'Til Tuesday

Before she became known as a solo artist, Aimee Mann was the bassist and singer for this punk-schooled Boston band, which produced her only Top 10 hit, the deliciously melancholy "Voices Carry." That Cars-like single is by far the strongest song on Voices Carry, but Mann and company more than make up for that inconsistency with Welcome Home, on which the achingly lovely "What About Love" (another Top 40 hit) is matched by such richly melodic material as "Lovers' Day" and the Simon and Garfunkel–ish "On Sunday."

So why is it that the group's best album, Everything Is Different Now, had the least commercial success? Maybe it's because the subject matter -- the end of Mann's affair with songwriter Jules Shear -- seemed too emotionally loaded for some listeners. Or perhaps the fact that these two mourn their lost love by writing songs for each other struck listeners as a trifle weird. But regardless of inspiration or circumstance, songs such as "Everything's Different Now," " 'J' for Jules," and "Crash and Burn" are too emotionally vibrant and melodically memorable to be denied, offering listeners a taste of Mann's musical future.

Coming Up Close is a by-the-numbers best-of, which offers most of the band's singles but underplays Everything's Different Now; as such, the more thematic (and less hit-packed) All About Love will likely prove more satisfying to Mann fans. (J.D. CONSIDINE)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide