This is about as treacly as pop can get, yet something about it endears and endures. Forget the Neil Youngish banality of "Horse with No Name". The best America songs feature a delicate yet intricate interplay of acoustic guitars that creates a tableau for sweeter-than-sweet vocalese. Just try not to sing along to "Ventura Highway" or "Sister Golden Hair". Try not to be suckered into sentimental reminiscence when listening to "I Need You" or the superb "Daisy Jane". And if your heart hardens when listening to the low-key lope of the "Muskrat Love", you must be cold-blooded. -Tod Nelson.

Even with single edits substituting for full-length versions in a handful of cases, The Hits/The B-Sides is a mighty testament to the man we once called Prince. (For that matter, we still do. ) In addition to most of his singles, from "I Wanna Be Your Lover" to "Thieves in the Temple", from "When Doves Cry" to "7", this triple-CD set throws in some worthwhile new music and a full disc of the fantastic flips that made buying 7- and 12-inches a must even when you already owned the A-side. "You can be the side effect," he mutters herein. "I'd rather be the dope. " Witness some of the funkiest pharmaceuticals around. -Rickey Wright.

One listen to the eagerly anticipated third album from "The World's Biggest Girl Group" and it's clear there is one child with the most destiny. To paraphrase the hip-hop legends; who's house? Beyoncé's house, and with the lead vocalist producing or cowriting all of the 14 tracks it's hard to imagine what those other two chicks even do (other than act grateful to still have a gig). Seizing creative control is a bold move for Miss Knowles, and anytime an R&B act eschews the beat of the week, they have to be commended. But the problem is that Beyoncé, even with her ambition, has yet to suss out that the key to a pop-R&B smash is hook and melody. With the exception of the now-played-out title track (Can we all take moratorium on this mighty goddess theme for a second, please?) and the equally you-go-girlish "Independent Woman Part 1", most of the tracks here lack a strong core. Beyoncé crams a litany of thoughts and motifs into her mini-anthems, with samples ranging from Stevie Nicks to Tarzan Boy, but though the cuts sizzle and sparkle and throw off much attitude, Survivor is way too frenetic. Even with some strong singing and songs (most notably the laid back "Fancy"), Survivor lacks real emotion. -Amy Linden.

It only took one song from a David Lynch film (Wild At Heart) to launch a coiffed Canadian ex-boxer on the international stage but, as this anthology of songs culled from his first three albums shows, Wicked Game was far from a fluke. A voice seemingly cloned from Roy Orbison's very own DNA-coupled with the kind of looks that go straight to a woman's knees-meant that Chris Isaak didn't need to be a great songwriter. And yet only one of these haunting hymns to heartbreak (The Yardbirds' classic "Heart Full Of Soul") wasn't written by Isaak. So what does this teach us? Merely that: (a) God isn't exactly fair in his distribution of qualities; and (b) don't believe those nay-sayers who claim that all the best tunes have been taken up. "Lie To Me", "Blue Hotel" and, of course, that awesome theme to Wild At Heart are melancholy masterpieces of their genre. -Peter Paphides.

When Alanis Morissette visited Mother India in 1997, she gained new composure and, in a state of numinous bliss, wrote 17 songs for Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, each suffused with the search for enlightenment and self-knowledge. To the likely dismay of many fans, Morissette now rages at herself. But this long-awaited follow-up to 1995's record-smashing Jagged Little Pill is far from a disappointment. Imbued with dark, swirling psychedelic licks borrowed from Jimmy Page's song book, the disc is paradoxically both more enigmatic and revealing than Pill. And while Junkie shows that Morissette is no less stingy about revealing herself to her fans-her staccato stream-of-consciousness style is again employed to surrender her secrets and foibles a little too easily in these tales of abuse, lost love, and self-flagellation-Junkie also makes one wonder what this musical sphinx holds back. In "Baba" she takes on competitive spirituality, sneering at the fashionable grasp for enlightenment. "Would Not Come" returns to a similar theme-taking us on a tour of her diary. "Would Not Come" and "Your House" offer the only hints of sexual innuendo. The only revenge she wreaks on an errant lover is in the percussive "Are You Still Mad", this time dishing up a much subtler payback than on "You Oughta Know". The record's standouts, meanwhile, are "Thank U" and the hip-poppy "So Pure". [+]

Emmylou Harris's 1975 major-label debut unveiled the formula that she would revisit numerous times throughout the decade: a melding of traditional country's honesty, folk music's heart, and country rock's punch. Her choice of material followed a similar curve-everything from Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, and the Louvin Brothers to the Beatles and Shel Silverstein. Former Elvis sidemen James Burton, Glen D. Hardin, and Ron Tutt along with guests like Ricky Skaggs, fiddler Richard Greene, and pianist Bill Payne of Little Feat form a formidable supporting cast. What's most impressive is Harris's versatility-she moves from delicate acoustic ballads to buoyant two-steppers to lavish string arrangements without ever sounding overmatched. She even takes a very personal tale like Dolly Parton's wonderful "Coat of Many Colors" and makes it her story. She may have inherited the band and the vision from her late mentor Gram Parsons, but the shimmering soprano voice is all her own. -Marc Greilsamer.

Former Aussie child-star turned Mariah Carey wannabe, Arena had an awful lot of expectations to overcome with this, her first mature set-not least, that she lacked either the ability or the temperament to cut it in the big leagues. Her first single, "Chains", took most of her critics by surprise, courtesy of a slow-burn arrangement and the unusual power of her own rendition, far more gutsy, soulful and convincing than anyone could have expected. After that, however, it was all downhill: "Heaven Help My Heart", was a competent, if forgettable, slice of AOR; and "Sorrento Moon (I Remember)" might as well have been written by committee; which is to say: it was no better or worse, particularly, than your average Whitney album. Yet for some reason, commercial success continued to elude her. Still, she at least has time on her side. -Andrew McGuire.

Containing eight remixed tracks from Jackson's 1995 HIStory, as well as five new compositions, Blood On The Dancefloor tastefully mixes old sounds with new. The new songs which open the album are led by the thrash-pop title track, which is reminiscent of many of the creations on Dangerous. "Morphine" is a dark and emotive track, while "Ghosts" and "Is It Scary" are autobiographical accounts of fatherhood and the problems of privacy which followed the birth of his baby. The disco remix of "Stranger In Moscow", meanwhile, is an excellent up-tempo remodelling of the original track. -John Galilee.

Miss Natalie needs to lighten up. Ophelia's a pretty heavy record, in terms of both the thick, string-heavy production and in terms of her protracted, pretentious songs. Merchant has a beautiful voice but she bogs it down with weighty themes that walk around in flashy clothes without going anywhere. She's even got, gulp, Tibetan lyric translations on "Effigy". It's telling that the best track here is the simplest-a lovely reading of an 1887 parlour hymn, "When They Ring The Golden Bells". Its genteel acoustic backdrop perfectly sets off Merchant's voice-and it's the only time she sings with a passion that doesn't feel pretended. Guests include Daniel Lanois and The Innocence Mission. -Michael Ruby.

He may have made his name as one of those strangely genre-resistant singer-songwriters of the 70s, but Billy Joel's pedigree in pop dates back at least a decade prior to 1973's breakthrough Piano Man album. In 1964, Joel's prowess on Hammond organ even saw him playing on The Shangri-Las' "Leader Of The Pack". It was to these fledgling years in pop that Joel looked for inspiration when recording the most successful album of his career. To spend an afternoon in the company of An Innocent Man is to transport yourself to a New York diner in the early 60s, not a care in the world beyond waiting for your date to turn up. And when it works, it's positively life-affirming. "Uptown Girl" is surely the finest song The Four Seasons never recorded, while "The Longest Time" and "Leave A Tender Moment Alone" offer a humane return to the thrill of young love. Less successful are a couple of forays in more R&B influenced material (Joel doesn't quite have the voice for it) but never again did he quite sound like he was having this much fun. -Peter Paphides.