Since bassist Lou Barlow left Dinosaur Jr. in 1989, the band-whose last record was 1997's expansive Hand It Over-has largely become an alter-ego moniker for guitarist/vocalist J Mascis. But now the original trio (including drummer Emmett "Murph" Murphy) has reunited for the first time since Barlow's split, and the 11-song outcome makes one ask: Why did they wait so long? Mascis's thunderous "Almost Ready," featuring both his combustible guitar and weary vocals, is the perfect blast-off, allowing Murphy's backbeat to set a turbulent pace early, and while songs like "Been There All the Time" and the Neil Young accolade "This Is All I Came to Do" have Mascis as primed as ever, Barlow (whose '90s-era Sebadoh set the bar for lo-fi bands) reappears with two of the record's strongest tracks: the poppy "Lightning Bulb" and "Back to Your Heart," which recalls late-in-the-game Hüsker Dü. These 50 minutes of music are as cohesive as they are conquering, and whether the same can be said of the once-prickly relationship between Mascis and Barlow will ultimately decide if this is a one-off reunion or if the real Dinosaur Jr. is back for awhile. -Scott Holter.

The Stranglers were early labelled as "punk", but, while they were never short of vitriol and aggression, they were more properly a quintessentially New Wave band. Years of gigging together meant they were exceptionally tight and technically competent from the start, with Dave Greenfield's almost progressive-sounding keyboards somehow sitting easily alongside Hugh Cornwall's needle-sharp guitar and Frenchman Jean-Jacques Burnel's growling bass. Always lovers of the freaky and absurd, they constantly experimented with different approaches in their albums, yet each could usually be relied upon to produce at least one offbeat yet irresistibly catchy and charismatic single. This collection covers their career up to when Hugh Cornwell left the band, but sacrifices breadth of coverage for depth, missing out on some of the more fascinatingly bizarre avenues they took over the years. Nevertheless, the tracks still stretch from the lyrically double-edged hypnotic waltz of "Golden Brown" to the tongue-in-cheek fury of "Something Better Change". The definitive guide to the earlier years remains The Collection, 1977-1982, but albums such as the startlingly stylish and catchy debut Rattus Norvegicus, the punky and attitude-driven No More Heroes and the immensely delicate and tuneful Aural Sculpture (complete with three-piece horn section!) are every bit as good in their own right. -James Swift.

A fresh listen to the original 15 tracks on Sonic Youth's Dirty reminds one just how great this 1992 album is in its original form. Remember the pop-sludge of "Sugar Cane"? The polit-grit of "Youth Against Fascism"? The sexy grind of "Drunken Butterfly"? How about SY's version of wistfulness on "Wish Fulfillment" or their brilliant, nonsensical cover of the hardcore number "Nic Fit?". Plus, you had "Chapel Hill, "JC", "Purr", and "100%" to rock you into froth. Now, take all that and add a dozen (mostly) instrumental rehearsal recordings of those songs taking shape ("Barracuda" emerged as "Drunken Butterfly", while "Guido" and "Little Jammy Thing" gave birth to "Wish Fulfillment"). These rehearsal tracks follow two previously released instrumental B-sides-"The End of the End of the Ugly" and "Tamra"-creating a blissfully long wash of sound, veering from hypnotic, pastoral soundscapes to kinetic experiments held together by dark, probing rhythms. The second disc alone is priceless given that it may be the closest thing to a true instrumental Sonic Youth release that will ever appear. A handful of other B-sides and goodies round a collection that's worth every penny it costs. -Lorry Fleming.

Arguably the finest blues guitarist of his generation, Wisconsin-born Stevie Ray Vaughan initially learnt his chops on his brother-and Fabulous Thunderbirds' mainstay-Jimmie's hand-me-down guitars whilst glued to the works of Albert King and Lonnie Mack. After honing his skills in the late 70s with a variety of lacklustre combos, he was headhunted by David Bowie for 1983's Let's Dance tour, but left early to concentrate on his solo work. On this, his third album, Vaughan's virtuosity is both augmented and accentuated by Double Trouble, a backing band of rare competence, finally allowed to shine after having played a singularly supportive role to Stevie on earlier efforts. From the throbbing mid-tempo blues grooves of "Say What", through the barroom shuffle of "Look At Little Sister" to the head-spinning, flying-finger dexterity of "Empty Arms", Soul To Soul stands as a fitting epitaph to a true master of the blues. -Ian Fortnam.

As if to accentuate their fundamental hugeness, Metallica (arguably the most consistently innovative metal band of the 80s and 90s) stretched yet further into the arena of the titanic with this immense cohesion of the orchestral and the truly seismic. Recorded live at California's Berkeley Community Theatre with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra under the direction of composer and arranger Michael Kamen, S & M showcases over two hours of the band's best known material including the muscular thrash of "Master Of Puppets" and the devastating power of "Enter Sandman". Also featuring a pair of brand new compositions-the pounding menace of "Human" and chest-beating nihilism of "No Leaf Clover"-S & M steers clear of pompous self-indulgence in favour of sheer blistering intensity. Kamen's orchestral arrangements perfectly complement the underlying subtlety of Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett and Newsted's singularly bombastic muse and the end result is nothing short of awesome. -Ian Fortnam.

In the wake of Michael Hutchence's tragic death, INXS's Greatest Hits seems sadly ironic in that it is, in part, a fitting eulogy and biography. No doubt about it, Hutchence gave the band its charisma, its sensuality, and also its funk appeal. So what if he couldn't dance? His phrasing and sense of timing were more than half of the rhythm behind "Need You Tonight", "What You Need", and "New Sensation". He even gave Mick Jagger a run for his money with "Devil Inside" and "Suicide Blonde". As a band, INXS were a finely honed machine, even from the beginning new-wave horns of "The One Thing" to the more orchestral "Never Tear Us Apart". The collection also contains two unreleased tracks, but, interestingly enough, the transcending and powerful "Don't Change" is nowhere to be found. -Steve Gdula.

To have resisted Def Leppard's radio power in their heyday, you'd have to have been a critic-and even some of us could hardly argue with the likes of "Photograph," "Animal," and "Bringin' on the Heartbreak. " Vault covers a decade and a half of hits by the one-time wonder boys of the new wave of British metal, but perhaps inevitably concentrates on singles from the multiplatinum Pyromania and Hysteria. It offers little meaning beyond fun fun fun, but there are hooks here that Noel Gallagher would punch a paparazzo for. -Rickey Wright.