By the time she made her bow on MTV Unplugged, Mariah Carey was already a multi-platinum-selling artist who owned the charts, but didn't command much respect because no one had ever seen her perform live. As it turned out, Miss Thing could deliver as sure as Domino's, emoting significantly over soulful arrangements of several hits and a cover of the Jackson Five's "I'll Be There. " That track became a No. 1 hit and earned a solo recording deal for featured backup singer Trey Lorenz. This may not be Carey's best record, but it's certainly her most surprising. -Daniel Durchholz.

After the out-of-nowhere success of Licensed to Ill, the Beasties had to prove they were more than one-album wonders, and they hit it out of the park with this follow-up. The Boys' lyrics are a hysterical deluge of cultural allusion (Ponce De Leon, Japanese baseball legend Sadaharu Oh, and Love Connection's Chuck Woolery all get name-dropped), compressed wordplay, and adenoidal snottiness, but the real stars are the Dust Brothers, whose production is a hip-hop landmark. Their music tracks sound like the history of rock and funk radio boiled down to a pure concentrate-monster jams built out of thousands of unexpected samples (Johnny Cash! The Sweet!). It's a killer party album, kinetic and dense, and it never slows down. -Douglas Wolk.

James Brown is, quite simply, one of most influential artists of the last five decades and any self-respecting music fan should own at least one collection of his finest moments. Out of Sight-The Very Best of James Brown is the perfect introduction. Concentrating on The Godfather of Soul's heyday, the early 60s to mid-70s, this 18-tracker charts his transition from the molten knee-scraping balladry of "Please Please Please" to the ferocious funk and righteous anger of "The Payback". There isn't a dud track and although the dramatic ballad "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" is the equal of anything here, the emphasis is on rhythm-propelled grooves. It's remarkable that the combustible likes of "Out of Sight", "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" (Parts 1 and 2) date from as far back as the mid-60s. With their repetitive rhythms, juddering bass lines and staccato horn blasts, such tracks laid the foundations for what we now know as funk. Arguably, the first fully fledged funk release was Brown's seminal 1970 release "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine". A truly ground-breaking record, it inspired a new generation to get on the good foot. Predictably, there are omissions, notably "Cold Sweat", "Superbad and "Papa Don't Take No Mess" but anyone new to Soul Brother Number One will inevitably move on from here and investigate his extraordinary back-catalogue. -Chris King.

Kylie Minogue concludes her On a Night Like This tour with an unashamed pop extravaganza on home ground in Sydney, performing to a huge audience which these days consists of more adults than teenagers. Kylie has undoubtedly matured over the years, too, and-apart from a brief stint believing she could become a "serious" artist-appears perfectly happy in her role as the Princess of Pop. Kylie fulfils different roles for different groups within the audience: for females it's all about adulation-rediscovering her childlike appeal like a long-lost friend; the men are offered a fantasy figure-the camera drawn like a magnet to her derrière for 20 per cent of the concert; and she simultaneously manages to be a gay icon, without becoming overtly camp. The joy of Kylie is that she has become all things to all people, offered up in a perfectly petite package. It's clear that the years of work as a performer have paid off, her vocals are much stronger now with a real sense of professionalism, and just to prove this she performs two old favourites as serious pieces, "I Should Be So Lucky" is offered as a ballad and "Better the Devil You Know" is transported to Shirley Bassey territory, allowing Kylie to prove her vocal range. In true show-stopping style we're offered a multitude of costume changes: from hot-pant mania to refined suits and rock-chick leather, Kylie inevitably appears looking great; although the same cannot be said for her backing dancers, whose outfits are often laughable, with all the style of a school play costume. Despite the many faces of Kylie on display here, pop stardom does not appear to have changed her girl-next-door image-Kylie remains in our hearts a true "neighbour". On the DVD: This music disc is like Kylie, perfectly packaged in every way. The menu is beautifully laid out (even though the images offer an excess of cleavage) with a great range of easily accessible options. You can choose simply to play the concert straight in its pristine 16:9 anamorphic screen ratio or you can select your favourite songs from the track selection option; you can visit Kylie backstage or watch the great music video for "Spinning Around". [+]

Not many could have anticipated the colossal success of the 2004 debut album Sanctuary, that catapulted Blue's Simon Webbe to the upper echelons of the UK urban-pop scene. With his follow-up, Grace, Webbe seeks to consolidate his spot at the top. Like its predecessor, Grace brims with uplifting, soulful pop sounds, acoustic folk influences and contemporary R&B. Headed up by the happy-go-lucky single "Coming Around Again", the album offers a slightly more urbane approach, aiming for an audience that likes fairly saccharine MOR soul and Lighthouse Family style music. However, forays into mawkish sentimentality - "Sunshine (Love Like That)", "Angel" - are balanced by decent ballads such as "Go To Sleep" and catchy blues-fuelled songs like "Ain't True To Yourself". Despite Webbe's fairly limited emotional range, there's enough strong material here to convince that he might just deserve his guru status. -Danny McKenna.

They should, of course, be laughable: a bunch of stocky Germans with a penchant for pyromania and a wardrobe straight out of a downtown S&M bar. Yet somehow, Rammstein's very Teutonic brand of doom-mongering has struck a chord with listeners, perhaps grateful that Germany's latest sensations are not merely another Scorpions. Instead, the music is an unmistakeably martial-some would say fascistic-form of industrial-metal, all punishing rhythms and grand, Wagnerian choruses; while the band's decision to fuse their assault with the arpeggiated textures of trance and techno-while hardly unique (think KMFDM or Nine Inch Nails)-has undoubtedly lent their sound a more robust, contemporary edge. With their muscular riffs and talent for self-immolation, Rammstein's concerts have become notorious (imagine a Leni Reifenstahl movie scored by Ministry); consequently, this live album can serve only as an approximation of the total experience. Still, it reinforces the notion-first propounded by Faust and Neu! and, later, by Einstreuzende Neubauten-that German makes a kick-arsch language for rock music. -Andrew McGuire.

Long before they were floating in space, Jason Pierce and friends were exploring the far reaches of the pop universe on Lazer Guided Melodies. Essentially four suites, it was an album on which nothing was as it seemed; all was processed and tinkered with, while horns and brass offered glory and fulfillment to the keyboards, guitars, and vocals. It was, really, the new space rock, drugged to oblivion and gazing at the planets, the modern psychedlia. Best heard on headphones, isolated in a darkened room, this was the sound of shapes to come. Chris Nickson.

People who love the idea of hip-hop and believe it can be as complex and broadly emotional as any music, but who are weary of the rigidity with which rappers define themselves, salivate over groups like the Pharcyde. The foursome comes from the gangsta rap mecca of South Central L. A. but their musical vision veers closer to the worldwide vibe of east coasters De La Soul than any Gat-toting sellout. Their 1992 debut Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde unveiled a group with flair and personality-both smart and whimsical-and an honesty rarely heard in rhyme. During the three years that followed its release, group members Imani, Tre, Romye, and Fatlip moved from their Pharcyde Manor in South Central to a suburban L. A. home/studio, Lab Cabin. The long-awaited sophomore effort, Labcabincalifornia, reflected the group's new environment with a sound more polished, more mature, but a lot less uproarious than before. The group apparently labored meticulously in Lab Cabin, where they cleaned and tightened the Pharcyde sound. [+]

Her name may not be as instantly recognizable as Anita Baker's, but if you're a fan of Baker, you're bound to love Adams. After working toward a solid reputation in her native Kansas, she was discovered while working a hotel-lounge gig by Roland Orzabal of Tears for Fears and became one of the band's regular guests (their "Woman in Chains" is included here). This collection includes an impressive list of contributors (including Irene Cara on backing vocals) and worldwide hits like "Get Here," an emotional tearjerker that showcase's Adams's amazing voice. Many tracks veer into MOR territory (what else can you expect with a cover of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"?) and straight-out-of-a-musical style ("Embraceable You"); if you're looking for more funk in your soul, your best bet is "Rhythm of Life. " -Rebecca Wallwork.

Geogaddi follows on from Boards Of Canada debut album, 1998's Music Has The Right To Children, a real slow-burner that gently infused its way into the consciousness like a rolling fog of sepia-tinged psychedelia and child-like lullaby melodies. Ironically, though, the greater the plaudits afforded to this enigmatic Scottish duo, the further they retreated into their shell, shunning interviews and resolving themselves to a reclusive existence in their Hexagon Sun studio in the hills of North Scotland. If anything, this has only focused their resolve. BOC's long-awaited second album Geogaddi opens with no fanfare, the bare hum of "Ready Lets Go" blossoming into the soporific, hypnotic chimes of "Music Is Math". But for the next 65 minutes, it's clear that while Boards of Canada move slow, they do so with the power of shifting glaciers. All their old influences remain: the noise-as-melody drone of My Bloody Valentine, the brave futuristic synths of Neu, and the drifting soundtracks of old education television documentaries. But more than anything, Geogaddi is about the feelings that linger when the music fades out-a surprisingly vivid sense of warm melancholy that puts an intriguing spin on the currently fashionable chill-out sound. It's another slow-burner, but Geogaddi is as utterly essential as its predecessor. -Louis Pattison.