If Prince had ever successfully come to grips with hip hop, this is what the result might have sounded like.

What "Menace" lacks in continuity it more than makes up for with brass balls and a sense of adventure.

Occasionally, things are dumbed down by the naive politics you’d expect from any teenager.

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.

Both accessible and fun.

LL Cool J's 10th album isn't a greatest hits collection--it just sounds like one.

While political manifestos are never something attractively wedded to song, Jones keeps humanity on the record, mostly with supportive grooves and her tantalizing way with twisting a note.

The album often revisits the troubled vibe of her early days, in sound if not lyrically.

The band's strong suit--which, when it gets down to business, has gotten noticeably stronger (and tighter and more focused) over the course of four releases--are earthy dance tracks like "Music Plus 1" and "Wog.com" which take hypnotic bass and drum tracks and embellish them with a variety of samples, noises, etc., and Tjinder Singh's simple, effective vocals.

A rich collection of tunes that definitely will put you in the mind of [Nick] Drake--but stop one (small) step short of sheer imitation.

Forget the brattiness and occasional lunacy that succeeded Tidal's ascent to hit status. This is the work of an adult artist, and onethat's going to be sticking around.

Dozens of like-minded female acts have followed the trio into the R&B arena, yet 3D demonstrates how wide a gulf there is between the originals and their imitators.

While the group's last two records have been majestic, pretentious, and overly polished, this one is more urgent and inviting, running the gamut from Beach Boys whimsy to Jesus And Mary Chain bluster.

How Animals Move, much like its creator, has "side project" written all over it. The songs meander freely, setting up moods, throwing together unusual sounds.

Nothing matches the artists' very best work--but, excepting a ghastly appearance by Linda Perry, it's still mostly fun.

The biting but insider-ish humor sometimes limits the potential audience, as Paul ironically marginalizes himself before the business and its politics can.

A scrappy little album that at times has a frustrating same-y-ness to it, but with each of the disc's tunes lasting no longer than three minutes, the Raveonettes' proto-punk formula never outstays its welcome.

The album forsakes Doe's past rockabilily, country, and punk leanings for a fairly morose, maudlin mood.

Musically, the tunes are more cohesive this time around, with more of a "band" feel then simply people accompanying Amos and her Bosendorfer.

She's probably an EP artist at heart. Or someone for whom the 20-minute sides of vinyl would discipline everything perfectly. So slice the CD in half and enjoy.

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

When Adams sticks to the pop-rock mode, he can be dynamic as well as one of the cleverest pop thieves since Nick Lowe.

Cole is a slick producer, dropping just the right sounds to impress fellow DJs and keep club kids doing the boogie fever.

While her voice has never sounded better, the lion share of songs she selected for the album are mediocre at best.

As good overall as the tracks here are, that bit about familiarity breeding contempt rings true.

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

Jean's most satisfying post-Fugees music yet.

If it isn't quite the debut that new soul touchstones like D'Angelo's Brown Sugar and Erykah Badu's Baduizm were, it's certainly far more ambitious...