artist: Rampage album: Scouts Honor . . . By Way Of Blood format: CD label: Flipmode/Elektra release year: performance: 6.5 sound 6 reviewed by: Jason Karsh As the title best illustrates, there is a definite dichotomy on this album. At times it is original and innovative while at others it is slow and predictable. The radio friendly single "Take It To The Streets" has an outstanding beat and it's got some 'chicks in the living room shaking their ass.' And that's good. Although it might have been nicer to see some better producers in the studio. DJ Scratch, best known for some of the more outstanding EPMD work, produces most of the tracks on this album with, as intimated, varying results.

DCC Records Re-Issue | Performance 8 | Sound 6.5 | From the archives of BMG music comes a classic 1961 Harry Belafonte record entitled Jump Up Calypso re-mastered and re-released by DCC Jazz. The record is defined by the distinctively raspy voice of Harry Belafonte and accompanied by both large and small ensembles with a true island flavor.

Vanishing Point, Reprise Records Performance 6 Sound 7 Perhaps you've wondered where they've been, or maybe that was just us. In fact, the rumors of this band vanishing off the planet can now be confirmed as just that. Back with their latest release 'Vanishing Point,' Primal Scream reaffirms that if nothing else they're still alive. And, while it was their debut 'Screamadelica' put them on the map, it seems that their second album, 'Give Out But Don't Give Up' is the one that still finds its way into the rotation around here.

artist: Sarah McLachlan album: Surfacing format: CD label: Arista Records performance: 7.5 sound: 8 reviewed by: Jason Karsh Couple this, her fourth and most anticipated release, with the summer's highly successful Lilith Fair concert tour she spearheaded and you end up with a lot of critics describing Sarah McLachlan in myriad ways. Little hasn't been said, except for perhaps this. I believe that Sarah McLachlan is the single best singer/songwriter living today. Period. Male or female. Period. However, that said, it should be pointed out that while I am a fan of both her voice and work, as a reviewer I hold those select artists on another level to a much more stringent criteria than the also-rans.

Sutra Spin, Cyber Octave Music. Performance Quality = 7 Sound Quality = 7 The 'Electronica' gig; what is the deal with it and why is The Audio Revolution so with it? Well, we take drugs, a lot of them and lyrics really just seem to get in our way. What we really like are grooves, Sugar. Syrupy-sweet, spinning, loopy grooves. The kind that mix well with our drugs or that serve us well as background music. Yes, twenty times better than rock and fifty times better than radio, Electronica is akin to Classical in this background-sound regard. Just like Classical, you can have Electronica on virtually all the time.