CD REVIEWS
SUPER FURRY ANIMALS /
Rings Around the World
(Epic/Sony)
 Welshpop rules. This has to be the conclusion after listening to
the devilishly good fifth album from idiosyncratic Welsh rockers Super Furry Animals.
Following quickly on the heels of a heroic release by WalesECatatonia, Rings Around
the World marks a return to English, after SFA recorded their last album Mwng in
Welsh. An epic odyssey through styles ranging from Beach Boys-flavored pop to psychedelic
techno and even country, Rings is a musical kaleidoscope at times inspired and at others
bewildering. Ever-irreverent as they parody Tom Jones or satirize Bill and Monica, SFA
carry their sense of humor over to their live act. In the tour for Rings (expected to hit
Japan later in the year), they have been writing down the song titles on tiny balls, and
drawing them at random from a bingo machine to determine the playing order. Go figure.
USHER
/ 8701
(BMG)
 This may sound snobbish, but amid the torrent of saccharine smarm from boy
bands like Boyz Life and West Zone (sic), the new release from honey-toned urban soul
singer Usher sounds positively sincere in comparison. Delayed after the leak of a number
of tracks onto Napster caused Usher to head back to the studio to record new material,
Ushers third album features rhymes by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, producer of
Usher' 1994 self-titled debut, on the song "I Don't Know." Other songs of
interest include the sweetest love song (on an album of sweet love songs), “How Do I
Say,” and the dreamy funk of “Pop Ya Collar.” I’ll freely admit that
this sort of thing isn’t my cup of tea, but if it were, I’d ask my partner to
slip into something more comfortable as I slipped this into the CD player.
BOZ
SCAGGS / Dig
(Virgin)
 If any album deserves to be
called a comeback album, then it’s this one by the graybeard king of smooth soul
rock, Boz Scaggs. Cobbling together an outstanding session band that includes longtime
Eric Clapton bassist Nathan East, Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, brass player Roy Hargrove
Jr. and drummer Steve Jordan from Rolling Stone Keith Richards' X-pensive Winos band,
Scaggs has emerged with a work of nostalgic beauty to rival his 1976 smash, Silk Degrees.
“Ms. Riddle,” for example, is a lovely song about the challenges of pursuing a
beautiful, difficult woman, with angular horn charts that contrast nicely with
Scagg’s supple, understated vocals. Meanwhile, Scaggs is set to cap his comeback with
an appearance on the season debut of Fox TV series Ally McBeal.
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