The Apples in Stereo, "Tone Soul Evolution," SpinArt.

Ben Folds Five, "Whatever and Ever Amen," Sony.

After their amazing self-titled debut, I was expecting big things from Ben Folds Five for their second release but I have never been completely satisfied by 'Whatever and Ever Amen.' I hate to be the guy that complains about bands who sell out and never make an album as good as their first. Unfortunately, this has been a reality with Ben Folds Five. The best songs here are really old tunes that the band played during their live shows in support of  the first album ('One Angry Dwarf and 100 Solemn Faces' 'Steven's Last Night in Town' and 'Song For The Dumped.') The new material finds Folds becoming mellow, brainy and perhaps overly dramatic. Such songs as 'Smoke,' 'Missing The War' and 'Brick' find the band taking themselves pretty seriously. These songs just seem out of place on the same disc as 'Song For The Dumped.' Some may accuse me of being insensitive or unable to appreciate "softer" music, but Ben Folds Five is just plain boring when they take themselves seriously. The popularity of 'Brick,' a dull and depressing song about a girlfriend's abortion, has always confounded me when the band had such fantastic up-tempo songs. The new material here is not all bad. 'Fair' is a compelling song that should dictate the direction Folds takes when writing more sensitive numbers. 'The Ballad of Who Could Care Less' is an amusing single and 'Selfless, Cold and Composed' is a good song that recalls Innervisions-era Stevie Wonder. All in all, while a disappointing follow-up to their debut, this album has enough interesting material to make it onto my top album list of the year and occasionally make it into my CD player.

Del Amitri, "Some other Sucker's Parade," A&M.

Del Amitri has been kicking around for years producing 'rootsy pop' with a country feel. Some of their early work has something of a "college radio" or REM feel to it. I was a big fan of "Kiss This Thing Goodbye," from 1989 and 'Roll To Me,' from 1995, is a blissful, three minute burst of pop melody. However, it wasn't until I heard 'Not Where It's At,' from 'Some Other Sucker's Parade' that I broke down and bought a Del Amitri album. Judging from what I've heard of their previous albums, the band has a tendency to record rather uneven albums. This one is no exception, but the good definitely outweighs the bad. This could actually have been cured somewhat by re-arranging the track order of the CD. 'Some Other Sucker's Parade' kicks off with five brilliant pop songs that evoke the sounds of country or alt-rock, not unlike Wilco but with a more straightforward approach. 'Not Where It's At,' 'Some Other Sucker's Parade,' and 'Medicine' are some of the best melodic rock tunes of 1997. From this point on the album is hit or miss. Some other memorable songs ('Life Is Full' and 'Lucky Guy') are surrounded by bland and rather boring tracks ('High Times' doesn't mesh with this album at all). The end of the CD doesn't even come close to matching the intensity of the beginning, often causing me to hit the eject button by track six. Spreading out some of those great opening tunes might have made the end of this album a little more listenable. Unfortunately, the album didn't have a breakthrough single like 'Roll To Me' to make it a big hit (a pity since the single 'Not Where It's At' is just as appealing.) The album seemed to fade away without getting much attention, but I urge you to seek this one out. At its finest moments, this album offers some of the best melodic rock of the decade.

Tanya Donelly, "Lovesongs for Underdogs," Reprise.

After their excellent sophomore album "King" went unnoticed, Belly broke up. Releasing her first solo album two years later, Tanya picks up where her band left off. The sound of "Lovesongs for Underdogs" is quite similar to "King," although the songwriting here is a little weaker. Still she shines on some great tracks like "Pretty Deep" and "Goat Girl." Donelly has a very unique and distinctive songwriting style which keeps the album worthwhile. However, it's obviously a solo effort and lacks the power she could conjure up with her band.

Gladhands, "La Di Da," Big Deal.

Grandpaboy, "Grandpaboy," Soundproof/Monolyth.

Wayne Hancock, "That's What Daddy Wants," Ark 12.

Wayne Hancock surrounds himself with great players and makes some really compelling music. It's hard to classify him because he covers a lot of ground here like country, western swing and rockabilly. His voice is quite unique and probably rather irritating to some, but very emotive and original. He makes most of these tracks a lot of fun when they could otherwise be run of the mill country tunes. The album was recorded live in the studio and has a natural and exciting feel. The title track evokes images of New Orleans with a horn section, while "Brand New Cadillac" is straight-forward aggressive rockabilly. "Little Lisa" is a fine example of his ability to take a simple country/rockabilly song and add lots of personality to it. Highly recommended to country fans or anyone who likes to hear great players enjoy themselves.

Paul McCartney, "Flaming Pie," Capitol.  Once a McCartney fan, always a McCartney fan' has always been my motto. Someone once asked my why I had so many McCartney bootleg CDs and I replied that I was such a hardcore fan, I would probably find a way to extole the virtues of Sir Paul farting into a microphone for 45 minutes.

That said, whenever a new McCartney album comes out, I can find some way to enjoy it, regardless of its quality. Granted, it was a little tough with 1993's 'Off The Ground,' but there are some quality tracks there, I think. Thankfully, it was a lot easier in 1997 with the release of 'Flaming Pie.' I was genuinely excited upon hearing the first single 'The World Tonight' on the radio. It sounded like McCartney back in the good old days when his albums were solid all the way through and his singles shot up to number one. Paul seemed to relax a little bit after ending his World Tour 1993 in support of 'Off The Ground.' Without putting a deadline upon himself, he wrote and recorded a set of laid-back songs over the course of a couple years. The resulting album was Paul's best since the early 1980s; a stripped down, simple album without the overblown production that became his downfall in recent years.

There are typical McCartney-isms here that most people will find hard to stomach, like his sappy love lyrics and the indulgent orchestral ending of 'Beautiful Night.' However, the wealth of strong material here more than makes up for these annoyances. Even the love songs on this album are some of Paul's best in years. 'Little Willow' and 'Calico Skies' find Paul returning to the simple acoustic sound of his White Album tracks like 'Blackbird' and 'Mother Nature's Son.'

The other surprise on this album is Paul's ability to rock with style again. 'The World Tonight' is a far cry from the embarrassment of Off The Ground's 'Looking For Changes.' There are several great songs here that make a respectable addition to the McCartney catalog, including 'The World Tonight,' 'Little Willow,' 'Calico Skies,' 'Young Boy' and 'Great Day.'

This is a solid McCartney album that will excite fans who long for McCartney to churn out the classics and may interest others who want to hear a strong collection of pop-rock from the master.

Papas Fritas, "Helioself," Minty Fresh.

The Pearlfishers, "The Strange Underworld of the Tall Poppies," Marina. I first read about the Pearlfishers in the Not Lame Catalog and then stumbled upon a copy of the disc in a used CD store. I'm always skeptical of other people's opinions and reviews, so I balked at the $25 import price of this album. However, after examining the cover and the song titles I decided to take a chance. It turned out to be the best CD I ever bought without ever hearing the band.

The Pearlfishers' sound is similar to lush and orchestrated mid-period Beatles material, with strong hooks, inventive instrumentation and wonderful vocals. The album starts with the sublime "Even On A Sunday Afternoon," a perfect exercise in jangling, melodic pop. Other highlights include the beautiful "Underneath the Cherry Sky," "Banana Sandwich" and "Jelly Shoes."

On the surface, their lyrics appear to be standard pop fare, dealing with relationships, love and girls. However, the strong imagery creates an atmospheric quality to many of the songs, evoking a deeper, emotional reaction every time I listen. I feel nostalgic for childhood and innocent, teen-age crushes when I hear the band sing about 'sunday afternoons,' sitting 'underneath the cherry sky' and 'waiting for the flood.' 'The Strange Underworld of the Tall Poppies' is the most rewarding and best produced pop album since Jellyfish's 1993 release 'Spilt Milk.' Few bands have successfully recorded a pop album this ambitious without sounding pretentious or derivative. Simply put, this is one of the finest pop albums of our time.

Summercamp, "Pure Juice," Maverick.

SuperDeluxe, "Via Satellite," Revolution. 'Via Satellite' presents above-average, pleasant power pop from this Seattle band. The album is a great improvement over their debut (my copy ended up somewhere in a used bargain bin). Their sound is something  of a cross between The Greenberry Woods and Gigalo Aunts. Strong melodies, a mix distorted and clean guitar sounds, and mostly fun, upbeat tunes. The highlights of this album; an ode to the favorite sex symbol of 70s children 'Farrah Fawcett,' and a solid pop tune called 'Alright.'

Matthew Sweet, "Blue Sky on Mars," Zoo.

After recording three straight albums with a similar formula, Matthew Sweet noticed it was time for a change. For "Blue Sky on Mars," he replaces the spastic guitar solos and straight rock approach with spacey imagery and analog synthesizers. In many respects this works well, giving the single 'Where You Get Love" a fresh sound the keeps Sweet in step with some of the latest moog synth revival bands like The Rentals. "Hollow," "Heaven and Earth" and "Into Your Drug" take this sound a step further with good results. There are also nice straightforward pop tunes here like 'Behind the Smile," "Back to You" and Make Believe" that would fit in well on any Sweet album. This is a solid effort from Matthew but in the end it seems a bit slight. There's not a lot of substance to the songs and it's his shortest record so it seems like less of a statement. But I think that's what he was shooting for.

Teenage Fanclub, "Songs From Northern Britain," Columbia.

That Dog, "Retreat From The Sun," DGC.

That Dog's third and final album was ultimately their best. The band had been developing a unique sound on their previous releases: indie girl pop with strong melodies, harmonies and some violin thrown in for good measure. "Retreat from the Sun" brings all of their ambitions together on one brilliant pop record. The songwriting here is fantastic throughout and the two lead singers harmonize perfectly. The lyrics come from a distinctly female perspective, which is unusual in this genre and quite refreshing. "Minneapolis," "Long Island" and the title track are true pop gems. There is some welcomed quirkiness here as well on tracks like "Cowboy Hat" and "Gagged and Tied." It's really a shame that the band broke up after this album because this CD showed great potential. "Retreat from the Sun" is one of the absolute best albums of the late 90s and a real favorite in my collection.

Velvet Crush, "Heavy Changes," Sony (Japan), Action Musik (US).

Velvet Crush recorded "Heavy Changes" in the early part of 1996 as a follow-up to their power-pop masterpiece "Teenage Symphonies To God" with producer Mitch Easter. I saw the band during a short club tour shortly after the recording sessions were completed at JC Dobbs in Philadelphia.. I had no idea it would be the last time I would see Velvet Crush for a long time or that the amazing new songs I was hearing would not be released for almost two years.

Something happened to "Heavy Changes" on the way to the presses; Creation, the band's label in the UK and US, inexplicably rejected the album. Disappointment and internal strain within the band put the album and the band on hold indefinitely. Ric and Paul went on tour with Matthew Sweet in early 1997 to support the "Blue Sky on Mars" album. I caught them at a show in February 1997 and heard the tragic news from someone who bumped into the guys backstage: Velvet Crush had broken up and "Heavy Changes" had been shelved. "Heavy Changes" suddenly become the 90s incarnation of "Smile" in my mind; the follow-up to a brilliant album that no one would ever hear. The only pieces that remained were those live bootlegs from the ‘96 club tour featuring a handful of Heavy Changes' tracks: ‘Standing Still,' ‘Think It Over' and ‘Play For Keeps.'

Sometime in late 1997 news came from White Soul, the UK Velvet Crush web page: "Heavy Changes" was being released on Sony in Japan. For $30 my dreams were finally realized and I was not disappointed. The album is a solid follow-up to Teenage Symphonies to God that often substitutes harder rock for the jangling country found on its predecessor. "Heavy Changes" evokes the same feelings one gets while hearing the band perform live. It is full of energy, spastic lead guitars and ragged emotional vocals from Paul Chastain. There is even some sense of desperation in the performances on the album, like the band knew that troubles lay ahead and that this was their last recording for quite some time. While some pop fans have dismissed this album for its rough edges, I find it to be the equal of "Teenage Symphonies To God" in quality. Although it has a somewhat harder rock sound (Ric Menck calls it their Blues Rock-Pop album), it still leaves me eagerly awaiting the next Velvet Crush release.

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