Though Exclusive skirts the sophomore slip-up, it leaves its protagonist uncertain: Ease on down the road, or look at the man in the mirror? [Nov 2007, p.91]

Still, hate it or love it, his albums are always a, what's the word we're looking for... cinematic event.

There's no doubt that Evans can still finesse the notes. But instead of continually pushing her sound into the future, she often backtracks, covering much of the same ground as her previous offerings. [Jun 2005, p.156]

Even if it doesn't always work, this is as imaginative an approach to hip hop production as the underground has ever generated. [June 2003, p.157]

Tipping a decade long residency within the music industry, Spears’ “comeback” is more so a restoration than a reinvention.

The album is a tapestry of reggae, rock, jazz, gospel, and pop, loosely assembled on the duo’s signature bass-and-rim-shot skeleton.

A gleeful, idiosyncratic pastiche. [Nov 2006, p.156]

The results are moderately exemplary; a project heavy in power production, but skim on memorable showmanship.

Though Confessions doesn't bring Usher all the way to the artistic maturity one might hope for, tracking this star's progression definitely has its satisfactions. [May 2004, p.160]

In their earnest effort to recharge rap, however, the veterans' pioneer-day rhetoric comes off as heavy-handed. [Sep 2006, p.213]

R.O.O.T.S. is a solidification of identity. And when you’re trying to keep yourself in the game, sometimes that’s all a sophomore album has to be.

While The Ownerz does not spark any new rap trends, it brings back the power of the basics. [Jun 2003, p.153]

The perfect platform for Burke's unerringly tasteful phrasing. [Sep 2002, p.248]

Endearingly anachronistic. [Jan 2003, p.128]

Legitimizes the D12ers as much more than simply Eminem's funky bunch. [Jun 2004, p.157]

Good is comparable in spirit to the everything-is-in-play feel of Clash albums like Sandinista!. [Feb 2007, p.128]

Reanimation's cross-pollination of high-level lyricism, trunk-rattling beats, heavy-metal riffs, and hard-core vocals makes for a rousing listening experience. [Sep 2002, p.244]

Here Nas is on autopilot, churning out uniformly solid but unexceptional material. [Oct 2004, p.183]

Their lush signature harmonies remain intact, but these pedestrian readings ['Got To Be There' and 'War'] rarely deviate from their inspirations. [Dec 2007, p.112]

Funhouse is more haunting than amusing, but the solidarity that comes along with her recent divorce serves as the effort's muse and proves to be her best partner in life.

He's largely a victim of his own goodwill, sounding consistently exuberant, even when the message--'Politik Kills,' say--seems to beg for more. [Nov 2007, p.98]

These are antiheroic, anti-anthemic, antiwar gems of abstraction, full of consistently strange and exotic charms. [Oct 2006, p.146]

Ironically, it's the more tame (and nameless) persona that's the most intriguing, commanding and sexual.

Diplo and Switch clearly cherish the glitches and low-tech glory of vintage Jamaican music. But they’re much better off when re-imagining as opposed to indulging in tongue-in-cheek mimicry.

It's infuriatingly inconsistent.... But this album's bittersweet beauty lies in the fact that Nas cares. [Feb 2002, p.120]

This is his most conventional and guest-heavy work, but also a rewarding reminder that independent hip hop was once something more than a curio. [Apr 2007, p.128]

When at his best, Banner creates powerful American folk music. [Sep 2005, p.231]

It's all tasteful retro treatment for a '60s soul icon, but Burke approaches it with brio. [Nov 2006, p.165]