Temple of Low Men
Artist: Crowded House
Community Score: 7.02

Following the success of Crowded House's debut and the band's grueling promotion schedule, Neil Finn was clearly showing signs that he was no longer happy being New Zealand's zany ambassador to the U.S. While the material on Temple of Low Men demonstrates great leaps in quality over its predecessor, it is a darkly difficult album, especially for... Read More

The Return of Bruno
Artist: Bruce Willis
Community Score: 7.10

At the height of Moonlighting mania and after the Seagram's wine cooler commercials showcased his vocal skills, Motown asked Bruce Willis to record a full album of blues, R&B and soul -- hence, The Return of Bruno. Willis has more vocal talent than, say, Cybill Shepherd, but he doesn't quite have the conviction or skill of the Blues Brothers.... Read More

Everything's Different Now
Artist: 'Til Tuesday

As commercially successful as 'Til Tuesday's debut album was, the Boston band could have easily slipped into formula and continued making infectious, synth-soaked pop/rock. But instead, Tuesday continued to challenge itself and grow with each album. Everything's Different Now, the group's third and final album, lacks the immediacy of Voices... Read More

Hang Time
Artist: Soul Asylum
Community Score: 10.00

More riff-heavy than usual, with considerable help from producer Lenny Kaye, Hang Time turned out to be the best of Soul Asylum's early records. The guitars of Dave Pirner and Dan Murphy synchronize into a sonic wad of incredible power, while the songs (especially "Cartoon," "Some Time to Return," and "Beggars and Choosers") showed that Pirner... Read More

Clam Dip & Other Delights
Artist: Soul Asylum
Community Score: 10.00

A great EP with a hysterical cover parody of Herb Alpert's sexy Whipped Cream & Other Delights album cover, Clam Dip & Other Delights shows Soul Asylum growing up but not growing old. Starting with the huge thudding riff of "Just Plain Evil," this adds the triumphantly poppy "Chains" and the funky "Take It to the Root," which originally appeared... Read More

From Langley Park to Memphis
Artist: Prefab Sprout
Community Score: 8.00

A good but inconsistent record, it includes shining tracks like "The Golden Calf," "Cars and Girls," and "I Remember That." Paddy McAloon begins to explore his fixation with pop icons like Elvis and Springsteen. A must for fans. ~ Scott Bultman, All Music Guide Read More

Cloudcuckooland
Artist: The Lightning Seeds
Community Score: 10.00

Taking what he learned from his days in Big in Japan and his '80s production work with A-listers Echo & the Bunnymen, Ian Broudie created the Lightning Seeds project to better serve his cravings for shameless, lush pop. Even in these early days, with singles like "Pure" and "All I Want," you can hear why comparisons to a less burlesque Pet Shop... Read More

Kihnsolidation: The Best of Greg Kihn
Artist: Greg Kihn

Rhino's Greg Kihn retrospective is definitive, drawing from each of the straightforward pop-rocker's albums, including all of his hit singles, and even continuing his long history of album titles built around name-derived puns (1981's Rockihnroll, 1985's Citizen Kihn, etc.). Kihnsolidation includes the hits "Breakup Song" and "Jeopardy," as well... Read More

Katydids
Artist: The Katydids

The Katydids are another recent English development, and manage, without trying too hard, to be a mixture of a '60s songbird band, heavy on the not-quite-finished pop-type numbers about love and life, and the Pretenders. The latter is suggested initially by the fact that vocalist Susie Hug is an expatriate American. The Katydids lean less on the... Read More