Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 149

usie Mountain Soul Patty Loveless i (Epic) One of Nashville's purest female voices returns to her roots with a top-rate acoustic set i if EARL SCRUGGS AND FRIENDS Happy Accidents original soundtrack (TVT) Electronica and avantjazz weirdos get a lounge infusion for this Marisa Tomei film. wren john mm mus rwweat AmnxXKTt JOMNNV CASH OONHlNtlV ivmcf eiu. vttmt voakam warty jtuart wuy sot moimroH randy scmmos OARY KftUMS TMMtTMTT NMAMNtCASH 4 C4 Flaming Star Sally Oldfleld (EagleNew World) 12 OWfield woos Loreena McKennitt fans with an ethereal blend of New Age and dance pop. I 3 of Hearts 3 of Hearts (RCA) 12 Spunky Texas teen trio harmonize on country-pop tunes about love. A 'Etemar The Isley Brothers (DreamWorks) The Isley Brothers were probably the most influential pioneers of music.

With party tunes and ballads, they've epitomized the rhythm and blues sound since 1959. Eternal features Ronald Isley's alter ego, Mr. Biggs, a character he established in videos for singers R. Kelly and Kelly Price. The duo decided to update their sound by using industry heavy hitters including Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, R.

Kelly and Jill Scott. Although they're adapting to the times, the vintage Isley sound is still there. The disc opens with Move Your Body, a guitar-driven song reminiscent of the Isleys' 1973 hit That Lady. The album continues with the single Contagious, which could be dubbed "The Ongoing Saga of Mr. Biggs" in the song, Mr.

Biggs comes home to find that something's going on in the master bedroom. Said Enough pairs the brothers with Scott, delivering a mellow groove perfect for any romantic night. Other standout cuts include the title track, Secret Lover and You're Alll Need. Instead of becoming a nostalgia act, the Isleys have moved ahead in the game with an album that young and old can enjoy. Mitchell Vantrease SuperBass 2 Ray Brown, John Clayton, Christian McBride (TelarcJazz) Upright heavyweights trade licks and solos on low-octave standards.

Toya (Arista) newest creation blends hip-hop and teen pop. LIU 'Earl Scruggs and Friends' Earl Scruggs (MCA Nashville) When bluegrass icon Earl Scruggs calls, folks drop everything and pick up the phone, even such hotshots as Elton John, Sting, Don Henley, Johnny Cash and Dwight Yoa-kam. The chance to record with Scruggs, who rose to fame with Bill Monroe and later teamed with Lester Flatt on such classics as Foggy Mountain Breakdown and The Ballad of Jed Clampett, is an opportunity to go back to the source. So the aforementioned stars, as well as Melissa Etheridge, John Fo-gerty, Travis Tritt and Rosanne Cash, were happy to help Scruggs with his first new recording in 17 years. The adventurous.

Scruggs applies his trademark three-finger picking style to songs by other artists this time around. He has no trouble getting his guests fired up, and this album reflects that energy. The high points are too numerous to fully cover, but start with the good-natured Fill Her Up, featuring Sting; the down-home Country Comfort, with John; and the driving Something Just Ain't Right, which spotlights Scruggs' son and sideman Randy. Wisecracking banjo player Steve Martin joins a spirited all-star jam on Foggy Mountain Breakdown, and Billy Bob Thornton shows why he should stick to acting on Ring of Fire. But it's all in fun, and there are bushels of good times here.

Larry Rodgers 7001: A Pclka Odyssey9 A Touch of Chicago (Sunshine Records) Here's music to feed your sausage-eating, beer-drinking, wedding-dancing Midwestern soul. Valley-based A Touch of Chicago brings us a 12-pack of spirited polkas and waltzes, and they're not just retreads of old-country favorites. Out Havasu Way is an updated and localized Down Uti-ca Way, with mention of "cactus-studded hills" and "polka clubs in Phoenix where Polish music plays." Traditions takes a nostalgia trip to "the old millennium" and hopes we'll remember our past as we waltz into the future. And what polka album would be complete without an ode to large women? The romping Size 52, adapted from a reggae tune, invites big girls to "come shake the dance floor with me." The older we get, the harder polka is to find. Drummer and vocalist Dennis Paprocki laments driving "hours just to hear that Polish sound" on Only Tunes for Me.

For now, at least, we have this disc. Pop it in, grab a brew-ski and put on your dancing shoes. Dave Michaels CDs and tapes available by calling (480) 899-9848 or e-mailing rotbearaol.com. Instant classic Repeat play Solid For fans only Use as a coaster Michael Senft, Larry Rodgers, Mitchell Vantrease and Sadie Jo Smokey Rollins Band (Sanctuary) Henry Rollins'is no longer an angry young man. The tattooed punk from Black Flag now is a respected poet, publisher and pundit.

But 20 years after TV Party, he's still as hard as ever. Nice is his second disc with the retooled Rollins Band, and it continues in the same vein as last year's Get Some Go Again. Groove is still the primary weapon of his band, composed of members from LA metal combo Mother Superior. The new crew still roars, and Rollins still screams, but the group only occasionally veers into the avant-noise territory. The most experimental track, Gone Inside the Zero, comes close to the classic Rollins sound, but the band keeps a tight grip and reels the song in at a mere three minutes.

Rollins is experimenting in other directions, however. He uses a horn section on a couple of tracks, and even backup singers on Up for It. His tortured wail is tamed to the point where he is almost singing. Ultimately, however, Nice is a bit unf ulf illing. The thrill that Low Self Opinion brought to a dumbfounded audience on the first Lollapalooza tour is gone.

But Rollins still knows how to strike a primal nerve in his listener. Even at the age of 40. Michael Senft new releases These discs are among those scheduled to be In stores Tuesday: Jeff Carson, Real Life (Curb) Europe, Prisoners of Paradise (Spitfire) Fugu, FugWl (Minty Fresh) G-Man and L-Chedda, 34 Village (Tooth Nail) Gigi, Gigl (Palm Pictures) Wayne Hancock, A-Town Blues (Bloodshot) Groove Armada, Superstylin' (JiveSilvertone) Morcheeba, Back to Mine (Ultra) Murder City Devils, Thelema (Sub Pop) Orbital, Altogether (LondonSire) Mandy Patinkin, Kidults (AtlanticNonesuch) Residents, Icky Flix (East Side Digital) Stuck Mojo, Violate This (Century Media) System of a Down, Toxicity (Sony) Three Mustafas 3, Play Musty for Me (Omnium) Big Moka (Sony) C3 CL SO 1 1.