Blond, waifish and just twenty-three, Derek Trucks looks more like the oldest Hanson brother than his uncle Butch, the longtime Allman Brothers drummer. But on his band's major label debut, his skills as a guitarist and commitment to elastic grooves belie his age and paleness, as Trucks splashes his slide guitar over styles that range from straight-up blues to percussion-laden Latin frenzy. Trucks' wife Susan Tedeschi chimes in for the soul number "Baby, You're Right," while elsewhere the Pakistani vocalist Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's warblings on "Maki Madni" fit in surprisingly well alongside the band's improvised forays into the mystic, several of which bring to mind the Allmans' "Mountain Jam." Boring-ass eclecticism is the hobgoblin of the jam-band nation, but here the kid tames a stylistic sprawl with nothing more than a bottleneck slide. (CHRISTIAN HOARD)

Berlin Voyeur (Heavensake, Inc./Imusic)

Despite a string of hit singles, including "Sex (I'm a...)" and "Take My Breath Away," in the Eighties, Los Angeles-based synth-pop band Berlin are not an act the world has been clamoring for to reunite. Lucky Berlin. On Voyeur, the revamped band's first studio album in sixteen years, Berlin and the still coquettish-after-all-these-years lead vocalist Terri Nunn, take advantage of the lack of expectations to introduce the updated version of the group. Sex still plays a major part in Berlin version 2.0, but the synthesizers have given way to a sultrier sound. The much ballyhooed "Sacred and Profane," a song co-written by Billy Corgan, is a rhythmic ballad that finds Nunn chanting the chorus, while she shows off her pipes again on the minimalist "The World Is Waiting." Rounding out an impressive mid-album trio of tracks are the in-your-face keyboards of "Drug." Voyeur isn't likely to bring Berlin back to its Eighties heyday, but it will force many to take another look at the group. (STEVE BALTIN)

Blind Boys of Alabama Higher Ground (Real World)

Last year, the sixty-three-year-old vocal group Blind Boys of Alabama pulled a Johnny Cash-style comeback, recording Spirit of the Century, an album of revamped gospel standards and unlikely rock songs that praised the Lord louder than anything since Aretha Franklin's early, fiery gospel work. Happily, the Blind Boys' second collection of funkafied gospel is even better than the first. On Higher Ground, the group tackles everyone from Prince (on "The Cross") to the great Curtis Mayfield -- their remake of his classic "People Get Ready" is actually an improvement on the original. Ironically, the weakest cut is the Stevie Wonder-penned title track, on which the screaming guitars nearly overwhelm those sublime voices. It's a minor quibble, though. This is another stunning set of songs from Alabama's finest, and more proof of gospel's influence on R&B and rock & roll. (MARK KEMP)

Bif Naked Purge (Her Royal Majesty's Records)

It was easy to dismiss Canadian singer Bif Naked as a big-mouthed beanpole after her 1999 album I Bificus, but Purge shows the dark-haired stick figure rejoicing in audacious songs that are as enjoyable as they are impossible to ignore. Alluding to some rough times and an ensuing rebirth, Bif proclaims her triumph in the AC/DC inspired "I Love Myself Today" and Eighties-tinged pogo rocker, "Choking on the Truth." She adopts various guises throughout Purge, aping Stevie Nicks in the emotional ballad "Stolen Sidewalk," Tori Amos in "October Song," and Joan Jett in the aforementioned "I Love Myself Today." While her performance sometimes borders on the cartoonish, Bif is nobody's fool, no A&R man's pet project. Her will is strong and overwhelming, even in dark, thoughtful tracks like the acoustic "Hold On" and new-metal pop anthem "Religion." In this era of manufactured stars, Bif Naked is a renegade, bold and beautiful to the core. (KEN MICALLEF)

Idaho We Were Young and Needed the Money (Idaho Music)

Rarities albums are usually reserved for major-label acts looking for a shortcut out of a contract. For Idaho this release marks a more sanguine occasion -- despite countless lineup changes and bum deals, the Los Angeles band has made the ten-year mark. So out of the vaults come tumbling seventeen B-sides and studio castoffs, thoughtfully arranged to flow like the proper follow-up to last year's haunting Levitate. It's not difficult to see why bleak dirges such as "Come Over" were locked up until now, yet this set also carries some moments of genuine inspiration: vast melodic vistas burn through the layers of feedback on "Shoulder Back," while singer Jeff Martin's malaise breathlessly courses through the winning "Social Studies." But the uninitiated need not apply; this set is designed squarely for those already familiar with Idaho's transformation from a perpetually hungover sad-core outfit to astonishingly accomplished purveyors of emotional indie rock. For those who have stuck by the band, it's the ultimate anniversary present. (AIDIN VAZIRI)

No.2 What Does Good Luck Bring? (In Music We Trust)

No.2 have the makings of your next favorite band. Their lineup -- guitarist and former Heatmiser co-frontman Neil Gust, ex-Elliott Smith drummer Paul Pulvirenti and Minus 5 bassist/singer Jim Talstra -- has received enough individual acclaim to reassure you of their collective talent, while their relative unpopularity makes them unquestionably cool. Their second effort What Does Good Luck Bring? boasts straight-ahead rockers with simultaneously weird and catchy melodies -- like Elliott Smith (that other Heatmiser guy) with cranked-up guitars and simpler vocals but without his bitterness. What Does... proves that even amidst Smith's growing success, Gust has emerged as an equally gifted songwriter. The opening two tracks, "A Little Confusion" and "More, More," capture his knack for penning understated, head-bopping pop-rock songs. But, What Does... won't overpower, and, in fact, its true gems are softer: the creepy title track -- featuring Quasi's Sam Coomes -- and the slick "Traveling." These nine songs likely won't earn No.2 the Number Two spot on the charts, but they will secure them a spot at the indie-rock roundtable. (BENJAMIN FRIEDLAND)

Barry Adamson The King of Nothing Hill (Mute)

With a resume that spans some twenty-five years and includes tenure with Magazine and Nick Cave's Bad Seeds, plus scores for films by such idiosyncratic directors as David Lynch and Derek Jarman, producer/multi-instrumentalist Barry Adamson has cultivated a mastery of ambient mood swings and compelling story-telling. "Cinematic Soul" sets the tone for Adamson's latest, ten tracks that play out like a joint venture between Shaft and David Bowie's Thin White Duke. Funky grooves animate arty sound collages; jazzy interludes (notably "The Second Stain") are elegantly pensive and lighthearted outbursts are playful and wry. "Black Amour" combines a wicked pun with a sly homage to Barry White. Throughout, Adamson and his ensemble deftly balance subtle electronic effects with alluring organic playing. "Cold Comfort" closes the album with a melange of wistful vocals, sweet strings, keyboards and the ticking of a drum machine. A lovely, inconclusive ending that yearns for a sequel. (SANDY MASUO)

Pam Tillis It's All Relative (Epic/Lucky Dog)

This is the album that Pam Tillis has waited all her life to make. From the outset of her career, the country star and Grand Ole Opry member refused to trade on the name of her famous father, singer/songwriter Mel Tillis, carving out her own place in Nashville with more than a dozen hits, gold and platinum albums and producer credits. At age forty-five, Tillis has finally put her stamp on the songs she heard growing up. It's All Relative retools thirteen Mel Tillis originals in a range of styles, from staples of the younger Tillis' live repertoire like the honky-tonkin' "I Ain't Never" and atmospheric ballad "Heart Over Mind" (updated with harmonies by Emmylou Harris), to songs recorded by country legends such as Patsy Cline (the stardusted "So Long"), to the unreleased treasure "Not Like It Was With You." Tillis slows down the great kiss-off "Mental Revenge" with sexy and sinister guitar and invokes a touch of bluegrass on "Violet and a Rose" with help from Dolly Parton (vocals) and Marty Stuart (mandolin). Delbert McClinton, Trisha Yearwood, the Jordanaires and Mel himself also make cameos on this winsome tribute. (MEREDITH OCHS)

(September 3, 2002)