Billy Joel 2000 Years: The Millenium Concert (Columbia)

Mighty Mighty Bosstones Pay Attention (Mercury)

Ween White Pepper (Elektra)

Anastacia Not That Kind (Epic/Daylight)

Two years ago, Anastacia Newkirk was named a finalist on The Cut, MTV's over-animated version of a talent show. She did not win, but her volcanic voice certainly left an impression on those who managed to sit all the way through the spectacle. Now she resurfaces minus the burdensome last name and big hair. Anastacia has been given a sleek Jennifer Lopez-style makeover and paired with a crack group of producers, handlers and pop music "specialists" who have built an exhaustive all-bases-covered debut around her. It's formulaic to a fault, but what remains throughout is the voice -- a tireless, soulful wail that moves effortlessly between the club-centric "I'm Outta Love" and the tear-jerking "I Ask Of You." It still works to impressive effect. (AIDIN VAZIRI)

Apartment 26 Hallucinating(Hollywood Records)

At this rate, Apartment 26 should be ready to vault onto the rap-metal bandwagon by 2005. For the time being, however, these thoroughly miserable 120 Minutes disciples are still hung-up on cold Lollapalooza leftovers. Indeed, they spend most of their overproduced debut imitating once influential bands like Nine Inch Nails, Prodigy and Tool with inevitably lame results. Then, as if unconvinced even by their own abilities to build a sustainable mood, they medically label their horrible riff/techno confections with titles such as "The Fear," "Evils" and "Death." Somebody really ought to buy these kids a calendar. (AV)

Kevn Kinney The Flower and the Knife (Capricorn)

Whether he dresses them up as hard rockers for his band Drivin' n' Cryin' or strips them down as intimate solo showcases, Kevn Kinney has penned some of the most poetic folk songs of the last fifteen years. With "Trail of Seasons," the first track from The Flower and the Knife, Kinney proves he can still pack a novel's worth of imagery and story in a verse, and both the haunting title track and "This Town" rank among his best work. But compared to his first two solo albums, this outing seems a little short on new ideas, thanks to two Dylan covers and a pair of recycled Drivin' n' Cryin' standards. The bouncy-folk take on "Scarred But Smarter" brings to new light one of the best lyrics Kinney's ever written, but John Popper's happy harmonica seems a poor substitute to the head-on, battle cry rush of the 1986 original. And on the flipside, a heavy dollop of blues guitar from producer Warren Haynes only ends up sapping the fun out of "Straight to Hell." The Flower and the Knife stands on its own as very fine folk album, but veteran Kinney/DNC fans have heard -- and can certainly expect -- better. (RICHARD SKANSE)

Snake River Conspiracy Sonic Jihad (Reprise)

Even though she does a convincing run through the Smiths' brooding "How Soon Is Now?," Snake River Conspiracy singer Tobey Torres hardly seems like the kind of girl who sits around on Saturday nights feeling sorry for herself. "You could talk me into fucking you/ But I don't think you'd survive to fuck me," she screeches on "Vulcan," as buzzsaw guitars rip through jackhammer beats in what has to be the most viscous love song since Kelis' "Caught Out There." Fortunately, the rest of this San Francisco duo's debut album treads slightly more genteel ground, balancing swirling electronic effects with dark atmospherics on standout tracks like "Casualty" and the disembodied "Somebody Hates You. Think Garbage at their most sinister or Atari Teenage Riot on downers. (AV)

THE ROLLINGSTONE.COM STAFF
(May 2, 2000)