band toys artily with the boundaries of rock but also plays riffs Jimmy Page would have given his whammy bar to have written. *** 1/2 JANE’S ADDICTION, “Ritual de lo Habitual,"Warner Bros. COOL J, “Mama Said Knock You Out,"Def Jam/Columbia. When not funkin’, INXS falls back on standard arena-rock fare that at best is simulated Stones. It’s not-but the Aussie outfit insists on keeping up the charade on about half of this album. At some point, INXS decided it was a funk band. Why does a 1990 album by two post-collegiate types with help from R.E.M.'s Peter Buck sound like something that could have been made by two 1970 Marin County earth-mother types with help from Jesse Colin Young? (Hochman) * 1/2 INDIGO GIRLS, “Nomads Indians Saints,"Epic. Harris’ instinct for material is usually as impeccable as her singing, but this collection is spotty-ranging from the excellence of Bruce Springsteen’s “Tougher Than the Rest” to several moments of mediocrity. ** 1/2 EMMYLOU HARRIS, “Brand New Dance,"Reprise. But this two-hour-plus set, recorded before the recent death of keyboardist Brent Mydland, adequately captures the sounds of a typical evening with the venerable band. The Dead’s eighth live release is still not like being there. *** THE GRATEFUL DEAD, “Without a Net,"Arista. Lovers can swoon once more to the resurrected Righteous Brothers hit “Unchained Melody” the rest of the LP consists of Maurice Jarre’s mixed bag of orchestration and synthesizers, whose romantic spookiness is sure to be Oscar bait. ![]() ** 1/2 “GHOST,” soundtrack,Varese Sarabande. Still, there’s an underlying feeling that Dylan kinda walked through the project. May be the most fun release from Zimmy in ages: a blues-based romp, with Dylan as the Crawlin’ Kingsnake. *** BOB DYLAN, “Under the Red Sky,"Columbia. It’s littered with distracting touches and tries too hard to be innovative, but it’s fine when it relies on the beats to carry the songs. House music by a co-ed New York trio that includes a Japanese and a Russian. ** 1/2 DEEE-LITE, “World Clique,"Elektra. His sinewy, Sam Cooke-in’ vocals cut through the familiar shadowy ambience like light reflecting off a freshly drawn knife. Cray checks in to the Cheatin’ Place with another solid album of nether soul noir blues. ![]() *** ROBERT CRAY BAND, “Midnight Stroll,"Mercury. But the gauzy impressionism, though still haunting and hypnotic, could use some tampering. The three twins explore some new textures, and an occasional lyric is actually discernible (the meaning rarely is). ** 1/2 COCTEAU TWINS, “Heaven or Las Vegas,"4AD/Capitol. There is also an unnecessarily mean spirit. Despite greater comic invention and more sophisticated grooves, the 2 Live Crew leader’s approach continues to offer a dour, ultimately ugly view of sex. * 1/2 LUTHER CAMPBELL, “Banned in the U.S.A,"Luke/Atlantic. In the best moments, Brooks’ woody baritone suggests several lifetimes of hard living, but there’s too much emphasis on hokey melodrama. A considerable improvement over his 1989 debut, but still with only modest yields. ** 1/2 GARTH BROOKS, “No Fences,"Capitol. Leader KRS-One takes on misguided teachers, the government, crooked cops and meat-hamburgers, to hear him talk, are a drug addictive as crack, and worse for you. ![]() *** 1/2 BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTIONS, “Edutainment,"Jive/BMG.
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