Geffen

In the history of rap, some questions remain unfathomable. Like knowing which Roots album is the best. What is certain is that their first, Do You Want More? !!! ??! (1995), comes back frequently in the shortlist alongside Things Fall Apart (1999), Phrenology (2002) or Game Theory (2006). With his rap-jazz jam tunes, his raw and thrifty construction, he is the perfect illustration of the formation's groove, a base around which an entire discography has been built. Composed mainly of remixes of the original tracklist already published, this tasty deluxe* reissue suggests how the Roots, while cultivating their uniqueness, knew how to be deeply rooted in the New York sound of its time. The versions of Proceed remixed by A.J. Shine or that of Silent Treatment by Kelo add classic samples of the time, a definitely old school side, while respecting the untouchable drums of Questlove, the only element never disguised. Also exciting to hear another version of Distortion To Static in freestyle and scratched choruses, or the new verses and ad libs placed on Lazy Afternoon. Good new with good old. © Brice Miclet / Qobuz* This deluxe edition, which was slated for release on March 12, will be available on June 25. It is drawn from the original recordings and features eighteen bonus tracks curated by Questlove; some of which have never been released and others that have never previously been available digitally. The 3LP deluxe vinyl edition features five bonus tracks — Proceed II Feat. Roy Ayers, Proceed III, Proceed IV (AJ Shine Mix), Proceed V (Beatminerz Mix), along with five remixes of Silent Treatment. While the 4LP edition features all of the above plus the additional eight bonus tracks : In Your Dreams Kid (I'm Every MC), The Ultimate (Original '94 Version), ...… (dot dot dot… on & on), Pffat Time, Swept Away (Original Draft), It's Coming, Lazy Afternoon (Alternate Version)", and two remix versions of" Distortion To Static".Original release October 24, 1994 (USA) and January 17, 1995 (Do You Want More?!!!??! - Tracks 1-16)

If Nelly Furtado's nearly impenetrable 2003 sophomore effort, Folklore, proved anything, it was that this modern-day singer/songwriter is smart and ambitious yet doesn't quite have a handle on those very qualities. Dabbling in worldbeat and chronicling the perils of immediate success, she indulged herself without a care for the audience -- and the audience responded in kind, as the album barely cracked the Billboard Top 40, spawned no hits, and sold about a quarter of what her Grammy-winning debut did. Clearly a rethink of some sort was in order for her next album, and 2006's Loose, delivered about three years later, certainly does present a different Nelly Furtado: one who is glammed up, sexed up, and ready for the dancefloor. Borrowing liberally from Gwen Stefani's ghetto fabulous makeover and a little bit from Justin Timberlake's sleek retro-'80s moves on Justified, Furtado now has a sound that's straight 2006; with hooks that feel as comfortable as bumper music on MTV as they do as background on cell phone commercials or as ringtones, she can blend into the hyper-saturated media culture of 2006, a move that may alienate fans who were won over by how her debut, Whoa, Nelly!, sounded like nothing else in 2000. No matter how club-friendly Loose is -- even its quieter moments, like the closing "All Good Things (Come to an End)" (co-written in part by Coldplay's Chris Martin), feel like ideal soundtracks to chill-out moments -- ultimately Furtado did not get a swan-styled makeover, where her original personality has been chiseled and chipped away so only a vestige of her remains. Remember, Furtado is nothing if not smart, and she smartly picked Timbaland, one of the very best producers in modern music, as her main collaborator for Loose. Timbaland helmed all but two of the 12 main tracks here -- the album weighs in at 13 songs, but one is a Spanish version of the Juanes duet "Te Busque" -- and he gives much of this music a bracing feel, dense with old-school synths, subtle sample collages, bone-crunching bass, cascading vocal hooks, and beats that sound so heavy it takes careful listening to realize how nimble they are. Nowhere is this more evident than on the killer opening triptych of "Afraid," "Maneater," and "Promiscuous," three songs that trumpet Furtado's makeover and make it seem pretty convincing, too -- particularly on "Maneater" with its circular, minor-key bass and "Promiscuous" with its chorus that sounds like vintage Prince. This is Timbaland at his best, and the only weak link is Furtado; no matter how she growls on "Maneater" or murmurs on "Promiscuous" -- no matter how much she sings about sex, period -- she just doesn't sound sexy. She sounds as if she's striving to be sexy, which doesn't generate much carnal heat, but it ultimately doesn't matter much since on all the heavy dance songs, of which there are a bunch, she's mixed into the background on Timbaland's production, functioning as another instrument, which helps the music work as just a stylish wall of sound. Furtado doesn't fight against Timbaland's mix, which proves her smarts more than anything on the showy Folklore; there's a reason why she chose Timbaland as a collaborator, and she lets him shine for the first half of the record, as they get the party rolling. Then on the second half of the record, the old Nelly starts to show through. She gets to play the world traveler with "No Hay Igual," where she deftly blends reggaeton and M.I.A., along with the smooth Latin pop ballad "Te Busque." Her words gradually come to the forefront, as on "Say It Right" -- a dark meditative piece that would have fit on her previous records if it didn't have a Timbaland production -- or on the sweetly ruminative "In God's Hands," and then on "Wait for You," which has Indian-influenced hooks and a melody reminiscent of "I'm Like a Bird," both strands are pulled together in a haunting fashion. It's on this final stretch of the album that the Furtado and Timbaland pairing seems like a genuine collaboration, staying true to the Nelly of her first two albums, but given an adventurous production that helps open her songs up. Unlike the music on Folklore, the idiosyncrasies intrigue instead of frustrate, and deliver on the promise of her debut, when it seemed like Furtado could do anything. That said, the music on the second half isn't nearly as immediate or addictive as "Maneater" and "Promiscuous," two singles that were already deserved hits (in the U.K. and U.S., respectively) when Loose was released. The genius on these two songs is down to Timbaland, who not only crafts the sound but vocally overshadows Nelly's mumbled raps on the latter. But Furtado is smart enough to let him dominate here, since she knows that Timbaland has revitalized Nelly Furtado both creatively and commercially with Loose, so it's only appropriate that he hogs the spotlight on its two best moments. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Given Johnny Hartman's deserved reputation as a romantic balladeer par excellence, his skill as an interpreter of more energetic and uptempo material often slips through the cracks -- the delightful Unforgettable captures Hartman at his most effervescent, teaming with arranger Gerald Wilson to create a set of buoyant, swing-era standards crafted with impeccable style and sophistication. Regardless of the rhythm or mood, Hartman never strays too far from love songs, and Unforgettable spans some of the finest ever composed, from "Isn't It Romantic?" to "The Very Thought of You" to the title cut -- as always, he channels remarkable feeling and insight into each note, exhibiting a versatility absent from his more celebrated sessions. © Jason Ankeny /TiVo

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Guns N' Roses' Greatest Hits may bear all the hallmarks of a hastily assembled compilation, but it does offer all the band's biggest hits, "Welcome to the Jungle," "Sweet Child O' Mine," "Patience," "Paradise City," "Don't Cry," "You Could Be Mine," "November Rain," and "Live and Let Die" among them. While there are certainly several noteworthy tracks missing -- charting singles like "Nightrain" and "Estranged," and album tracks like "It's So Easy," "Mr. Brownstone," and "Used to Love Her," for instance -- for listeners who want a collection containing the group's biggest hits on one disc, Greatest Hits will serve their needs nicely. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo