The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 61

litun MUSIC NEWS AND REVIEWS EWS Wl Top albums Super pops 1. DMX: "It's Dark and Hell Is Hot" 2. Soundtrack: "City of Angels" 3. Sparkle: "Sparkle" 4. Soundtrack: "Godzilla The Album" 5.

Eightball: "Lost" 6. Garth Brooks: "The Limited Series" 7. The Dave Matthews Band: "Before These Crowded Streets" 8. Natalie Merchant: "Ophelia" 9. Vonda Shepard: "Songs From Ally McBeal" 10.

LeAnn Rimes: "Sittin On Top of the World" Top singles 1. Brandy Monica: "The Boy Is Mine" 2. Next: "Too Close" 3. Shania Twain: "You're Still the One" 4. Mariah Carey: "My All" 5.

Janet Jackson featuring Blackstreet: "I Get Lonely" 6. Backstreet Boys: "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" 7. Xscape: "The Arms of the One Who Loves You" 8. K-Ci JoJo: "All My Life" 9. Savage Garden: "Truly, Madly, Deeply" 10.

Mya Sisqo: "It's All About Me" By JEFFREY LEE PUCKETT Courier-Journal Cntic "ALL THE PAIN MONEY CAN BUY" Fastball (Hollywood) Formats: cassette, CD "FEELING STRANGELY FINE" Semisonic (MCA) Formats: cassette, CD "HEAD TRIP IN EVERY KEY" Superdrag (Elektra) Formats: cassette, CD Fastball, Semisonic and Superdrag each released major-label debuts in 1996 that pretty much featured the same plot: A handful of good songs are stranded with a bunch of undistinguished stragglers, no one buys records, bands go home. Each was unfocused, as if the bands couldn't rise above their guitar-pop limitations. That's some well-trodden ground, and you either get inspired or get left behind. They got inspired. All three have returned with infectious records that dig a bit deeper than your typical three-chords-and-a-hook effort.

Fastball has enjoyed the most success with "The Way," and "All the Pain Money Can Buy" is a straightforward rock 'n' pop record filled with cynicism, humor, bravado and broken hearts. Fastball benefits from having Tony Scalzo and Miles Zuniga, two fine songwriters who trade off songs and vocals in the Lennon-McCartney tradition. Superdrag's John Davis is a one-man Lennon-McCartney, although he's backed off from the relentless Beatles aping that marked the band's first album. "Head Trip in Every Key" offers pop as dark as it is catchy. From the guy in "Annetchrist" who chants "nothing's cool, nothing matters" to the vicious attacks on corporate rock culture in "Bankrupt Vibration," Davis paints a grim picture.

Semisonic's "Feeling Strangely Fine" is filled with songs you'd swear you've heard before, but they still sound fresh. "Closing Time" is classic pop in the sense that it insinuates itself immediately and then grows on you, as does "Singing In My Sleep," a love story between a boy and his favorite new album. Dan Wilson's clever lyrics and heartfelt singing make the album work. None of the above records is a classic, but sugar-pop junkies needing a hook and a fix can happily boot up here. 85 lbs.

of pure trouble "METROSCHIFTEa SHIPPING Metroschifter and Shipping News (Initial) Formats: CD One of the sideshows at. this weekend's KrazyFest, a three-day music festival at the Brewery, is the release of this split CD from Metroschifter and Shipping News, bands that have roots in 10 years of Louisville underground music. Between the bands' collective six members are former and current members of Rodan, Sunspring, Rachel's, Falling Forward, June of 44 and the Monarchs (although we're checking on that last one). While Shipping News is the higher profile group, Metroschifter makes the bigger impression. Scott Ritcher has grown immensely as a writer over the last couple of years, keeping his experimental edge while adding a pop-wise focus.

"Now," for example, has moments of real beauty, while "One Cloud in the Sky" is the soundtrack for a sinking paddle-wheeler. Shipping News is all about mood, suggestion and misdirection, with a little Led Zeppelin thrown in for the stoners. "Nine Bodies, Nine States" lays on the supple tension to good effect and "Steerage" dissolves into a nicely low-key freak-out, but "Books on Trains" loses its momentum after stumbling through a spoken-word segment. For $8, you can check out both bands tomorrow at KrazyFest. In addition to Shipping News and Metroschifter, Su-perchunk, Elliott, King for a Day, Uzeda and Empire State Games will perform from noon to around 7 p.m.

at the Brewery, 426 Baxter Ave. Havana dance? By KEITH HENRY BROWN Special to The Courier-Journal "BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB" Various artists (NonesuchWorld Circuit) Formats: cassette, CD "INTRODUCING RUBEN GONZALEZ" Ruben Gonzalez (NonesuchWorld Circuit) Formats: cassette, CD "AFRO-CUBAN ALL STARS" Various artists (NonesuchWorld Circuit) Formats: cassette, CD While growing up in New York City, I had quite a few pals who lived in Spanish Harlem, and I was struck by the sights, sounds and smells of the colorful Latin community. People sitting on brownstone stoops, calling out of windows, dancing. The music on three recent recordings from NonesuchWorld Circuit takes me Top albums 1. DMX: "It's Dark and Hell Is Hot" 2.

Sparkle: "Sparkle" 3. Eightball: "Lost" 4. Soulja Slim: "Give It 2 'Em Raw" 5. Big Punisher: "Capital Punishment" 6. Fiend: "There's One in Every Family" 7.

Various Artists: "Too Short Records: Nationwide Independence Day: The Compilation" 8. Soundtrack: "Bulworth" 9. Jon "Cool Relax" 10. Soundtrack: "Streets Is Watching" Semisonic has a new album. back to those summer evenings.

These are songs that have been passed down from generation to generation on worn vinyl and old cassettes, sold on the streets and played in local clubs with the same precision and passion as when first written. "Buena Vista Social Club" gathers some of Cuba's finest musicians playing traditional "son de Cuba." Produced by legendary gringo guitarist Ry Cooder, the majority of these virile musicians are more than 60 years old, yet they perform like enthusiastic teen-agers. On "Chan Chan," the slow, passionate swing that opens the album, guitaristvocalist Elides Ochoa sings about wanting a woman so badly that his mouth waters. Erotic lyricism pervades the disc. On "Candela," 82-year-old Ibrahim Ferrer moans, "I'm burning," and you'd better believe it, while national treasure Maria Teresa Vera longs for her lover on "Veinete Anos." One of the standout musicians on "Buena Vista" is the 70-years-young Ruben Gonzalez, one of the fathers of modern Cuban music.

The uncanny dexterity of his piano playing is spotlighted on "Introducing Ruben Gonzalez." The irony of the title is quickly apparent upon reading the liner notes because, while Gonzalez has been a major star in Cuba for more than 50 years, this is his first official solo effort. He improvises superbly, incorporating snatches of popular songs and classical music in his solos. The opening "La Enganadora" is a charmer, but Gonzalez really shows off his chops on the sublime "Siboney," a CancionAfro-Cuban number, and his own sweet essay, "Como Siento Yo." Nonesuch's third release is devoted to Cuban big bands, and "Afro-Cuban All Stars" is essential listening that features more legendary musicians. In the liner notes to "Buena Vista Social Club," Cooder remarks that "music is alive and well in Cuba, not some moment that we stumbled into." It's true, and the freshness of this music seems like a never-ending fiesta. Top country albums 1.

Garth Brooks: "The Limited Series" 2. LeAnn Rimes: "Sittin' on Top of the World" 3. Shania Twain: "Come on Over" 4. George Strait: "One Step at a Time" 5. Faith Hill: "Faith" 6.

Garth Brooks: "Sevens" 7. Soundtrack: "Hope Floats" 8. Tim McGraw: "Everywhere" 9. Jeff Foxworthy: "Totally Committed" 10. Terri Clark: "How I Feel" From BiHbcard magazine 1 Internet alert! Find out more at our Web site: www.louisviHescene.com Page 4 The Courier-Journal 30, 1998.