If you are considering divorcing a rock star, let Hello, I Must Be Going! serve as fair warning of what you're likely to face once the papers have been signed and the settlements made. Collins got the last word on sundering his relationship with first wife Jill (he actually addresses her by name on the album!) and managed to deliver it to millions of homes via this album, which contains one blistering diatribe after another: "I Don't Care Anymore", "I Cannot Believe It's True", "Do You Know, Do You Care?" and "It Don't Matter to Me". The mood is tempered a bit by a lively remake of the Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love" and "Like China", a sprightly rocker celebrating new love. Yet as listenable and engaging as it is, Hello, I Must Be Going! has to be regarded as one of the angriest albums in mainstream rock history, which is great stuff, when you're in the mood for that sort of thing. -Daniel Durchholz.

Technically, it was Paul and Linda McCartney, since this album was very much a collaboration between them. Some of the material was of the standard we expected ("Monkberry Moon Delight," "The Backseat of My Car," "Uncle Albert/AdmiralHalsey"), but somehow it all seemed entirely too whimsical, as if they'd spent a bit too long isolated on the farm. It was the expectations that were the problem, of course. Paul was simply making a lighthearted album, and we wanted earth-shaking pronouncements. Take Ram on its own terms (i. e. , fun), and it's throughly enjoyable. -Chris Nickson.

This, pop superstar Joel's breakout LP, came years after he first hit the charts with the novelty-ish "Piano Man. " In the meantime, the New York-based songwriter released two lackluster and stylistically confused platters that blunted interesting songs with a sound that was neither Elton mellow nor Elton attitude. Produced by Phil Ramone, The Stranger took those who had written Joel off as a one-hit wonder by surprise ("Just the Way You Are" was among the biggest hits of 1977) and it remains a solid introduction to Joel's restless muse at a crucial point in his career. It invited a few comparisons to Bruce Springsteen, with its prominent sax breaks, hard-edged rebel-rockers ("Only the Good Die Young"), and slice-of-life dramatics ("Scenes From an Italian Restaurant"), recounting life in a lower middle-class (Eastern Urban) setting; but Joel's chameleonic, formalist approach to pop wasn't to be so easily pigeonholed (Glass Houses, The Nylon Curtain, An Innocent Man. ). -Don Harrison.

This, pop superstar Joel's breakout LP, came years after he first hit the charts with the novelty-ish "Piano Man. " In the meantime, the New York-based songwriter released two lackluster and stylistically confused platters that blunted interesting songs with a sound that was neither Elton mellow nor Elton attitude. Produced by Phil Ramone, The Stranger took those who had written Joel off as a one-hit wonder by surprise ("Just the Way You Are" was among the biggest hits of 1977) and it remains a solid introduction to Joel's restless muse at a crucial point in his career. It invited a few comparisons to Bruce Springsteen, with its prominent sax breaks, hard-edged rebel-rockers ("Only the Good Die Young"), and slice-of-life dramatics ("Scenes From an Italian Restaurant"), recounting life in a lower middle-class (Eastern Urban) setting; but Joel's chameleonic, formalist approach to pop wasn't to be so easily pigeonholed (Glass Houses, The Nylon Curtain, An Innocent Man. ). -Don Harrison.

Suspense is crucial to soul music. The great soul singers from Sam Cooke and Smokey Robinson to Al Green and Prince have always allowed for the possibility that their romantic pleadings might be rejected. No active singer creates more suspense in his or her songs than Luther Vandross, whose Never Let Me Go is one of his best. For example, in the opening verse of the first single, "Little Miracles (Happen Every Day)," the lonely singer longs for someone to talk to, and the gospelish, voice-and-piano arrangement is heavily echoed to make it sound even lonelier. On a happy, uptempo song like "Heaven Knows," there's a hint of uncertainty. The music radiates optimism, as a catchy pop rock hook is married to coproducer Marcus Miller's out-front R&B bass riff. As on every album, Vandross includes a tribute to his musical roots, and this time it's a medley of the Bee Gees' 1977 disco double entendre "How Deep Is Your Love," an instrumental version of the Spinners' '74 hit "Love Don't Love Nobody," and the '54 Johnny Ace hit "Never Let Me Go. " In this pop-music era of overbearing arrogance and unending self-pity, Vandross's suspenseful balance of yearning and doubt may be mistaken for slickness by some glib observers. For anyone interested in hearing a great voice explore the subtleties of adult romance, however, you won't find anything better than Vandross's. -Geoffrey Himes.