offering "(You Drive Me) Crazy" will probably disappoint those who were hoping for the more recent "Oops!... I Did It Again"). This disc, where the Italian group Eiffel 65's dance-pop smash "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" lives in the same space as Blink 182's "All the Small Things," Ben Harper's "Steal My Kisses," and Macy Gray's "I Try," is like channel surfing during drive-time radio hours and scoring with every hit of the "seek" button. --Beth Massa  (less)

friends) can mix and mingle with rap, turntablism, trip-hop, and--of course--tongue-in-cheek humor. And while this idea may sound original, its name came straight from an episode of Chris Elliott's short-lived sitcom Get a Life . Elliott--the goofball writer and cameo guest for David Letterman--springs up a few times on the disc in the form of a few vocal samples, but mostly this show is centered around the guests: Encore provides the disc's best rap on "Waterworld," Grand Puba and Sadat X (from Brand Nubian) perform "Once Again" on top of a sample of Three Dog Night's "Old Fashioned Love Song," and DJ Shadow does his usual magic with the 1200s on "Holy Calamity." Miho Hatori (Cibo Matto), Mike D., Sean Lennon, Alec Empire, and even Father Guido Sarducci are...  (less)

album is perfectly suited to Top 40, Spanish and adult-contemporary radio--all at the same time. At times tracks such as "Onda" and "Dime Mi Amor" recall 1970s-era Santana, but the Boys are at their best on "Heaven," the feel-good first single, and "La Contestacion," a yearning ballad matched by pleading instrumentation. As a bonus, this Special Edition includes Spanish versions of "Heaven" and "More Than Love," but the real highlight is a Southern-fried take on Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line." That the boys manage to make the classic song their own is no small feat. There's also a DVD featuring thoughtful live performances and music videos that offer a glimpse of the Boys in action. --Joey Guerra  (less)

West Virginia cave. Adopted by the family of the town's vet, Edgar--as he comes to be known--actually goes on to acquire an education and even falls in love with the vet's daughter, all the while struggling to keep his blood thirst under control. Things end tragically--unsurprisingly, interspecies romance is still battling considerable prejudice in this country. Composer-lyricist Laurence O'Keefe came up with catchy songs that owe a lot to late 1960s and early '70s rock musicals such as Godspell and even The Rocky Horror Show . Skillfully walking the thin line between over-the-top camp and actual emotion, O'Keefe has written a wonderful little musical that cleverly deals with issues of difference and community values. As weird as it sounds, we foresee quite a future for Bat Boy in amateur pr...  (less)

Civilian and is a record that the band’s fans will love, but also one that’s liable to earn them a whole raft of new supporters, too. The mighty 11-tracks display a new up-and-at-‘em attitude and will see the lads back near the top of the charts. Features the single 'Promises'. Mercury  (less)

day. Years have gone by...but Common Threads remain-four part harmony; love for God, faith, family and country; an ability to bring a stage to life. Enjoy an "uncommonly" successful group joined through the years by a Common Thread.  (less)

his band Deep Feeling at the legendary night club, The Elbow Room in Birmingham, England, became the birthplace of Traffic. Steve Winwood was attracted to this early type of psychedelic music which Jim was then playing and was impressed by the large following Deep Feeling were building. Winwood often would come along to jam and as his friendship grew closer and Traffic was born. The rest is history. Apart from Traffic’s ten album, multi platinum career, fuelled by Jim’s writing partnership with Steve, Jim has enjoyed a solo career with twelve albums to date. With his new recording, Poor Boy Blue, Jim was keen to explore his roots and used quite a lot of classic instrumentation to achieve the particular sound he was looking for on this album. The basis for the album and most wor...  (less)

Bands Tour around the Release. "it's Not So Much a Case of 'most Likely To'. Boy Kill Boy Are Being Talked About as Rock's 'most Definitely Going To'. - Nme  (less)

shouts, lofty cries, and rumbling, emotional singing that seems to have the power to move mountains. The group stick to their well-known "mother" theme (their first hit was the mind-blowing "I Can See Everybody's Mother, But I Can't See Mine" in 1949) on these two early '70s LPs, issued here as one CD. No less than three songs mourn the death of a matriarch--the bluesy, brilliant standby "Alone and Motherless," the moody, slow-tempo "When I Lost My Mother," and the revved tearjerker "Goodbye Mother." The group singing is tight, the tempo and material varied, the minimal percussion perfectly complementary, the guitar playing subtle, sparse, beautiful. But the real treat is when the five singers wind each other up, like a spinning top, into ecstatic realms of ent...  (less)

their entire catalog in remastered versions. Girls To Chat & Boys To Bounce originally hit the Billboard charts in 1981.  (less)

unbridled ecstasy of the phenomenon known as the circuit party. Features the massive international hits "It Just Won’t Do" by Tim Deluxe, "Shiny Disco Balls" by Who Da Funk, "Shine On Me" by Praise Cats and "The Beat Goes On" by Bob Sinclar as well as circuit favorites from Linda Clifford, DJ Disciple, Divine, Funk Project and more. Vol. 1 also includes the current Top 10 Billboard Dance Chart hit "Shake It" by Marascia. The hottest circuit hits and an undeniably sexy cover boy make Circuit Boy Vol. 1 a must-have for any fan of gay dance music!  (less)