The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania • 47

UIDV, REVIEWS surprising tenderness, as Nas imagines his ideal female Nas," featuring the fH HEAR THEM LIVE Cephas Wiggins, performing with Roomful of Blues, Dukes of Destiny, The VooDudes and others, as part of the daylong Blues Weekend, Friday, Sellersville Theater 1894, Main Street and Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808. Jason Ringenberg, with Tommy Womack and the Kwait Brothers Band, 10 p.m. Friday, The Fire, 412 W. Girard Philadelphia, 267-671-9298. NAS "GOD'S SON" (III WillColumbia) HIP HOP A quick study with a smooth flow, maximum street cred and an inclination for ear-grabbing arrangements, Nas (Nasir Jones) has prospered on promise since his 1994 debut, "Illmatic," and its follow-up, 1996s "It Was Written." On the month-old "God's Son," the New York rapper rewards those who stood by him through subse quent uneven outings, delivering detailed personal history in Benz-quality bumpin' beats.

As you might expect on a disc titled "God's Son," there are the usual ego trips. However Nas makes sure the scenery changes: "Get Down," with horns, strings and a James Brown sample; the Eminem-produced "The Cjoss," draped with a shady piano loop and strings, and the gunshot-blast single "Made You Look" are notably different but equally enticing. "God's Son" moves well beyond bravado, and with sweet voices of Kelis and City High's Claudette Ortiz); salutes self-esteem (the De La Soul-meets-KRS-One "I and shrewdness (the self-assured and ponders the gap between spiritual belief and street life's realities, as well as his mom's death from cancer (the old-school soulful Praise to Nas for "God's Son." Len Righi TRINA "DIAMOND PRINCESS" (Slip SlideAtlantic) HIP HOP I Paired with Missy Elliott on "Diamond Princess," Miami-based Trina continues to cater to mature audiences on the follow-up to 2000's "Da Baddest Trina and her guests (Ludacris and Tweet, among others) push the explicit lyric to its sexual extreme, earning Trina a spot alongside raunchy hip-hop legends such as the 2 Live Crew and LiT CEPHAS WIGGINS "SOMEBODY TOLD THE TRUTH" (Alligator) BLUES John Cephas' classic blues baritone and Piedmont-style guitar picking and Phil Wiggins country harmonica have produced some of the most authentic traditional blues in the business since they paired up in 1978. "Somebody Told the Truth," their third disc on Alligator, continues in the East Coast tradition of Blind Blake, Blind Boy Fuller and Blind Willie McTell, a FROU FROU "DETAILS" (MCA) ELECTRONKA If you admire Bjork, Kate Bush or Dido, there's a good chance you'll relish Frou Frou, aka producer songwriter Guy Sigsworth (who worked with Bjork on "Homogenic" and and vocalist Imogen Heap. The London-based duo's 2002 debut disc, "Details," is awash in icy atmospherics and layered vocals swirling around in the electronic ether, much of it In," "Let Go," "Psy NAS maximum street cred.

Kim. Two of the best tracks, Right" and "No Panties," have perfectly captivating choruses and great grooves, with lyrics so memorable and so adult that if you are the type who sings along to a catchy song, you may end up letting some nasty words slip at an inopportune time. And doing so, especially in a workplace setting, would not be considered "whistling while you work." This "Diamond Princess" is rough, and proud of it. Frank Pearn Jr. more upbeat and melodic blues that may be more amiable to the casual listener than the more familiar Delta style.

And though it sounds harmless enough, in the hands of these Handy Award winners, this deceptively simple and sometimes haunting music packs a punch. On traditional songs such as "Railroad Bill," "Sick Bed Blues," "Darling Cora" and Wiggins' "Forgiveness," the duo taps the type of vein that makes blind boys see and blues gods smile. Bob Wallace sublime. Heap is capable of communicating emotion, but there are times when the lyrics seem as if they were written by someone for whom English is a second language. This is most apparent on the meditative "The Dumbing Down of Love," a great title lost to ineptitude.

TONI BRAXTON "MORE THAN A WOMAN" (Arista) On her fifth disc, "More Than A Woman," Toni Braxton is still-sultry and still singing a lot of broken-heart ballads. But she no longer is relying on the Babyface formula of "lover-done-me-wrOng" slow jams. "Woman" continues her collaboration with husbandsongwriterproducer Keri Lewis (formerly of Mint Condition), which began with 2000's "Heat," and he keeps finding ways to stretch her talent. Sometimes it comes in the form of mature, "Let Me Show You The Way (Out)," featuring a nice Curtis Mayfield sample; "Give It Back," with the Big Tymers, and the disc's first single "Hit The Freeway." But Braxton is still at her best on the ballads. On "Lies" Lew- JASON RJNGENBERG "ALL OVER CREATION" (Yep Roc) ROOTS-ROCK Two heads aren't always better than one, as Jason Ringenberg's third solo outing, "All Over Creation," proves again and again.

The mid-2002 disc of duets and collaborations is not only disappointing many of the 12 tracks sound like unfinished demos but unsettling at times cowpunk pioneer Rin-genberg sounds inept, even when paired with talents such as Steve Earle, Todd Snider and BR549. "Honky Tonk Maniac from Mars," done with Hamell on Trial, is a cool, quiff-shaking rockabilly novelty tune. "Mother of Earth," written by the late Gun Club leader Jeffrey Lee Pierce and featuring Kristi Rose, is haunting, thanks to a wraithlike reading by Ringenberg. And DONNY OSMOND a guilty pleasure DONNY OSMOND "SOMEWHERE IN TIME" (DeccaUniversal) POP As former teen heartthrob David Cassidy did with "I Think I Love You" on his latest disc, "Then and Now," Donny Osmond revisits an old hit, the sappy "Puppy Love," on his 2002 "Somewhere in Time" album. Fortunately the rest of the record includes 1970s and '80s songs made famous by other artists.

While some will make you wince (David Soul's treacly "Don't Give Up On Us most reveal how effective a pop singer Osmond can be. His vocals are as perfect for the covers of Hall Oates "I Can't Go For That" and Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over" as they were for the Osmonds' "One Bad Apple." (Message to Justin Timberlake and his fans: Donny imitated Michael when your parents and grandparents were teenyboppers.) A guilty pleasure? Sure. But way more enjoyable than watching Osmond host "The $100,000 Pyramid." Larry Printz Dennis Kelly and Frank Pearn Jr. are freelance writers. Speaker Repafrs Quick UHnmls CilllvOttiilt Recone or Refoam Drivers Restore to original specs.

EHR 610-437-6777 VWf- -46 k- iw TONI BRAXTON more mature, more moody. is teams with former Mint bandmate Stokely Williams to give Braxton a really adventurous, lush and rock-tinged love song, while "Rock Me, Roll Me" is moody and free flowing, and "Tell Me" successfully incorporates Anita Baker's "Sweet Love." A good disc from a great voice. Dennis Kelly JASON RINGENBERG 3rd time's not the charm. "One Less Heartache," featuring London glam-metal band The Wildhearts, is capable country rock a la The Rainmakers, or Ringenberg's old band, The Scorchers. But real ly, "Creation" comes up short in the big bang department.

Len Righi 1ft 4 But Frou Frou has its heart in the right place. On that final track Heap states, "Music is worthless unless it can make a complete stranger break down and cry." Frou Frou never reaches that exalted state, but gets more than halfway there, and that's close enough. Larry Printz.