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tory, challenging, sublime, unfath- omable. Do not adjust your set. -AZ S H DAVID BERKELEY Edited by Michael Paoletta SHANIA TWAIN The Confluence UP! PRODUCER: Alex Weinstein PRODUCER: Robert John "Mutt" Lange Ten Good 02 POP Mercury 088170 This 11 -track first volley from debutant This double -CD follow -up to Shania folkster David Berkeley shows a talent in ELTON JOHN 1Wain's previous two multiplatinum its genesis. The songs are inviting and Greatest Hits 1970 -2002 efforts features both "pop" and "more nicely crafted, the musicianship is profi- PRODUCERS: various pop" versions of 19 new livain/Lange cient, and all the right sensibilities seem UTV /Universal /UME 440 063 478 compositions. Both discs boast a signa- to be in place. While rising above that In this career -spanning collection, ture Lange sound- crisp, punchy, middle tier of folk singer/songwriters Elton John gathers together 34 stellar multi -layered, with hooks for days. It's who are difficult to distinguish one from songs -most of which should be famil- also quintessential Shania, light as another, Berkeley is still a touch shy of iar to even the most casual fan. The vapor, sweet as sugar, rendered with knocking out those quiet and mighty double -disc, digitally remastered set personality and undeniable charisma. hymns that mark the best of the folk comes in two versions, one for the U.S. Twain works hard on such bouncy fare genre. His melodies are fresh and sweet and another (with an altered tracklist) JAY-Z as the title cut, the swirling debut sin- GEORGE HARRISON though not quite unforgettable. His for the rest of the world. The American The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse Brainwashed lyrics, often captivating (as on "The City edition includes 22 of John's top 10 PRODUCERS: various PRODUCERS: George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, of the Second Hand"), are also a tad trite Hot 100 singles- though a few notable Roc -A -Fella /Island Def Jam 440 063 381 Dhani Harrison at times ( "Waters whisper out my tracks are missing, including the No. 1 Jay -Z delivers the most ambitious Dark Horse /EMI 41969 name. ") That said, one can't deny the "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds." and most fully realized album of With Brainwashed-the album on dramatic punch of "Drowning," the fret - Since John has too many hits to in- his career with the masterful dou- which 1992 Billboard Century Award board finesse of "Miss Maybe," or the lilt- clude in a two -disc set, there is room ble -disc Blueprint 2. With contri- honoree George Harrison was work- ing appeal of "A Moon Song." Berkeley to quibble with the content. Still, there butions from Dr. Dre, OutKast's ing at the time of his death almost could well have what it takes to win a isn't a clunker in the bunch, and there- Big Boi, the Neptunes, and even one year ago-the Beatles' other wide audience. But his better moments fore it's a solid overview of the Rocket Notorious B.I.G. (posthumously), songwriter has left us with a transcen- on The Confluence suggest that first he Man's oeuvre. Fans take note: The first the album plays like a who's who of dent musical postcard. With 11 origi- may need to forget everything he has pressing of the album includes a limit- A -list hip -hop. Even with such an nal cuts (plus a mirthful ukulele cover learned and trust his gut for a while. ed- edition bonus disc with a handful of abundance of high -profile guests, of Count Basie's "Between the Devil Contact 917- 273 -1497. -AZ extra tracks, including the No. 1 "Don't the star remains Jay -Z, who contin- and the Deep Blue Sea"), his signature Let the Sun Go Down on Me" with ues to grow as an artist. Whether lead and slide guitar work, and an George Michael. -KC dueting with Beyoncé Knowles indefatigable combination of social R&B/HIP-HOP ( "'03 Bonnie & Clyde "), rhyming indictment ( "Brainwashed "), wry * BADLY DRAWN BOY over a Lenny Kravitz guitar riff gle "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!," and humor ("P2 Vatican Blues "), and spiri- DJ QUIK Have You Fed the Fish? ( "Guns & Roses "), or infusing such interchangeable girl -power tuality ( "Looking for My Life "), there The Best of DJ Quik /Da Finale PRODUCERS:Tom Rothrock, Badly Drawn Boy operatic samples into his work anthems as "She's Not Just a Pretty isn't a flat moment on the disc. The PRODUCERS: DJ Quik, G -One, Rob ArtistDirect 1066 ( "Blueprint 2 "), he continually Face," "Nah!," "In My Car (I'll be the songs of this album, admirably com- "Fonksta" Bacon Brit alt -pop phenomenon Badly Drawn pushes the envelope of his aesthet- Driver)," and Latin- tinged "Juanita." pleted by his son Dhani and longtime BMG Heritage /Arista 0611 Boy (aka Damon Gough) is a man of ic landscape. Lyrically and themati- The breezy "Forever and for Always" friend Jeff Lynne, further confirm Longevity in rap music is rare. In a shrugging airs and saving graces. In a cally, Jay -Z sticks to familiar turf: shows impressive range, and 'wain Harrison's importance to the Beatles, genre that is often unfriendly to veter- world of mimicry and way too much disc 1 (The Gift) is essentially a infuses "I Ain't Goin' Down" with some as well as his individual brilliance. an acts, DJ Quik has ably maintained a yawn -metal, Have You Fed the Fish? is a party album, while disc 2 (The passion. It's hard to stay UP! over the Beautifully fatalistic and unimposing - lucrative career for the better part of treasure trove of musical curios; a Curse) is a grittier mix of observa- course of 19 cuts (never mind 38), and ly pedagogical, Brainwashed is quite 12 years. A pioneer of West Coast hip - pixie's melting pot of gems and bottle - tions on the urban experience and Twain's trademark vocal tricks do get possibly Harrison's next-to -best album hop, David "DJ Quik" Blake was first caps -from Beatles references to clunky the rapper's latest response to his repetitive. All the better for her fans, and a sober reminder that his passing introduced to the world via Quik Is the piano giggle ballads ( "40 Days, 40 hangers -on and detractors. -BG though; expect precious metal.-RW is a loss too large to measure.-AZ Name (Profile). Quik put his own Fights "), from bare -bones acoustic touch on West Coast hip -hop as one of tracks to the odd dash of soul ( "Using the first artist/producers in the game. Our Feet"). And, lyrically, the Boy just * BLACK DICE ric acid. But even that analogy sug- musicians disrupting the disrupted Five albums later, his funk -inspired may be the new J.D. Salinger of pop. Beaches & Canyons gests way too much cohesion to char- inner man and gunning down all para- tales of parties, ladies, and gangs in the This is one man's unabashed non -fash- PRODUCER: NicolasVernhes acterize this hour -long aural on- digms. There is hardly a vocal to be streets of Compton, Calif., still have ion statement with songs that have a DFA 2125 slaught. Fact is, there isn't any. This is found, apart from a few incoherent heads nodding. Classic tracks like delightfully casual- though never Here is an album for which new adjec- sonic anarchy -too interesting and too chants and monkey rants. And yet "Tonite" and "Born and Raised in disheveled-feel to them. But the over- tives need to be invented. Unfortunate- thought -provoking to cast aside: five Beaches probably reflects the world Compton" are both nostalgic and re- arching impression of nonchalance ly, George Orwell isn't available. Black long tracks of electronic bleeps and better than anything Springsteen has freshing. The album also includes two belies the depth of talent in play. In an Dice's Beaches & Canyons is like blurps, echoes, loops, and walls of feed- done. But can you handle the truth? new tracks, "Streets Iz Catlin' " and the era of musical plastic surgery, Fish is a Robert Fripp getting jiggy with Charles back that just might drive you half This isn't "thinking outside the box" - wry smile of an album.-AZ Manson ... in a huge vat of hydrochlo- crazy. And that may be the point: four there is no box. Maddening, hallucina- (Continued on page 20)

I T A L R E I S S U E S

ENYA even casual listeners, from the spartan VARIOUS ARTISTS together 33 of the 36 released tracks Only lime-The Collection instrumental "Watermark," the haunt- Virginia Roots: The 1929 Richmond cut in October 1929 by 13 different PRODUCER: Nicky Ryan ing "On Your Shore," and more upbeat Sessions Richmond -area acts. Drawing from a Reprise 92112 fare such as "Book of Days" (the latter REISSUE PRODUCER: Ron T. Curry pool of talent that mainly performed Musical trends come and go, but for rerecorded with new lyrics for the film ORIGINAL PRODUCERS: various on local radio, OKeh recorded a the past 15 years, Enya's popularity has Far and Away) and "Storms of Africa." Outhouse 1001 broad variety of roots music -jubilee only grown more widespread. Pigeon- Indeed, there are very few, if any, of Ralph Peer's 1927 Bristol, Tenn., ses- quartets (doing both sacred and holed early in her career for her Enya's best recordings absent here sions (recently issued on CD by BMG blues material), shape -note singers, a music's more overt new -age leanings, ( "Orinoco Flow" starts disc two). A Heritage), which introduced Jimmie blues harmonica soloist, country fid- the Irish vocalist persevered and has handful of obscurities sweeten the pot, Rodgers and the Carter Family, are dlers, even a Hawaiian -guitar band. rung up sales in excess of 60 million including "Ofche Chiúin (Silent probably the best-known commercial Virginia Roots not only probes the albums worldwide since her 1987 Night)" from a BBC Christmas special field recordings of them all. But richness of musical tradition in the debut, The Celts. That release is the and the Japan-only "Isobella." The set these lesser -known OKeh Records region but also affords a thrilling starting point for Only Time-The closes with the video of "Ofche sides are no less revelatory. The pres- glimpse into the methodology of Collection, a four-disc, 51 -track career Chiúin." Only Time is a bit compre- ent two -CD set -released in con- bush -beating recording expeditions retrospective packed with favorites and hensive for beginners, but is the ulti- junction with an exhibit that runs in the bygone days of "race" and some hard -to -find material. Any num- mate place to turn for those with an through next March at the Library of "hillbilly" recording. Distributed ber of these songs will be familiar to unquenchable Enya habit. -!C Virginia in Richmond -brings by Sidestreet. -CM

Bradley Bambarger, Keith Caulfield, Leila Cobo, Jonathan Cohen, Gordon Ely, Brian Garrity, Rashaun Hall, Gail Mitchell, Chris Morris, Michael Paoletta, Philip vanVleck, Ray Waddell, Adrian Zupp. SPOTLIGHT: Releas-

CONTRIBUTORS es deemed by the review editors to deserve special attention on the basis of musical merit and/or Billboard chart potential.VITAL REISSUES: Rereleased albums of special artistic, archival, and commercial interest, and outstanding collections of works by one or more artists. PICKS I ): New releases predicted to hit the top half of the chart in the corresponding format. CRITICS' CHOICES ( *): New releases, regardless of chart potential, highly recommended because of their musical merit. All albums commercially available in the U.S. are eligible. Send review copies to Michael Paoletta (Billboard, 770 Broadway, 6th floor, NewYork, N.Y. 10003) or to the writers in the appropriate bureaus.

BILLBOARD NOVEMBER 30, 2002 www.billboard.com 19 www.americanradiohistory.com