On her fourth studio album, Sheryl Crow is beginning to second-guess herself, underestimating the resilience of her hardy, well-crafted tunes. Perhaps wary of overwhelming or obscuring those songs with a good rocking out, she invites a studioful of illustrious classic rockers (Don Henley) and alternative types (Liz Phair) to add a social richness to an album that lacks a musical backbone. Despite the beach-radio-fun of the delightful first single, "Soak Up the Sun," C'mon, C'mon is devoid of the dreamy first-light coherence and good-time-gal oomph that Crow can pull off so effortlessly. Instead, it's heavy on billowy ballads and rife with unforgivably lazy lyrics ("Life is what happens while you're making plans"; "It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got"). That's not to say there's no commercial potential: the chorus of "You're an Original" (with Lenny Kravitz) is destined to be plucked and carefully framed for future car ads, and "It's So Easy" is an abysmal power-ballad duet with Henley that reeks of Diane Warren ("It's so easy, but it isn't right," indeed). "Safe and Sound" is another oversize, echoey slow one for which Crow's breathy and weak soprano is inadequate. But her gutsy midrange is just right for the vroom-vroom opener, "Steve McQueen," the lovely, slow-plucking guitar accompaniment on "Weather Channel" (with Emmylou Harris) and for "Hole in My Pocket" with its snaky bass. Still, it's frustrating to imagine how much more power Crow could amp up by tattering the edges of her best songs and avoiding the crowd-pleasing delicacy that makes her sound like a Sheryl Crow cover band. Led by Bob Seger. (ARION BERGER)

The Melvins Hostile Ambient Takeover (Ipecac)

Inexplicably, the Melvins have been allowed to survive for eighteen years. A band like this -- grunge taken to its logical extreme, brutal electric-guitar noise mixed with deep-diaphragm yelling -- almost made sense among the Mudhoneys and Nirvanas, who defined rock seven years ago. Today, probably to this Seattle trio's delight, the Melvins no longer have any pop-culture relevance whatsoever. So it's surprising, on this album, to find them not completely incomprehensible. "Little Judas Chongo" is actually melodic, filled with King Buzzo's satisfying garage-band guitar and a burst of freak-out noise so short it's almost cute; "The Brain Center at Whipples" passes for modern acid-metal, stretching into dark Black Sabbath jams. But don't worry! The atonal feedback ("Dr. Geek") and stretches of NUNH-NUNH, NUNH-NUNH (end of "Foaming," beginning of "The Anti-Vermin Seed") are unlistenable enough to alienate even the heartiest Dave Matthews Band fan. (STEVE KNOPPER)

Michelle Williams Heart to Yours (Columbia)

Michelle Williams, Destiny's Child's latest and most drama-free addition, is the first of the girl power trio to go solo with the gospel-lite offering, Heart to Yours. Although the good-natured songbird's desire to steer DC fans -- who would otherwise be content to shake their booties up and down -- in a more spiritually uplifting direction is admirable, her chops simply aren't up to the task. To put it mildly, Yolanda Adams, Williams isn't. A backup singer for R&B starlet Monica prior to joining DC, Williams shines brightest when she shares the spotlight, as on the whimsical remake of BeBe and CeCe Winans's "Heaven" with Carl Thomas. Unfortunately, collaborations with contemporary gospel duo Mary Mary on the stuttered beat, Rodney Jerkins-esque "So Glad" and gospel great Shirley Caesar on the soulful, choir backed hymn "Steal Away to Jesus," only reinforce the thin-piped vocalist's shortcomings. Throughout Heart to Years, Williams's corazon is in the right place, but her vocals are too quiet and the production -- courtesy of the ever-present Matthew Knowles (Beyonce's Dad and DC's manager) -- too tame to start a real Holy Ghost party. (TRACY E. HOPKINS)

Craig Armstrong As If to Nothing (Astralwerks)

After his score for Moulin Rouge, most people are familiar with Scottish producer/arranger Craig Armstrong for his film work. He's also a force on the electronic scene, as fans of his gorgeous 1998 collection, The Space Between Us, can attest. Following a four-year delay, Armstrong returns with the equally impressive As If to Nothing. His sophomore disc, which includes guest appearances from Bono, former Lemonhead Evan Dando, and fellow Scots Mogwai, again blends Armstrong's classic training (he studied at the Royal Academy of Music) with the electronic tutelage he's had working with Massive Attack. Whereas The Space Between Us relied on large orchestral pieces, this time around Armstrong goes for a sparser approach, as evidenced by the minimalist "Hymn 2," which features Photek. Where the album truly shines though is in the way Armstrong gets the most of his vocalists. On the sublime "Snow," British singer David McAlmont delivers an almost operatic like tenor, while Dando gives the best vocal performance of his career on the dramatic love song "Wake Up in New York." Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrman recently said of Armstrong, "He's at the height of his powers." And it is a beautiful thing to behold. (STEVE BALTIN)

Pedro the Lion Control (Jade Tree)

To get it out of the way quickly: Pedro the Lion's David Bazan is a devout Christian and as far as our lives find their way into our work, his songs could be analyzed for their religious references. But far beyond any iconography, his music is arresting in its simplicity and emotion; his lyrics not preachy, but critical of the day's newscast and of weak souls. And while on three previous albums the former Seattle hardcore punk dialed back his vitriolic music in favor of a quieter examination -­ both good and bad ­- of relationships, his latest release Control reveals a restrained, calculating rocker. After recording previous albums almost entirely on his own, Bazan brings in bassist Casey Foubert and drummer Trey Many for this release, giving him room to focus sharply on his edgy, dirgeful guitar and dark, enveloping lyrics. On the driving "Penetration" Bazan rails against corporate America's drone mentality: "If it isn't making dollars, it isn't making sense/If you aren't moving units than you aren't worth the expense." And in his best Bob Mould impersonation, the married Bazan questions a lover's infidelity on "Rehearsal" with the detached emotion of someone who's been there before. Control is not a record for people looking to brighten up their lives ­- the ten songs are almost an even split between those that deconstruct damaged relationships and those that find extreme fault in American consumerism. But if difficult topics can't be examined with such musical acuity -- and Bazan has much to say -- we are all a lot worse off. (ANDREW STRICKMAN)

Martin Sexton Live Wide Open (Kitchen Table Records)

Longtime fans of Martin Sexton know that the multitalented troubadour is an unflinchingly captivating and accomplished live performer. That's what makes his latest recording, Live Wide Open, a welcome addition to his catalog of previous albums, which at times seemed like they were struggling to transcend studio confinements, never fully showcasing Sexton's lithe energy. Freed from big-label incarceration, Sexton releases this double-CD set on his own Kitchen Table Records. A veritable live "best of," it shines most brightly on finely honed classics such as the jazzy "13-Step Boogie," the dirty "Gypsy Woman" and the folkier heartfelt numbers, like "In the Journey" and the intoxicating "Can't Stop Thinking About You," which holds you close and leads you through its opium-den tango. Sexton's stage show alone can provide more variety than your FM dial-his voice goes from winged falsettos to bluesy lows while his fingers gracefully pirouette on an acoustic guitar or athletically back flip on an electric. So have your Bic lighter handy, because this bird is finally free. (ROBIN AIGNER)

Maktub Khronos (Ossia)

Dedication to form is admirable to a certain degree, especially when treading in the traditional -- would you really want to hear a bluegrass disc with searing metal guitars, or Andean folk chants sung in the style of, say, 'N Sync? Of course not, but when an act with pop leanings sticks to a genre exercise like it were decreed by law, it can get kind of tedious and predictable. So is the case of Maktub, a Seattle-based group whose adoration of Seventies funk is so over-powering as to render the disc almost a soundtrack to a period piece film or perhaps an episode of That 70's Show. Singer Reggie Watts croons over cocktailed electric piano and organ as if channeling Ronnie Isley, Al Green and Marvin Gaye. The band rarely lifts itself out of a 1976-lite box perfected by such dinosaurs as Boz Scaggs' backing band or the Brothers Johnson, and the disc seems to bend over backwards to be true to some imagined bar act of twenty-five years back. Adding on to this look-back is the disc's cover, a far too accurate and out of place take on Zep's "No Quarter." While it's true that no lounge-soul act from the Carter/Ford years would ever do a tune like that FM staple, the passage of time has made it a safe bet for misty-eyed paunchies everywhere. It's really first rate as such ephemera goes, because Maktub know their stuff, and when they do break out of the mold a little on "Motherfucker" -- a meaner, tougher take on the War/Rare Earth side of the Seventies black folk thing -- they really cook. But they're basically a retro schtick act who should stick to wowing their bell-bottomed faithful in Seattle bars. (JOHNNY ANGEL)

Acid House Kings Mondays Are Like Tuesdays and Tuesdays Are Like Wednesdays (Hidden Agenda/Parasol/Labrador)

Like their international brethren -- Club 8, the Field Mice and Sundays -- the Swedish trio the Acid House Kings record lightly orchestrated pop with jangly strum. Unlike their brethren, AHK forgo the synth drone and drum machines of many post-Stereolab groups. Instead, they follow a tradition through Donovan, Nick Drake and Bacharach, creating songs full of sugary yet bittersweet, melodic hooks. Muted horns, strings and chiming guitars are cradled in gently skipping bass through album highlights such as "She Keeps Hoping," "You're a Beautiful Loser" and the title track, while lyrics such as "Summer's on its way/It changes everything then turns in to fall/The summer gets to us all," on "Summer's On Its Way," waft with the slightly melancholy air of a vacation's end. Through it all, Julia Lannerheim and Niklas Angergardtrade breezy vocal harmonies warm and welcome as soft light on a lazy breakfast-in-bed weekend. It's regal, perhaps, but nothing acidic about it. (TONY WARE)

(April 15, 2002)