The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey • Page 54

KICKBACK To offer your comments on these albums or others, call the Kicks feedback line at (908) 707-3149, or e-mail us at Tab Benoit, "These Blues Are Alt Mine" (Vanguard, Funkmaster Flex Big Kap, "The Tunnel" (Isiand-Oef Jam Recordings Music Group, came out about six years ago, it mistakenly might have been declared a masterpiece in a hail of hype. It's certainly still worth checking out. RM Teena Marie, "Love Songs" (EpicLegacy, tk XT- singers Toni Braxton and Jennifer Lopez on his mind (and a possible defamation suit on his hands). Method Man, Prodigy, Kool Rap, Lil' Kim, Mary J. Blige, Redman, Erick Sermon, The Cash Money Millionaires and LL Cool also are in "The Tunnel." Robert Makin Jucifer, "Calling All Cars on the Vegas Strip" (Capricorn Records, One of the most flattering compliments that can be bestowed upon a biues vocalist is that he or she sings from experience (i.e., "lived or has a great understanding of the genre's taies of hardship.

At the same time, a ringing endorsement for a blues guitarist is to be described as playing with feeling and making every note count These statements certainly apply to rural Louisiana-raised Tab Benoit, just 32 years old. He plays with the conviction of some of his obvious guitar heroes, such as B.B. King and Albert Collins. Vocally, he has a slight rasp that puts him in the same company as Ry Cooder. What really makes Benoit stand above the rest of today's young blues artists is the touch of good-time Cajun vibe he and his complementary bandmates put on his originals is a -fine six-string workout) and covers (the reworking of the Hank Williams classic "Jambalaya" deserves to become a Mardi Gras staple).

But it wouldn't be the blues without a stow, simmering jam, and Benoit fulfills that quota with the title track. 12 Chris M. Junior The fans and friends of this hip-hop duo helped create its latest disc. To craft most of the sounds, Funkmaster Rex Big Kap tapped into the musical preferences of the clubbers at The Tunnel, New York's hottest hipfiop nightspot. The results also inspired the title.

The list of special guests on "The Tunnel" reads like rap's who's who. They include Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur (both now deceased), whose concert tracks were added to the mix. The fun sing-along chorus of "We In Here" features the Rough Ryders: DMX, Eve. The Lox, Swizzbeatz and Drag-On.

Flex's Latin big band sample on "If I Get Locked Up" is turned into a police shootout with machine guns at the hands of N.W.A. founder Dr. Dre. On the same track, Dre protege Eminem, a white rapper from Detroit, expresses his disgust with the white rap audience who made today's scene mainstream but ridiculed or ignored the genre a few years ago. On the raw rape-rap of "Real G's," Snoop Dog has sexy 'Europop" (Repub- Cher can be faulted for many things, such as poor taste in clothes (or in some cases, not wearing enough clothes).

Add this to Cher's bevy of black marks her popularization of altering vocals with studio gad-getry, which is clearly evident on certain lines in the verses of her comeback hit, "Believe." Eiffel 65, a male trio consisting of a vocalist, a keyboardist-programmer and a DJ-mixer, takes this approach to the extreme on "Europop." The group's smash hit, "Blue (Da Ba Dee)," is inane, to begin with; add the robotic vocal sound, and the urge to destroy one's CD player rages like a four-alarm fire. Eiffel 65 proves it's a one-trick pony (and most likely a one-album wonder) by employing the same effect throughout the remaining 13 tracks. "Europop" should come with a coupon for a can of air freshener, because the album stinks worse than a garbage dump in mid-July. No stars CMJ Eiffel 65, lie, 4 The Athens, duo Jucifer combines the brashness of an alternative-rock duo like Ween with the heavy, mutant beauty of The Melvins and the mellow but unpredictable groove of Portishead. The female-fronted act, which gets its name because it sounds evil yet sweet, released its debut album, "Calling All Cars on the Vegas Strip," in 1998 on its own Crack Rock label.

Capricorn's first 2000 release is a remastered version of the surprisingly full-sounding effort, which charted in the Top 20 of CMJ's college radio charts shortly after its original release. On such a nurturing label, Jucifer should make a decent dent in what's left of the alternative-rock scene. If this album new flor Jt afyje (Piancone 2000 In the mid-1980s, Teena Mane scored a Top 5 pop hit with a slick slice of upbeat funk titled "Lover-girl." While that song remains the biggest hit of her career, it's not included on "Love Songs," a collection of much more intimate-sounding material from 1981-90. Marie's name belongs on two lists: the short one of white musicians who can sing with soul, and the always-growing one of artists with poor editing skills. Only two tracks on "Love Songs" are shorter than five minutes, and like a boxer in the late rounds of fight, Marie throws all she has left into a song's finale.

But by that point, she's used up most of her energy and basically kills time until the end finally arrives. Included is a previously unreleased extended version of "Sunny Skies," which clocks in at a whopping 8:41. 12 CMJ These artists' titles are due in stores Tuesday; all are subject to change: Guy, "111" (MCA). No joke Teddy Riley and brothers Damion and Aaron Hall are back with their first album in many years. The Raspberries, "Greatest Hits" (CapitolEMD).

A remastered and expanded set (with seven bonus tracks) from the power-pop band best known for the 1972 Top 5 pop hit "Go All the Way." Various Artists, "Fire and Skill: The Songs of The Jam" (IgnitionEpic). Garbage, Ben Harper and Oasis members Noel and Liam Gallagher are among the artists paying tribute to the influential rock trio. Compiled by CHRIS M. JUNIOR Qofnetning )dtki QOintez 3 Monday Thru Friday 4pm-6pm Sunday 2pm-5pm JO ON PPplus tax gratuity exra Menu Includes: Soup Of The Day House Salad Choice: Chicken Risotto Stuffed Porkloin London Broil Filet Of Salmon Veal Cacciatore Linguini Red Or White Eggplant Rollatine Cnicken Parmigiana Dessert: Chocolate Pudding Vanilla Pudding Rice Pudding promotions not included with this offer 2991 Hamilton Blve. So.

Plainfield, NJ 07080 908-561-2722.