While Souljacker is not exactly a great leap forward for the band, it is a satisfying continuum from the superb Daisies Of The Galaxy.

While their hitmaking formula is responsible for countless success stories, the talent, smarts, and overall quality of this album prove the Neptunes are infinitely more interesting than most of their clients.

Rinocerose's specialty is dropping an army of scratchy, shrieking guitars into the dumbed-down world of modern disco.

While there's no question that this is rooted in the '80s (not always a good thing), when the two concentrate on songs, it sounds mighty good.

Donelly focuses on tunes that enter your head with a determination to stay for the long term.

Geogaddi is even more stripped-down and beautiful than Music Has..., BOC using simple circular rhythms and eerie samples to create an airless, ethereal ultraworld.

Save for a few heavy-handed tracks, such as the lame religion-as-porn clunker "Blue Movie" and the drag of "Loreta Young Silks," the disc offers a satisfyingly rich aural texture.

It really isn't any different from any of the higher-charged rock albums in his repertoire.

Their strongest effort since their strong run in the mid/late-'80s.

But for all the high-level assistance the group receives, what keeps Built From Scratch consistently interesting remains the fantastic four’s work on the wheels of steel.

Point is in another zone altogether, establishing Cornelius as one of the most creative pop musicians around.

A MY-T-FINE punk rock album, chock full of swirling harmonies that came into fashion sometime around the Descendents rise in the mid-1980s.

While the group attacks things with great velocity and singer Chud shreds his larynx at regular intervals, the always difficult follow-up album features actual melodies and mature textures that make the band's eventual transformation into a progressive rock band nearly inevitable.

Spinning a zoo of samples redundantly, song after song, can only amuse the most blissed-out of stoners...

Sounds like one long song of wheezing harmonium and heavily echoed, slightly out-of-tune vocals.

Whatever angst might have settled under the surface has been swept clean and in its place a jubilant spiritual quest in is place.

The best work of his inventively mad career.

The only problem is that Ja's ear for a hit has begun to make his straight street-level efforts less enticing.

[Her songs are] articulate and bright, enlivened by pithy metaphors and images that suggest a well-rounded English major with a sensitive side.

Gold has its good points and its filler.

This is one striking album from start to finish.

Mark's best work yet.

No one--and I mean, no one, not even people paid to say such things--is going to confuse this with Highway 61 Revisited or even Nashville Skyline, but when the official Bob Dylan bubblegum card is issued, Love And Theft will certainly rank ahead of Knocked Out Loaded and Saved.

It rocks less but parties harder than 1997's Tellin' Stories.

It all sounds nice, but little sticks.

Other than "PMS," a misguided Lauryn Hill cop, the album also gets stronger as it plays, concluding with an impressive trio of songs that show off Blige's gospel roots.

Whether you're an experienced fan or a newbie, the easy and honest appeal of their high melodicism should be readily apparent.

Just when you figure he's down for the count, he comes back with an album as majestic and epic as this one.