The Anthology of American Folk Music - Harry Smith
Folk, review by Alex Abramovich
Even today, 45 years after it's initial release, an entire generation of musicians inspired by Harry Smith lapse into reverential, religious terms when speaking of "The Anthology of American Folk Music" -- and record stores are having a hard time keeping the Smithsonian's reissue in stock. (10/06/97)

Chocolate Supa Highway - Spearhead
Jazz/R&B, review by Donnell Alexander
Former Disposable Hero Michael Franti brings his adventurous spirit to Spearhead's head-nodding hip-hop on "Chocolate Supa Highway." (04/24/97)

The Pet Sound Sessions - The Beach Boys
Pop/Rock review by Mark Athitakis
The reworked music of "Pet Sounds" is so wondrously varied, so thrilling, so listenenable in and of itself that it's a Beach Boys fanatic's dream come true (11/12/97)

Contemplating the Engine Room- Mike Watt
review by Mark Athitakis
Contemplating the Engine Room" is, among other things, the story of what Mike Watts discovered during his experiences with the Minutemen, the band he started that helped define American independent rock in the 1980s.(10/31/97)

Butterfly - Mariah Carey
Pop/Rock, review by Gina Arnold
The woman may have a ruthless career plan, but Mariah Carey also has genuine pipes, and, seemingly, her finger directly on the pulse of the populace. Carey, now sure of her fanbase, divorced Mottola just in time for the release of "Butterfly," her fifth and cheesiest LP yet. (09/30/97)

Brand New - Salt-n-pepa
Pop/Rock review by Gina Arnold
Salt-n-Pepa is the more empowered, more thoughtful, and ultimately higher artistic expression of the Spice Girls pop-like confectionary -- but to knock either is to be on the wrong side of the argument. (11/13/97)

Spice World - Spice Girls
Pop/Rock review by Gina Arnold
Salt-n-Pepa is the more empowered, more thoughtful, and ultimately higher artistic expression of the Spice Girls pop-like confectionary -- but to knock either is to be on the wrong side of the argument. (11/13/97)

Feelings - David Byrne
Pop/Rock, review by Mark Athitakis
Working hip-hop, feedback-drenched rock and even country into his trademark Latin themes, David Byrne has created his freest, most diverse and optimistic post-Talking Heads work with "Feelings." Mark Athitakis talks to Byrne about "surviving through change." (06/30/97)

Evergreen - Echo and the Bunnymen
Pop/Rock, review by Mark Athitakis
For all of the drab middle-of-the-road pop "Evergreen" proffers, none of it erases any of the impact and power of what Echo and the Bunnymen accomplished back in the days of "The Cutter" and "The Killing Moon" -- but it does make it look that much more like distant history. (08/04/97)

Nimrod- Green Day
Pop/Rock review by Mark Athitakis
Scruffy punkers Green Day are just going through the motions on "Nimrod"; all that's different this time around is that they've discovered a few more motions to go through.(11/04/97)

It Had to Hapen - James McMurtry
Country, review by Mark Athitakis
On James McMurtry's fourth album, "It Had to Happen," the same world-weary characters appear again -- but this time the son of novelist Larry McMurtry has run out of compelling ways to tell their stories. (06/25/97)

Generations 1 - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Mark Athitakis
"Generations I": Do-gooder punks (2/24/96)

Eat/Kiss - John Cale
Pop/Rock, review by Mark Athitakis
Like some of John Cale's more experimental solo records (like "Fear" or "Music For a New Society"), "Eat" and "Kiss" conjure up a sense of both forboding and joy -- and often blurs the line between the two. (06/19/97)

Mag Earwhig! - Guided By Voices
Pop/Rock, review by Mark Athitakis
GBV's Robert Pollard has always had a real talent for using tiny details that turn a song from passable to great, but with "Mag Earwhig!" he's hitting the bullseye instead of raiding the cutting room floor. (05/16/97)

Ixnay on the Hombre - The Offspring
Pop/Rock, review by Mark Athitakis
Kenny Loggins in a Germs T-shirt. (2/10/97)

Live at the Warfield, S.F. - Pavement
Pop/Rock, review by Mark Athitakis
Kicking off their sold-out "Brighten the Corners" tour, Pavement loses some (not all) of the cynicism, and inspires newfound faith. Salon contributor Mark Athitakis reports from the Warfield in San Francisco. (04/19/97)

Omnipop - Sam Phillips
Pop/Rock, review by Mark Athitakis
Songstress Sam Phillips proves that "pop" is not (necessarily) a dirty word. (8/19/96)

II - Presidents of the USA
Pop/Rock, review by Mark Athitakis
A case for term limits. (11/5/96)

OK Computer - Radiohead
Pop/Rock, review by Mark Athitakis
With "OK Computer," Radiohead has finally hit their stride, crafting a dense, dizzying album that smartly welds their modern ennui to complex, intriguing -- and sometimes genuinely frightening -- pop music. (07/17/97)

The Sugar Hill Records Story - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Mark Athitakis
Grandmaster Flash, the Sugarhill Gang and other classic rap (3/14/97)

Winter Pageant - The Softies
Pop/Rock, review by Mark Athitakis
Cuddly punk torch songs (3/7/97)

All over the map - Wilco
Pop/Rock, review by Mark Athitakis
Wilco's new double CD is a woozy and wondrous roots-rock sojourn.
Text-only version.(10/28/96)

I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One - Yo La Tengo
Pop/Rock, review by Mark Athitakis
Still experimenting after 10 years, Yo La Tengo broadens their reconnaissance on "I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One," where folk, electronic, and latin music all find their way into the mix. (04/28/97)

Straightaways - Son Volt
Pop/Rock, review by Jay W. Babcock
Great records come from living life, not from driving by it, and as Son Volt's "Straightaways" suggests, the road and its rigors may be the artistic kiss of death for a band perpetually on tour. (05/12/97)

Braver Newer World - Jimmy Dale Gilmore
Country, review by Kevin Berger
Zen country singer Jimmie Dale Gilmore's music is "therapy for the world." (7/1/96)

Looking For The Ghost of Tom Joad - Bruce Springsteen
Pop/Rock, review by Adam Block
Baby, the Boss was born to slum. (12/30/95)

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil -Various Artists
Soundtrack review by Stanley Booth
-- called simply The Book in Savannah -- is now The Movie. And the accompanying soundtrack will make Johnny Mercer spin in his grave (11/21/97)

Stakes Is High - De La Soul
Rap/Hip-Hop, review by Zev Borow
De La Soul's new "Stakes Is High" returns to the high cross-over ground of the rap group's breakthrough first album, "Three Feet High and Rising." (7/8/96)

Wu-Tang Forever - Wu-Tang Clan
Rap/Hip-Hop, review by Zev Borow
It was starting to look like hip-hop, for all its vigor, emotion, and sheer dope style, was on the verge of buckling under it's own weight -- but now, finally, from off in the distance comes the Wu-Tang Clan with their latest "Wu-Tang Forever." (06/17/97)

Time Out Of Mind - Bob Dylan
Pop/Rock, review by David Bowman
It's now been seven long, lackluster years since Bob Dylan's "Oh Mercy" -- can producer Daniel Lanois fire up the Bard a second time? Amateur Dylanologist David Bowman takes on the long-awaited "Time Out of Mind." (09/19/97)

Static and Silence - The Sundays
Pop/Rock, review by David Bowman
Remarkably similar in sound and texture to their previous albums, the Sundays' new LP "Static & Silence" is as lush and as wistful as a college freshmen's diary, carefully timed to blare out of dorm rooms all autumn. (09/22/97)

Live On Tour - John Prine
Folk/Country, review by Mike Britten
In a world where even John Prine can be found on the Information Superhighway, a disc like the good-natured and laid-back "Live on Tour" may be just the thing to calm you down. (04/23/97)

Little Head - John Hiatt
Pop/Rock, review by Sean Callahan
John Hiatt's tell-tale fingerprints are all over his fourteenth album "Little Head" -- it's his heart that's hard to find. (07/09/97)

Rapunzel - Lou Harrison
Classical, review by Brett Campbell
Composer Lou Harrison said he chose the text of poet William Morris' reinterpretation of "Rapunzel" in part as a vehicle to help him work through his own emotional upheavals. And this music, with its simple yet powerful lyricism, reflects his attempt to soothe inner demons. (05/15/97)

Indoor Living - Superchunk
Pop/Rock, review by John Cook Superchunk isn't just run-of-the-mill college band stuff anymore, as they prove on the more polished and produced "Indoor Living." (09/11/97)

Volcano Songs - Meredith Monk
Classical, review by Matthew Daines
With punchy good tunes, "Volcano Songs" resurrects a more primal element of the eccentric singer/composer's best music from the 1980s. (05/07/97)

City Life - Steve Reich
Classical, review by Matthew Daines
Collaborating with conductor Paul Hillier, New York composer Steve Reich embodies both the old and new of his best minimalist works on the colorful "City Life." (04/14/97)

New York Legends: Recitals With Principals From The New York Philharmonic - Joseph Alessi, Principal Trombone
Classical, review by Matthew Daines
'Bone up: NY Philharmonic's trombone master shines. (3/5/97)

The Lateness Of The Hour - Eric Matthews
Pop/Rock, review by Mark Athitakis Now that time and various reissues have saved Brian Wilson et al from the dustbin of history, the world is Eric Matthews' for the taking. But on "The Lateness of the Hour," it becomes clear that no matter how hard he's trying, he's not quite worthy of that '60s pantheon. (09/04/97)

Loung-a-palooza - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Dawn Eden
With acts like Ben Folds Five, James Taylor Quartet and Esquivel, "Lounge-a-Palooza" -- the first major label compilation to cash in on the lounge music revival -- makes a grand attempt to attract both trendies and true believers. (10/01/97)

Farewells & Fantasies - Phil Ochs
Pop/Rock, review by Dawn Eden While many of his fellow Vietnam-era activists believed that the country was rotten to the core, Phil Ochs, like his idol Woody Guthrie, had an almost Capra-like faith in the American people's essential goodness.Rhino's long-overdue triple-CD Ochs box, "Farewells & Fantasies," attempts to place his music within a historical context. (09/03/97)

Richard D. James - Aphex Twin
Pop/Rock, review by Hans Eisenbeis
Is it sound or is it music? Aphex Twin's terrific techno-trance tunes. (01/27/97)

Nico By Blind Melon
Pop/Rock, review by Hans Eisenbeis
Blind Melon's passionate farewell (12/5/96)

Life is Peachy - Korn
Pop/Rock, review by Hans Eisenbeis
Canned Korn: Just a little too psychotic to be believed. (12/18/96)

Becoming X - Sneaker Pimps
Pop/Rock, review by Hans Eisenbeis
The trip-hop trio's debut stays true to the po-mo brew (2/27/96)

Soundtrack to "The Saint" - Various Artists
Soundtracks, review by Hans Eisenbeis
Just when you thought you'd heard enough about the next big thing, Hollywood gets hold of it and swings it by the tail 'til it's dead -- this time, it's "The Saint's" electronica soundtrack. (06/02/97)

Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, The Ballad of Easy Rider, The Notorious Byrd Brothers - The Byrds
Pop/Rock, review by Sean Elder
Columbia's reissue of four album's from the Byrds' own "Blue Period" (1967-1970) harkens back to a time before lite rock, when the band's distinctly Southern California sound projected an optimism and sense of possibility that perfectly captured the mood of the times. (04/10/97)

Bridges to Babylon- Rolling Stones
Pop/Rock review by Sean Elder
Maybe it's comforting to know that rock 'n' roll's elder statesmen can still crank out rock riffs and boozy ballads in their sleep -- but it's too bad they have to take that judgment literally. Sean Elder makes an arhument for early retirement.(11/05/97)

The Big Picture- Elton John
Pop/Rock review by Sean Elder
Maybe it's comforting to know that rock 'n' roll's elder statesmen can still crank out rock riffs and boozy ballads in their sleep -- but it's too bad they have to take that judgment literally. Sean Elder makes an arhument for early retirement.(11/05/97)

Calling All Stations- Genesis
Pop/Rock review by Sean Elder
Maybe it's comforting to know that rock 'n' roll's elder statesmen can still crank out rock riffs and boozy ballads in their sleep -- but it's too bad they have to take that judgment literally. Sean Elder makes an arhument for early retirement.(11/05/97)