The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 85

Top 5s I Sp Harry Connick Come By Me (Sony) Although Harry Connick Jr. is commonly known for his jazz-influenced sound, his latest studio recording, "Come By Me" has more of a big-band feel than anything else. The youngest crooner on the block has the style and voice of a generation past that keeps your fingers snapping and your toes tapping, but may be a disappointment if you're expecting more than a Rat Pack rip off. Not only does Connick write and play piano on most of the songs, he also does much of the arranging, not to mention all of the singing. The album contains some originals and some interpretations, such as Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" and "Easy to Love" and Irving Berlin's "There's No Business Like Show Business." And even though he pulls these numbers off without a hitch, there unfortunately isn't anything on the CD that stands out as worthy of Connick's talent His blatant Sinatra impersonation, well done as it may be, is no longer as amusing as it was the first time he did it One of the few noteworthy songs is "Nowhere With Love," a catchy little tune written by Connick that can easily be pictured in a technicolor musical.

All the others do little to bring the big-band sound back into the limelight As it is, "Come By Me," may only get airplay in Pottery Barns across the nation. Sablna Esplnet The Flaming Lips, The Soft Bulletin (Warner Bros.) Equal parts beauty and sadness, "The Soft Bulletin" is the Flaming lips' most bold and coherent statement yet Wayne Coyne takes on the big issues here life, love and death and if the conclusions he reaches aren't new ones, it may be because there are such things as universal truths. Besides, Coyne, as those Various artists, Runaway Bride (ColumbiaSony Music) Apparently if been among the best-selling soundtracks since the movie opened. But despite a cast of musical heavyweights and styles that run from country fiddles to jazz fundamentals the likelihood there will be a runaway hit off "Runaway Bride" seems pretty slim. This album is weak in creative inspiration.

Too many of the songs are predictable in depicting a romantic path from here-we-go-again to happy-ever-after. For example, "Blue Eyes Blue," sung by Eric Clapton, relies on way too many chord changes and a lame acoustic bridge that sounds plain lazy for a guitarist of Clapton's talent Latin star Marc Anthony basically sings three notes on "You Sang To Me," and the rhythm and blues numbers by Allure and Coco Lee sound ridiculously similar. Martina McBride makes a laudable effort on "I Love You," but it is memorable mostly for its cutesy chorus: So electrically charged up Kinetically active Erratically need you The best tunes are different but mostly from each other. Shawn Colvin's voice is so sweet on "Never Saw Blue Like That" it will make you cry. So can Miles Davis' horn on the smoky lounge classic, "It Never Entered My Mind." The Dixie Chicks are all silliness and sass on the song that probably has the best chance of topping the charts, "Ready To Run." (And thaf counting on the strength of the gals' giggly video now airing, repeatedly, on CMT.) Meanwhile, there are a couple of unexpected elements.

Billy Joel's rendition of the goofy honky tonk tune, "Where Were You (On Our Wedding Day)" makes one miss the ever-so-popular piano man. So does the be-bop pop perfection of Daryl Hall and John Oates on a new tune, "And Thaf What Hurts." Jennifer Barrs Lissette, Amor de Luna (Sony Latin) k-k-k The three long years since the release of her last solo album have seemed like an eternity to fans of lissette. But the wait was worth it because lissette delivers one of the season's best Spanish mainstream pop albums in "Amor de Luna." Beyond her cover girl looks a svelte, petite frame and platinum blond hair Lissette can sing and she has been a major force in Latin pop for more than three decades. "Amor de Luna," her 28th release, has enormous cross-generational appeal. She just seems to be getting better with time.

lissette demonstrates her emotional range and vocal finesse on the CD's first big hit "Quiero Hacer Contigo el Amor," and moody ballads such as "Encan-dilada" and the album's title track. And she's not afraid to take risks. On "Eterna Danza" she tries her hand at a little rap, and it works, wonderfully. Lissette's songwriting skills also deserve special mention. Three of the CD's 10 tracks showcase her own compositions and lyricincluding the moving "Regresare," "Campo de Batalla" and "Para Siempre." Breathy vocals, subtl jazz textures and sultry Latin rhythms make "Anjior de Luna" a real standout Cloe Cabrera who ve been following this crew could guess, takes his very own route to enlightenment "The Soft Bulletin" is the fraternal twin of last year's "Deserter's Songs" by Mercury Rev (the bands have shared members and Rev bassist Dave Fridmann produced "Bulletin" with the Lips).

But where "Deserter's Songs" found Mercury Rev dragging its iconoclasm back to the farm, the Dps are aiming for the stars of inner and outer space. Coyne comes off spin tnis 1 ego has landed POP SINGLES 1. Genie in a Bottle, Christina Aguilera 2. Bills, Bills, Bills, Destiny's Child 3. Tell Me It's Real, K-Ci and Jojo 4.

Summer Girls, LFO 5. All Star, Smash Mouth POP ALBUMS 1. Millennium, Backstreet Boys 2. Significant Other, Limp Bizkit 3. Ricky Martin, Ricky Martin 4.

Runaway Bride, Soundtrack 5. One More Time, Britney Spears SINGLES 1. Bills, Bills, Bills, Destiny's Child 2. Tell Me It's Real, K-Ci and Jojo 3. Fortunate, Maxwell 4.

Spend My Life With You, Eric Benet 5. So Anxious, Ginuwine ALBUMS 1. Coming Of Age, Memphis Bleek 2. Guerrilla Warfare, Hot Boys 3. The Writing's on the Wall, Destiny's Child 4.

400 Juvenile 5. 100 Ginuwine, Ginuwine COUNTRY SINGLES 1. Amazed, Lonestar 2. Lesson in Leavin', Jo Dee Messina 3. God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You, Alabama 4.

Little Good-Byes, Shedaisy 5. Single White Female, Chely Wright COUNTRY ALBUMS 1. Come on Over, Shania Twain 2. Wide Open Spaces, Dixie Chicks 3. Lonely Grill, Lonestar 4.

A Place in the Sun, Tim McGraw 5. Forget About It, Alison Krauss MODERN ROCK TRACKS 1. ScafTissue, Red Hot Chili Peppers 2. What's My Age Blink 182 3. All Star, Smash Mouth 4.

Nookie, Limp Bizkit 5. My Own Worst Enemy, Lit LATIN ALBUMS 1. Bailamos, Enrique Iglesias 2. Buena Vista Social Club, Buena Vista Social Club 3. MTV Unplugged, Mana 4.

Buena Vista Social Club Presents, Ibrahim Ferrer B. Suavemente, Elvis Crespo music reviews as Roger Waters with a heart, or Brian Wilson with all his marbles. And Coyne needs both heart and mind to come out the other side of the issues he's confronting here: Will the fight for our sanity be the fight of our lives? he asks in "The Gash." Love in our life is just too valuable But life without death is just impossible he concludes in "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate." Coyne's quavering voice, familiar to most from the Lips' fluke 1995 hit "She Don't Use Jelly," perfectly conveys the ponderous doubt and fragile hope at this album's heart Stripped to a lean trio of Coyne, bassist Michael Ivins and drummer-multi-instrumentalist-mir-acle man Steve Drozc, the band has made its most beautifully-orchestrated, fully-realized work yet. It's hard to top the ambition of an album in which four discs are meant to be played simultaneously, as was 1997's "Zaireeka." But 'The Soft Bulletin" is a great leap forward lyrically, melodically and sonically. Curtis Ross Recordings are awarded from zero to four stars FT Robbie Williams, The Ego Has Landed (Capitol) Try to forget the old Robbie Williams, the one who crooned in the all-boy band Take That and then took the fame and fortune he earned and nearly did himself in on the booze-and-pills highway to oblivion.

And, please, try to overlook the Robbie Williams who just a few years ago wanted to be the next Liam Gallagher of Oasis and failed. With the U.S. release of "The Ego Has Landed" a compilation of his two multi-platinum U.K. albums "Life Thru a Lens" (1997) and "I've Been Expecting You" (1998) Robbie has found himself magnificently. This is what he was meant to be: a mainstream pop-star poster boy, totally accessible to radio with the same sex appeal he owned in Take That.

What separates Rob-o from the likes of Menudo graduate Ricky Martin is a true sense of vulnerability. This is a heart-on-the-sleeve, crying-on-the-inside clown who doesn't mind telling you about his massive screw-ups along the way to redemption. There's plenty of variety to keep it from getting too sappy, including the Pet Shop Boys-influenced tune about the break-up of Take That "No Regrets," complete with backing vocals from Neil Tennant of PSB and Neil Hannon of The Devine Comedy. And then there's a bit of operatic rage on "Karma Killer" (possibly directed at his ex-manager) as he screams, "Why was I never good enough? You thought you'd leave me falling forever I hope you choke on your Bacardi and Coke." And before the record is over, Robbie sneaks in one last jab with a venomous soliloquy not suitable for the easily offended. But there are enough light-hearted moments to balance the anger, and those are the best moments of this disc.

It's certainly much cooler to say you prefer the pop of Pulp's Jarvis Cocker or Blur's Damon Albarn, but will you enjoy it more than Robbie? If you've got ears, not likely. Bill Ward de'luna MC Eiht, Section 8 (Hoo-Bangin') With his trademark "g-yeah" and his energetic voice, MC Eiht has one of the most recognizable styles in hip-hop. The veteran rapper has been putting out quality albums for years, and on "Section 8," Eiht delivers another great West Coast album. With its smoothed-out California sound and Eiht's vocals, "Section 8" is the kind of album that makes you want to get in your car and crank up the volume. "Section 8" gives a lot of insight into Eiht's life and is full of personal experiences.

The best songs are about Eiht's hardships in the tough Compton streets. These include "Living N' Tha Streetz," "My Life," and "Days of '89." Ice Cube and Mack 10, who also is the executive producer on "Section 8," join Eiht to showcase three of California's best on "III Tha Hood Way." The only drawbacks on "Section 8" are that the subject matter becomes a little repetitive and the skits and intros come off as useless filler. Michael Smith Source: Billboard Magazine, Aug. 21 http:t8mpatrlb.com THE TAMPA TRIBUNE RID AY, AUGUST 20,, 199 9 FRIDAY tXTBA, 15.