The music doesn't impress much, serving as more a backdrop for Morrissey's lovely chops.

Following 2002's experimental Phrenology, which featured all manner of drum 'n' bass and techno influences, the real-instrument-playing Philadelphia hip-hop collective ditches the frills on Tipping Point.

Neither as experimental as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot nor as accessible as McCaughey's various forays, nothing on the album really makes an impression other than a couple of throwaway lyrics and the abrupt shift between McCaughey's pinched vocal styling and Wilco singer Jeff Tweedy's coarse whisper.

Kid chills out here, embracing southern jams, country music and a whole lot of heart.

There's no denying the music is ridiculously fun, as it bounces from Strokes-style garage riffs and Nirvana-esque angst to epic Brit-pop melodies and pop twists.

She mysteriously trims away her individuality and morphs into a J.Lo imitator.

Some of it sounds similar, but Pink sticks to her guns on relationship tunes ("Last to Know"), decent dance-floor jams ("Trouble," "God Is a DJ") and tougher rockers ("Try Too Hard").

Musically, the album bounces from a full-on urban polka ("Oblivion") to tracks with plenty of Apollo Showtime-style organs, horns and disco and funk elements that keep the wacky tales from sounding wack.

Plodding jazz-rock tunes that are 30 years old at this point.

A quiet, meditative effort. [5 Mar 2004, p.68]

Radio stations will still probably ignore the old-school, stylish singles like "Proper Propaganda" and "Heavy Rotation" that make Expansion Team a winner.

Luckily, even with the changes, the Sheik mystique remains and makes this album a worthy new addition to his repertoire.

His pipes are in tip-top shape, sure, but hearing this stuff is sometimes more embarrassing than reading your little sister's diary.

Is a welcoming entrance for new fans as much as it is another fine chapter for the diehards.

Keys, however, proves to be a better singer than songwriter, as most of the latter half of the album slips into sleepy piano numbers.

High kicks above their breakout debut by being brighter ("Dirty Mouth), wilier ("Goodnight Goodnight") and all around more pogo-inducing.

The end result of all this sermonizing will likely inspire you not to renounce sin and its sordid ways, but feel the itch to grab some hooch and a few George Jones albums and have a rip-roaring time.

And while it might be difficult to swallow yet another dose of hip-hop-lite and poor-me acoustic pop songs from chick-magnet lead singer Mark McGrath and gang, these Southern California boys make the everyman breeziness work for them.

Think of it as more of a mix tape because the British quintet's jam-band explorations dip into everything from Beatles-esque pop and Delta-blues-influenced ballads.

Costello's most exciting album in ages.

Fun, but hardly fresh.

So what if the clean-ish production elicits screams of "Sellout!" from longtime fans? This is good stuff. Somewhere, Courtney Love is wishing she made this album.

You can't deny that these dudes are on to something great. Seriously.

If he approached these songs with the slightest hint of subtlety, he might get his point across, but he's happy just hammering everyone with his trailer-park politics.

features several career-defining turns by superstar producers such as the Neptunes ("In My Arms Tonight"), Babyface ("Hands Up"), Missy Elliott and Timbaland ("Dirty"), with all the group's playfulness and silky-smooth funk intact.

Cleverly mixes soft-focus hip-hop, trippy space rock and Ennio Morricone-style melodrama with Albarn's unwavering pop melodies.

More in line with his tighter debut, Pretty Hate Machine, With Teeth is made up of bursts of dark, scary and paranoid gut punches.

Sure, it takes some time to sink in, but once it gets a hold of your heart, it won't let go.