Kurt Cobain's former bandmates Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl clearly had an agenda in compiling From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, the second of what will no doubt be a long line of posthumous Nirvana albums. Because of its sombre, intense nature, the first post-Cobain release, MTV Unplugged in New York, was largely perceived as music for a wake-an impression reinforced by MTV's constant airings of the special in the days following Cobain's suicide. But that acoustic detour aside, the Nirvana live experience was always about displaying a lust for life-not a death wish-with all the energy the musicians could muster. Wishkah offers 16 songs spanning the band's career, all delivered in the loudest, most frenzied, and sometimes the sloppiest versions imaginable. In the opening "Intro", a snippet of pre-show noise, Cobain screams his heart out in joyful contrast to the haunted screams on "Where Did You Sleep Last Night". Then the group launches into "School," which ends with the spirited chorus, "Don't be sad. " Indeed, it's impossible to dwell on the maudlin when listening to these renditions of "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Sliver", "Heart-Shaped Box" and "Negative Creep"-they're too loud and too full of life. But while it should be applauded, Wishkah isn't the great lost Nirvana album-there are no unheard gems to add to the catalogue-and in the end, it isn't nearly as essential as any of the band's studio albums-or even the downbeat but revelatory Unplugged. -Jim Derogatis.

Slow-core minstrel Chan Marshall-a. k. a. Cat Power-will only take on someone else's tune if she thinks there's something she can add to it. Or, as in the case of The Covers Record, if there's something that can be subtracted. Indeed, Chan Marshall's fifth outing is perhaps her most stripped-down yet-an approach which, ironically, leads to some quite radical reworkings. Take, for example "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", which replaces the Rolling Stones' rollercoaster angst with a sepulchral but quietly graceful acoustic strum. Shorn of its chorus, it's barely recognisable as the same song, and it's all the more affecting for it. Elsewhere, Bob Dylan and the Velvet Underground sidle up against Nina Simone and Smog. It's of some credit to Marshall's starkly beautiful vision that The Covers Record hangs together so perfectly. [+]

As promised, this long-awaited full-length collaboration bears the hallmarks of Bacharach's classic 1960s work with the likes of Dionne Warwick-full-force melodies, traditional pop instrumentation, clever and occasionally pained lyrics. Painted from Memory finds Costello and Bacharach revelling in their gifts on a dozen tracks that range from concise under-three-minute gems ("I Still Have That Other Girl", which sounds like the great lost Chuck Jackson single) to sprawling art songs ("Toledo", the pair's Grace of My Heart contribution "God Give Me Strength"). On the latter Costello meets his match in a co-writer who knows when to let the excesses flow and when to stem the tide; his occasionally straining vocals only add to the album's heightened effect. The result is some instant classics that stand head and shoulders above much of Costello's 1990s work. -Rickey Wright.

Thirty years of rock radio have cast Traffic largely in the context of its later years as songwriter, singer, and keyboard player Steve Winwood's platform for jazz-inflected progressive rock, but their second, self-titled 1968 album reflects the equal weight of guitarist Dave Mason's voice, guitar, and songs. Together with drummer and third vocalist Jim Capaldi, and Chris Wood's evocative sax and flute, this is Traffic at its most earthy, most concise, and arguably most coherent-even when the bulk of the songs are set as fevered dreams, surreal ballads, or outright nightmares. Winwood showcases like "Pearly Queen" and "Forty Thousand Headmen" are matched by Mason's classic "Feelin' Alright" and Beatle-browed "You Can All Join In", while the playing and arrangements are spirited and tight. -Sam Sutherland.

Bruce Hornsby is now best known for his stints playing keyboards with the Grateful Dead and for his involvement in such post-Dead projects as the Further Festival. An incomparable keyboard wizard whose skills are widely admired while his albums are consistently underrated, Hornsby's greatest commercial success is slipping rapidly into the past. His 1986 debut, The Way It Is (recorded with his band, the Range) is the high watermark of his career commercially, having sold several million copies and spawned a trio of hit singles, including "Mandolin Rain," "Every Little Kiss," and of course, the No. 1 smash, "The Way It Is. " Overall, it's Hornsby's most tuneful album, though not necessarily his most accomplished work. His is a catalog that is long overdue for reevaluation. -Daniel Durchholz.

A member of the band Heatmiser, Elliot Smith recorded home demos on any equipment he could get his hands on. His first "solo" album is a cheap, four-track home recording that hints at the melodic possibilities Smith would explore in greater detail on subsequent releases. The title track is remarkable but with four songs referred to in sequential order as "No Name #1", "No Name #2", etc. , the inspiration isn't always fully firing. Blessed with a quiet, angelic voice and a lyrical mind that easily transforms the squalid details of everyday life into something worth hearing about twice, Smith stood on the verge of getting it on. With his next, self-titled release, he did. -Rob O'Connor.

After two years off following the release of the genre-expanding Nimrod, the usually insouciant trio Green Day are open to some weighty self-analysis. Gone are the raging rants, cartoonish antics, and anthropological musings about the punk scene, replaced by an introspection that brings to mind Michael Stipe and Bono. Like the U2 frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong still hasn't found what he's looking for, but he knows where he's been and is eager to move past the days when Green Day were considered the clown princes of rock. Witness "Jackass", which cautions, "Everybody loves a joke, but no one likes a fool". Proving that they aren't fools, Green Day take a substantial step forward, exploring new rhythms, sonics and subjects. While many of the tracks are still cheeky and infectious, the deceptively simple melodies belie a quest for meaning, faith and fulfilment. There's a tentative optimism here that's tempered by irony and flashes of self-loathing. Still, Warning transcends the darkness that clouded 1995's Insomniac. No longer so under the sway of the Buzzcocks and the Ramones, this time Armstrong and company dip into the early rock canon-the Beatles and Bob Dylan, among them. As a result, their first self-produced album is more "Nowhere Man" than "Blitzkrieg Bop". [+]

In 1998, Gomez burst onto the music scene from out of nowhere and picked up the prestigious Mercury Music prize for their debut album, Bring It On. Hailing from Liverpool, this five-piece band of gawky youths seem to be the very antithesis of traditional rock stars, but their appearance and heritage belie their rich and rootsy sound: their combination of Ben Ottewell's gravely voice and slide guitar conjure up images of the American South, especially on singles "Whippin' Piccadilly" and "Get Myself Arrested". Combining a soul sensitivity with a pop sensibility, Gomez constructed one of the most stunning debuts of the 1990's. -Carina Trimingham.

On this, her seventh album proper, Madonna once again shows that one of her greatest talents is her ability to choose collaborators who bring the best out of her. This time around, the producers and co-writers include Bjork, Nellee Hooper (Massive Attack/Soul II Soul) and swing deities Dallas Austin & Babyface (who, amongst a myriad of credits, were the men behind TLC's CrazySexyCool). Mellower in the most part than her previous work, the album includes the usual handful of hits in "Secret", "Human Nature", the title track, and "Take A Bow", a duet with Babyface which is as beautifully glum as anything she's done. While the period between the Erotica/Sex fiasco and her triumphant return with 1998's Ray Of Light was a comparatively lean period commercially for Madonna, this album is up there with the best of her work. -Ronita Dutta.