You either love or hate Tom Waits. You're either a fan of his throaty battered delivery and offbeat music or you aren't. If you are a Tom Waits fan then what's written here or anywhere else for that matter is of little consequence. If you're not a fan then this album may have enough to convert you, maybe.

With Bone Machine Tom Waits has produced an album of enormous variety. The songs are stripped to their bare musical bones allowing the quality of the writing to shine. On Earth Died Screaming and Such A Scream Waits gives us a cacophony of odd percussion with tribal beats to the fore. The experimentation with percussion finds Jesus Gonna Be Here and Murder In the Red Barn subtly accompanied by upright bass.

In The Colosseum is another fine example of the odd rhythm of this album and also treats us with some gory imagery which can be found throughout the album. The lyrics also show plenty of humour with I Don't Wanna Grow Up and Goin' Out West sung with tongue firmly in cheek.

For all its strange percussion and off beat humour the most consistent theme is the quality of the songs. Songs such as Who Are You and That Feel have the ability to stop you dead with their heart felt lyrics and simple yet entrancing melodies. A Little Rain and Whistle Down The Wind are songs of pure beauty, which convey more than any words can the immensity of Tom Waits' talent. If you buy this album for these four songs alone you won't be disappointed and you may just be surprised by the rest of whats on offer.

If you exclude The Black Rider, Waits' soundtrack for the play of the same name, Mule Variations is Tom Waits' first new album since 1992's Bone Machine. Despite the long interval between these albums, although less frenetic, Mule Variations seems a natural progression, as it continues the percussive experiments of Bone Machine.

As on Bone Machine, thanks to the decidedly off beat rhythm and often disturbing lyrics, Waits' stomping low-fi blues has that feeling of barely contained madness. What's He Building, with its story of neighbourhood paranoia is a prime example of the odd tales that Waits has to tell. Waits' ranting delivery on Big In Japan, Cold Water and Filipino Box Spring Hog amongst others evoke images of Waits pounding out his piano blues in a small smoke filled room, constantly fighting to keep the music from collapsing into a complete cacophony. Get Behind The Mule and Come On Up To The House are the kind of lazy blues stompers that other artists would kill to be able to write.

Mule Variations like most Tom Waits albums also has songs, which are so beautiful and in such stark contrast to the pandemonium all round them that to hear them is almost a shock. Not quite a surprise just a very pleasant shock. Georgia Lee, Hold On, House Where Nobody Lives and Picture In A Frame all serve to remind us of the sheer magnitude of Tom Waits' tune and lyric writing genius.

Mule Variations is a more polished album than it's predecessor, but as on all Tom Waits albums the undeniable quality of the songs outshines production or anything else for that matter. I for one hope we don't have to wait another seven years for Tom Waits' next album, but if we do and its half as good as this then it'll be worth the wait.

Weed Inc. is an alternative pop outfit, consisting of three experienced musicians based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. All three members have built up their experience playing with various bands over the last few years, before forming Weed Inc. in the Spring of 1998. This musical knowledge means all three members are prolific song writers and their debut CD, Trampled, Beaten And Obeyed showcases 15 of the songs from a repertoire, which already boasts over 100 songs.

Weed Inc. describe their sound as Alternative Pop Rock and Trampled, Beaten And Obeyed delivers exactly that. From the opening track, Queen Bee on, Weed Inc. demonstrate their mastery of memorable tunes and harmonies. The songs are varied, sweeping from the decidedly punchy King Eros' People and Fuck Your Minivan, through to the subdued Tumble Into The Sun and the exceptional Trampled. The ground in between is covered effortlessly with catchy songs tripping over themselves to grab your attention.

Trampled, Beaten And Obeyed has that rare quality, if you ignore the ill conceived parting shot Mustard Lapel, of containing consistently strong songs. If I were to list the stand out tracks, I'd have to mention almost every one of the 15 songs on Trampled, Beaten And Obeyed. Songs that do deserve a mention are Paint A Picture, Open Up and (You Are My) Window. However, even singling these tracks out for praise does the rest of the album's songs a disservice.

Unfortunately for Weed Inc. the only element lacking is a song with a killer hook. Most of Weed Inc.'s songs take a few listens to worm their way into your mind, but once they do nothing short of a lobotomy will dislodge them. With radio audiences etc. having never been more fickle, hopefully this lack of an immediate attention grabber won't be to Weed Inc.'s detriment. Weed Inc. need just one or two songs that grab the listeners attention more immediately and the rest will follow. On the evidence of Trampled, Beaten And Obeyed it's only a matter of time, before Weed Inc. get the break they deserve.

Most Greatest Hits collections show how an artist's musical style has developed during their career. Paul Weller's collection highlights how little his music has changed during a solo career spanning the best part of a decade.

Giving credence to the oft-repeated argument that Weller's music is derivative and unoriginal, almost any of the songs on this collection could be grafted seamlessly into any one of the 5 albums from which they're drawn without sounding out of place. Paul Weller has had revivalist accusations levelled at him since The Jam first arrived on the scene over 20 years ago. Paul Weller's secret seems to be to revel in these influences rather than try deny them, something he has turned into an art form.

So this collection parades its influences unashamedly. Does that make this a bad collection? Well if you're not a fan of Paul Weller then this collection won't change anything. However if you are a fan of Weller's then this album is a treat. From the guitar driven Sunflower & The Changingman to ballads like You Do Something To Me & Brand New Start, this collection shows that you don't have to be ground breaking to entertain.

And while it does get a bit repetitive after prolonged listening, this compilation is an excellent starting point for those who have yet to add a Paul Weller album to their collection.

Having announced their arrival with 1995's countrified A.M., Wilco then produced one of the album's of 1996, the superb Being There. Having started to move away from their original country influences on Being There, their new album more or less completes the job. In fact the influences for this album are most likely to have been found loitering around the pop charts during the late sixties and early seventies.

On Summerteeth Wilco haven't abandoned their country influences altogether as shown on tracks such as She's A Jar. However any country feel on this Wilco album is mainly due to Jeff Tweedy's plaintive delivery and the use of steel guitars on many of the songs. The rest of the album however is a mix of bittersweet ballads and good old-fashioned pop songs. The songs that make up Summerteeth are beautifully crafted pop confections. When Wilco get going they're jangly pop melodies careen along making them pretty much unstoppable as witnessed by tracks such as ELT, Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(again) and A Shot In The Arm. I'm Always In Love and Can't Stand It are perfect songs for long hot Summer days. Even The hidden track, I'm A Boy is a classic with a definite hint of The Beach Boys about it.

Its not all plain sailing however with When You Wake Up Feeling Old edging to close to that diabolical section of the seventies that embraced Gilbert O'Sullivan, but it seems to have been just a momentary lapse. As for it's mood, Summerteeth is decidedly upbeat, despite titles such as How to Fight Loneliness, with most of the songs grinning from ear to ear.

Summerteeth finds Wilco moving decidedly closer to the guitar pop mainstream populated by Fountains Of Wayne etc. Whether this is a natural progression or an attempt to gain a wider audience is open to debate and even questions as simple as this are too complicated for this album, which is simply a catchy, if slightly off beat pop album.