view presented in Byrne's quirky lyrics, sometimes stark to the point of simplicity and often with the detached tone of an observer alternately shocked or amused.

Ray at last gives full voice to her riot grrrl urges, and if the CD isn't exactly combustible, it does evoke the spirit of such Ray heroes as Husker Du and mid-period Replacements.

The debut offering from England's Broadcast cascades over the listener like a lush film score.

The Beta Band evokes the lushness of '60s AM popsters the Association in its soft vocal ensembles while demonstrating an instrumental prowess ("Eclipse") that recollects the lo-fi sonic buzz of Flying Saucer Attack.

The Eminem Show lacks the overwhelming, single-minded force that The Marshall Mathers LP had.

On third album Survivor, the DC coming-out party, the song kind of remains the same: When the girls are on, this is the kind of surreally and subversively brilliant Top-40 music even the most jaded roll their windows up and blast; when they're not, it's a pretty bad day at the girl-band factory.

An angular art-punk record that twitches as if in the throes of electroshock treatment.

Provides a refreshing change of pace from the current formulaic R&B chanteuses.

God Bless the Blake Babies is a return to the simpler sounds of honey-infused indie rock.

By assembling a heavyweight lineup of talent to support -- including soul legend Bobby Womack, the Congos, and the Pharcyde -- Rae & Christian set lofty aspirations and, more often than not, reach them.

A funny and engaging spoken-word collection from a man who's done enough of them to know what works.

Trinity is a more diverse album than their last, but there are times when the songs feel too disjointed.

Though nothing new -- instrument-wise -- is added to the mix of drums, guitar, and piano, the White Stripes' recipe cooks up heavier overall on White Blood Cells, while still retaining some of the cheeky, barroom brashness that has become their stock in trade.

Only time will tell whether it's a cheeky classic or a momentary novelty.

Their playing is loaded with the confidence of established veterans.

Elephant Shoe recalls the somber tranquility of Velvet Underground at its most remote.

There's some rehash of the flimsy fun of the Green Album, and the choruses here aren't as memorable as much of the group's '90s material. That said, there's a darkness to Maladroit that will likely satisfy long-suffering Pinkerton fans.

For the most part, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have abandoned the experimental plugged-in nonsense that bogged down their last two releases, concentrating on pure songwriting this time out.

The album finds footing in jazzy downbeat arrangements, and its hip-hop aftertaste gives Charango (and Morcheeba as an entity) a needed one-two punch.

As on Hybrid Theory, there's a definite formula at work in all 19 songs, but it's flawless and effective.

But, despite the added highlights of obscure noise effects and spaced-out keyboards, you can't help but notice that the music seems, at times, to lose a bit of momentum on certain tracks, serving as merely a backdrop for Malkmus' spontaneous bursts of guitar improvisation and catchy hooks.

Everything about Folk Implosion’s One Part Lullaby admits to coming-of-age. The Lou Barlow /John Davis indie side project has gone major label; its so "lo-fi" sound has turned lush, and the adenoidal adolescent complaints have, if not completely matured, at least become more accepting of life’s cycle.

Things sometimes tip too far into conventional rock cliché -- "I Can't Wait" is too obvious a power ballad -- but for the most part, this is another display of Lynne's surprisingly agile range.