Everybody in the mainstream rap world these days is so obsessed with thug culture and trying to manufacture some ridiculous "gangsta" image. Which is a shame, because rap and hip-hop were a helluva lot more fun when rappers weren't afraid to smile.

Run-DMC's Raising Hell and Beastie Boys' Licence To Ill, both released in 1986, are testaments to this loose, wild, and occassionally goofy era. Run-DMC and Jam Master Jay (R.I.P.) craft lots of great tracks with creative samples and beats, layered vocals, and lyricism that is both tight and laugh-out loud funny. A lot of the samples are of big guitars, emphasizing the crossover of rock and rap prevalent at the time. Witness Run-DMC's cover of Walk This Way, featuring the participation of Steve Tyler and Joe Perry and a big hit in the pallid hair metal-dominated landscape of 1987.

Most every track is solid, and there is a share of all-time classics on here--You Be Illin', It's Tricky, the title cut, and of course the immortal Peter Piper (which has been sampled by other acts from here to infinity). The line "Turntables wobble, but they don't fall down!" on its own is worth buying the album for. My Adidas pretty much started the rap trend of product endorsement, which is unfortunate because the track is pretty good. The closer Proud To Be Black is a humourous take on what would later become the ethos of afrocentric groups like Public Enemy.

In summary, Raising Hell proved that at the time Run-DMC were "The Kings Of Rock," and should not be missed by anyone, even listeners who generally avoid the rap genre. If you dig it, I also recommend the Beastie Boys' first two albums.

At The Drive-In has to be among the most unique and hard-to-pigeonhole bands of the 90's. They are too melodic and adventurous for hardcore (even though their level of intensity is close to bands like The Refused), and although they are frequently lumped in as part of the emo genre, there is nothing explicitly "emo" about ATDI--no whiny vocals, no middle school-level poetry about lost girlfriends, and no fake irritating screams that are supposed to evoke "emotion." Relationship Of Command, the band's third and final album, is filled with fast tempos, relentlessly pounding rhythms, dense collages of dissonant sound, killer choruses, and bizarre lyrics with some sort of underlying political meaning--this is 100% ATDI, and nothing else.

This is hands-down one of the most energetic and explosive albums I own. Afro-headed vocalist Cedric Bixler's high vocals are barked/screamed with a force that few can manage, Omar Rodriguez and Jim Ward's guitars lead the assault, and the talented rhythm section hammers it home. Although at first Relationship Of Command may sound like noise, there is a lot of depth beneath the seeming anarchy, and each listen reveals sounds (pianos, melodica, sythesizers, odd effects) that were not heard before. This album is a real grower.

If I haven't made it clear by now every track, from the killer opener Arcanarsenal to the spooky end of Non-Zero Possibility, absolutely rules. Faves include the near-hit One Armed Scissor, the ultra-catchy Enfilade, the brutal Cosmonaut, and Invalid Letter Dept. which contains perhaps the most haunting lyric in the whole thing ("They made sure all the obituaries showed pictures of smoke stacks..").

It's a crying shame that ATDI broke up after releasing this album, but on the other hand I think they would've had a helluva time trying to top this release. Don't fret, however. Cedric and Omar (the truly brilliant members of this band) went on to form the equally unique Mars Volta. Definitely check out Deloused In The Comatorium along with Relationship Of Command. In any case, everyone with a working set of eardrums owes it to themselves to get this record.

It should be known that I think Eric Clapton is one of the most overrated guitarists in existence. He's good, his playing is clean and consistent, but he's hardly "God" or anything ridiculous like that. It's pretty telling that for the most part Clapton hasn't come up with much worth listening to after this 1970 album.

However, after coming up a tight, cohesive collection of blues rock with this fine one-shot, I bet ol' Eric doesn't feel that he needs to prove much. His guitar (both slide and lead) work on Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs, a record dedicated to his secret love of George Harrison's wife, is probably the best he's ever laid down.

However, the real news is the rest of this fine collaboration. You have multi-instrumentalist and fine vocalist Bobby Whitlock and the talented rhythm team of Jim Gordon and Carl Radle. Finally, you have the almighty Duane Allman on second guitar. If there was a blues guitarist to rival Hendrix, Zappa, Vaughn, Page, and the like it would be Duane Allman. His skilled playing upstages Clapton throughout the record, and also prods him into working even harder. While Clapton may be the leader of this exceptional band, Allman is the show-stopper. Without him and Whitlock, Layla would never get off the ground.

As far as the record is concerned, it's very consistent from top to bottom. I can't single out anything as filler, and the lyrics are very heartfelt. Eric's vocals are decent here, though kinda bland. Whitlock's soulful backing definitely helps out here. Duane is transcendent as he plays some of the finest guitar lines here, including the famous 8-note opening of Layla. The best songs here are the opening I Looked Away, the fun Keep On Growing, the classic ballad Bell Bottom Blues, and a cover of Hendrix's Little Wing. While it doesn't top the pyrotechnic beauty of the original in my estimation, it's still damn fine.

And then we come to the title track. This song deserves its own paragraph. Scorching guitar, Clapton's best-ever vocal performance, and a gorgeous piano instrumental all conspire to make this one of the best songs EVER. The only drawback is that it makes the beautiful Whitlock-performed closer Thorn Tree In The Garden, a fine song in its own right, feel completely anticlimactic.

In my opinion, Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs is the best Clapton release and a must-have classic recording. It's not quite on the level of blues rock masterpieces such as Led Zeppelin's II or the Allman Brothers' Live At The Filmore East, but it's up there.

Jar Of Flies, Alice In Chains' fourth album and second EP, follows the tradition of electric full album/acoustic EP started by Facelift and Sap. Jar Of Flies followed up on perhaps their greatest release, the hard and bleak Dirt. While Jar Of Flies maintains much of the same spirit of that album, it's less harshly bleak than it is meloncholy and sad.

Part of the difference has to do with the dichotomy of beautiful acoustic arrangements and strings, and Jerry Cantrell's signature electric riffs. Layne Staley's voice is a little flatter than usual due to heavy drug use, but given the nature of the album this works well. The lyrics are introspective and confessional, very much a Layne Staley trademark.

Five songs are easily worth the cost of the EP. Rotten Apple features a haunting chant and Cantrell's spooky guitar. The bleak Nutshell deals with Layne's feeling of being violated by the media, and features the foreshadowing line "If I can't be my own/I'd feel better dead." I Stay Away is a brilliant mix of grinding guitars and stirring violin crescendos. No Excuses is perhaps one of the happiest Alice In Chains songs, with some nice cello. Don't Follow is my favorite song, and somehow reminds me of Delta blues (especially due to the harmonica). The lyrics are some of Layne's best, and paint an unflinching self-portrait:

"Forgot my woman, lost my friends/
Things I'd done where I've been/
Sleep in sweat, the mirror's cold/
See my face, it's growin' old/

Scared to death no reason why/
Do whatever to get me by/
Think about the things I said/
Read the page it's cold and dead/
Take me home..."

The only two songs I feel are wanting are Whale And Wasp, which is beautiful but way too short, and Swing On This, which is a fine enough song but doesn't fit the mood of the EP. Jar Of Flies is an essential release, and remains the perfect companion piece to Dirt. Reccommended.

It's too bad that Metallica is now associated with the Napster debacle and excreble trash such as Load and St. Anger, because at one point they were underground metal masters pumping out thrash gems like Ride The Lightning, Master Of Puppets, and this. Easily a Holy Metal Triumvirate if there ever was one.

..And Justice For All, released after the unfortunate death of brilliant bassist Cliff Burton, is the most epic and complex effort from Metallica to date. With the exception of the pummeling Dyers Eve, you won't find much cave-your-head-in hyper thrash. What you will find, however, is brilliantly dynamic progressive metal, embracing lots of tempo and riff changes. The lyrics are some of the best the band has ever put out, addressing the issue of justice and the abuses thereof.

So, why does this album get rated lower than the perennial classics Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets? For one thing, Jason Newsted's bass is completely removed (!), making this album sound a bit too thin. For another thing, fans take exception to the fact that the brilliant war ballad One made it to MTV video rotation. The first issue can be overlooked, and the second issue is just moronic. I for one am glad One made it to MTV--how often does something this progressive, heavy, and intelligent make it into the overcommercialized, soulless and bland popular music market? Definitely a far cry from Frantic, or even Enter Sandman, if you get my drift.

Moving on, there is so much good material here despite the somewhat lacking production. The Newsted-penned Blackened is a great opener, and a riff monster. The title track is an incredible epic, One is the chilling tale of a crippled Vietnam vet longing for his own demise, Harvester Of Sorrow is a crushing dirge, and To Live Is To Die is an emotional instrumental featuring a bit of poetry from the deceased Cliff. The album ends in the tradition of Damage Inc. with the raging thrash of Dyers Eve.

This is an absolutely essential Metallica album, and the complete opposite of what was to come with the Black Album in 1991. Buy this along with Master Of Puppets and Ride The Lightning, and prepare to blow your speakers. Oh, and buy St. Anger too. I hear it makes a very attractive coaster.

Animals, the fifth album in the unstoppable series of 1970's Pink Floyd recordings, is oft-overlooked by the general public. Which is a shame, because this is both Roger Water's best lyrical effort (in my opinion) and a showcase for David Gilmour's finest guitar work. This 1977 album sees the whole band working together, which would not be seen again in the years to come with The Wall and The Final Cut.

This is Pink Floyd's angriest album and one of their most political, eschewing the spacey melancholy of Wish You Were Here for more minimalist, discordant textures. It is lyrically patterned around George Orwell's classic political novel Animal Farm (if you haven't read it GO READ IT RIGHT NOW!). Tycoons and corporate bigwigs represent the "Pigs," yuppies and relentless social climbers are the "Dogs," and the meek and dogmatic followers are the "Sheep." There is one song dedicated to each character sketch, and each is lyrically savage. Waters is in incredible form here, spitting out such lines as "You radiate cold shafts of broken glass," "You believe at heart, everyone's a killer," and "Ha, ha, charade you are." Classic.

But enough about that. What is REALLY impressive about this album is how such long songs--17 minutes for Dogs, 12 minutes for Pigs (Three Different Ones), and 10 minutes for Sheep--manage to feel like five minutes. This is due to the band's remarkable performance. Waters' moody basslines carry the song, while Richard Wright's perfectly placed keyboards add atmosphere and Nick Mason keeps the pace steady. This leaves the mighty guitarist David Gilmour to cut loose with some of his most edgy, emotional work. Whether it be eerie floating chords, clever animal-sound talkboxing, or dry runs for Comfortably Numb (see the spine-tingling coda of Pigs), Gilmour is absolutely inspired and never bores me despite the extremely progressive song lengths. The album is nicely bookended by a 2-part short acoustic ballad Pigs On The Wing, which is performed solely by Waters.

What makes Animals even more remarkable is that so few people have heard it. Every fan of Pink Floyd should have this release. Although some of the political references are a bit dated (one lyric makes reference to Mary Whitehouse, sort of an English Tipper Gore) few of 1977's punk albums contain the same level of articulate anger. If you're new to Pink Floyd, start with Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here, but once you are ready to get your mind blown, pick Animals up.

By all rights, Sigur Ros' second album ( ) should be the biggest load of pretentious claptrap ever released. The album has no title and there are no official song titles or liner notes, in order for the listener to "get in touch" with the music, the band is backed by an orchestra, the lyrics are sung in a made-up language composed of a few syllables, and the songs are LONG. Really long--about 8 minutes on average. Sounds like something the worst progressive bands of the 70's would do. Right?

Wrong. The concept may be suspect at first, but Sigur Ros deliver in spades with some of the most beautiful, chilling, saddening soundscapes imaginable. Each track moves at a glacial pace, filling your ears with perfectly placed piano, drums, bass and strings, while the distortion and cascading feedback of the bowed guitars give the music an otherworldly aura. Singer Jonsi floats over top, with his ethereal, Thom Yorke-esque voice. Forget trying to make any sense out of the "Hopelandic" language, as it really isn't a "language" as such. Instead, just treat Jonsi's voice as another instrument, a la early REM or Cocteau Twins. Clever concept, but it's been done better by other artists.

Each composition flows into each other without feeling too samey. Dynamics are put to great use, most notably on the last two songs. The first half of the album seems to be "lighter" and dreamlike, while the second half is "darker," more haunting. To a punk or pop listener, the songs will be too long, too hookless, and boring. This is not an album for short attention spans, or for people looking for background music. If you listen to the songs carefully, each will have its own reward. Track 3 is a song fit for a eulogy, its spiraling piano melody suggesting ascension into heaven. Track 4 is an expression of joy, while tracks 6 and 7 are a slow, dark descent before the final track, which ends in a breathtakingly powerful climax. The band clearly knows how to save the best for last.

Comparisons to Godspeed You Black Emperor and Mogwai are frequent, but I think Sigur Ros is closer to the winter equivalent of My Bloody Valentine, especially the album Loveless. While My Bloody Valentine's warm flurry of white noise recalls a vibrant summer day, Sigur Ros' music is best listened to on a quiet snowy night. ( ) is highly recommended to fans of progressive music or anyone looking for something unique.

Ah, at last I have the great priviledge of reviewing Hendrix's debut album, the almighty Are You Experienced? Not his best album, in my opinion (that title goes to either Electric Ladyland or the live album Band Of Gypsys, by a hair) but certainly his most influential and most important record. This album right here forever redefined the role of the guitarist in rock music.

Are You Experienced? is one of the greatest records in the Class of 1967 and that's not small praise. Despite its 60's flower-power psychedelia it has aged better than either Sgt. Pepper or Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (the most radically psychedelic release). The Doors' debut record is great and had its own followers in the punk and post-punk genres, but not as nearly as many as Hendrix. The only release that compares in influence is the dark, druggy Velvet Underground's "Banana Album," but Are You Experienced? is slightly more enjoyable than The Velvet Underground And Nico, at least to my ear.

Alright, enough comparisons. How is the music? BRILLIANT. Jimi Hendrix, through the course of 17 tracks (the original album had 11) obliterates his Stratocaster and your mind. Blues with an acid twist (Red House, Hey Joe, The Wind Cries Mary) sonic pyrotechnics (I Don't Live Today, Manic Depression, Love Or Confusion), funk scorchers (Fire, Foxey Lady, Purple Haze), weird sound collages (the title track, Third Stone From The Sun)--it's all here. The fact that half of this album has become a classic radio mainstay should tell you something. Hell, even the B-sides are gems. I LOVE Highway Chile, 51st Anniversary, and Red House.

Jimi's voice is playful, Dylan-esque, hypnotic and ominous, giving us some truly unforgettable lyrics ("There ain't no life no where," "You'll probably scream and cry that your little world won't let you go.."). Mitch Mitchell's wild, exuberant work behind the kit pushed Jimi to his limit, while Noel Redding on bass somehow manages to anchor it all. There are so many guitarists who owe a debt to this record--Steve Vai, David Gilmour, John Petrucci, Tom Morello, Kim Thayil, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jerry Cantrell, Tony Iommi...the list goes on and on. Both Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend (hardly novices) reconsidered their careers after hearing this record, and for good reason. Few artists have ever topped Are You Experienced? for guitar virtuosity, and the half-dozen master axemen that can rival Hendrix's ability can't match the soulful mystique brimming from this album.

Jimi's later work would be a little more disciplined, yet still just as wonderful. Few artists were as consistent--four albums in a row, all with five-star ratings @ Amazon. Buy all of Hendrix's albums up to Band Of Gypsys, starting with this. Your collection just isn't complete without Jimi.

Neil Young is perhaps the most versatile and prolific singer-songwriter in existence. Country (Neil Young and the Stray Gators), psychedelia (Buffalo Springfield), proto-grunge (Neil Young and Crazy Horse), and folk rock (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young) are just some of the styles he's dabbled with. And inexplicably, a lot of his best stuff almost never sees radio airplay.

Which is what makes Decade remarkable. Unlike most compilations, Decade's tracks were selected by the artist himself, not by corporations who want only the radio hits on there. So along with heavily played classics (Cinnamon Girl, Southern Man, Ohio, Old Man, Long May You Run, Heart Of Gold), you get plenty of rarities and underrated cuts (Down To The Wire, Mr. Soul, Sugar Mountain, The Loner, Winterlong, Tonight's The Night, For The Turnstiles and so on) all on one album. Pretty impressive. Especially so when one realizes that this was all recorded from 1966-76.

While all the material is well-chosen and great, I have to say that my favorite Neil is the proto-grunge guitarist with Crazy Horse as his backing band. Down By The River, Cowgirl In The Sand, Like A Hurricane, and Cortez The Killer are in my eyes the best cuts, full of edgy and sharp guitar jams. Neil's lyrics are always introspective, emotional, intelligent, and occasionally controversial (Southern Man with its condemnation of the Deep South comes to mind). While his voice is a little thin and somewhat of an acquired taste, it is unique and imitated today by many vocalists.

If you're looking for a great intro to Neil Young, you can't go wrong with Decade. Once you find your favorite Neil style, go into the individual albums of your choosing--On The Beach, Harvest, Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere, etc. If you want a GREAT live release, go buy Rust Never Sleeps as well.

Note: The only problem with this album that keeps me from giving it a five-star rating is an apparent quality control problem on part of Reprise. Two brand-new copies of Decade I purchased had flaws that keep me from playing certain tracks using either Musicmatch or Media Player. Now, while it is not uncommon to run into one badly printed copy, finding TWO of them (at different stores no less) suggests that there is something amiss. It's extremely frustrating to have to drop a lot of money on a 2-disc set only to find flaws.

Metal fans have been bearing witness to Metallica's steady decline since the Black Album in 1991. Although the Black Album (the first Bob Rock-produced Metallica release) was actually quite good, it definitely wasn't on par with the brilliance of Master Of Puppets or ..And Justice For All. And that's okay, for those lofty peaks were hard to top.

But after that, it doesn't seem like Lars Ulrich (drums) and James Hetfield (rhythm guitar, vocals) were even trying anymore. Load and Reload were both mediocre alternative rock records of very little merit. Then came Garage Inc. and S&M, both of which contained almost no new material and were cynical attempts to cash in on the glory of the Metallica name.

When I heard that Metallica were coming out with a heavy record that was hard and fast yet completely different from their thrash material, I was filled with tentative anticipation. Would St. Anger be great? Sadly, no.

Metallica, once the great innovator of the metal genre, has now seen fit to copy, of ALL things, nu-metal (!). As in Linkin Park, Godsmack, and Korn. As in no guitar solos (why is Kirk Hammett even HERE?), percussion that sounds like tin cans, and stupid lyrics. And I mean extremely inane. Take for example, Frantic: "Frantic-TICK-TOCK-TICK-TOCK-TICK-TOCK!" Or the title track: "Saint Anger around my neck (Flush it out! Flush it out!)."

In part, the band's climate doomed the record. Ulrich was busy in court suing Napster (hypocrite), Hetfield was just out of rehab for drinking problems, and Jason Newsted (bass) left the band, leaving Bob Rock to fill in on St. Anger. That's Bob playing bass, not Rob Trujillo who was hired after the fact. The album was recorded in something less than 2 weeks, and as such frequently sounds like a demo. So in retrospect, it's not surprising why this album is horrible. But that's no excuse.

St. Anger, if I haven't made it clear by now, is the worst Metallica record. If you want a great record by thrash legends, may I turn your attention to Anthrax's great comeback We've Come For You All? John Bush is a great vocalist, and the rest of the band sounds almost as vital as they did back in '86. Buy that instead of this overhyped nu-metal release. Sorry Lars, you won't get my coin again.