Category: Reviews

Artist: Lil’ Bow Wow Title: Doggy Bag Label: Columbia Rating: 3/10 From the opener, “We Want Weezy”, with the most annoying Jermaine Dupri doing his worst Eazy-E impression, you get the feeling this is going to be another bad day away from your cd collection. LBW still raps his way around in a circle with…

Artist: No Doubt Title: Rock Steady Label: Interscope Rating: 6/10 Rock Steady is said to be a back-to-roots record for No Doubt. It does have some ska, but whether these roots needed to be explored, I’m not sure. Rick Ocasek of The Cars fame produces seemingly out of his range with new wave dronings of…

Artist: Smash Mouth Title: Smash Mouth Label: Interscope Rating: 5/10 Smash Mouth has a new album out? Who cares? That sounds harsh, but even after listening to the self-titled album, I’m still wondering. Smash Mouth is so content just making the same old happy la la music, as usual. That is all well and good,…

Artist: Kid Rock Title: Cocky Label: Atlantic Rating: 7.5/10 There is nowhere for Kid Rock to go, is there? It’s up or it’s down. Now with Cocky, the Kid is back and he wants to prove he’s more than a one trick pony. The album’s first single, “Forever”, is nothing great. If anything, it’s pretty…

Artist: Destiny’s Child Title: 8 Days of Christmas Label: Columbia Rating: 3/10 This is only one of the times I’ve had to re-listen to this mess of a Christmas album Destiny’s Child has brought us this season. First off, most of the new songs are written by, with the help of others, Beyonce Knowles. I…

Artist: Jon Secada Title: The Gift Label: Epic Rating: 7/10 Jon Secada has a great voice, so to get a chance to hear him sing some great Christmas songs is a treat. On the opener, “Cradle In Bethlehem”, with orchestra in tow, Secada gives his mild and lovely voice a chance to lay in between…

Artist: Hoobastank Title: Hoobastank Label: Island Rating: 5/10 Hoobastank is a four-piece rock band from Agoura Hills, California, and they have a sound close to fellow Agoura natives, Incubus. “Remember Me” is watered down melodrama. “Running Away” is just a huge dose of more of the same. They lock on a chorus and just never…

Artist: Ghostface Killah Title: Bulletproof Wallets Label: Epic Rating: 6/10 Ghostface Killah is releasing his third solo album, Bulletproof Wallets. It seems with the Wu in all sorts of transitional periods, the crew keeps doing it solo, and at this pace they may run low on all kinds of material. There are a few tracks…

Artist: Creed Title: Weathered Label: Wind-Up Rating: 7/10 Rock on! That must be Creed’s motto as Weathered comes with much anticipation and a lot more rock ‘n’ roll to go around. “Bullets” offers distinct Alice In Chains venom, but the verses sparkle while the chorus gets lost in the contortion. “My Sacrifice” goes from cold…

Artist: Barenaked Ladies Title: Greatest Hits Label: Reprise Rating: 8/10 Let’s do something fun. We’ll review the song’s chronologically by album release: Gordon: “Enid” and “Be My Yoko Ono” – Okay. But do they really belong on this album? “If I Had $1,000,000” – The song that broke them wide open. It still sounds as…