Various Darker Than Blue: Soul From Jamdown 1973-1980 (Blood and Fire/Fusion III) Sweet, funky soul, Jamaican-style--lost gems and disco mixes you need, from Ken Boothe, Delroy Wilson, John Holt and many more. 9 (RB)

Echo and the Bunnymen Crystal Days 1979-1999 (Warner) Four discs of singles, essential album tracks and live/alternate versions by this classic '80s act. With a spankin' book to boot. 8.5 (LC)

David Axelrod self-titled (Mo'Wax/Select) Buy it for the seven classics by this heavily sampled trip-jazz legend. Lou Rawls and rapper Ras Kass do vox on the pair of newbies (damn fine and crap, respectively). 8 (LC)

Built to Spill Ancient Melodies of the Future (Warner) Fairly well-crafted, lazy psych-pop (with random hyper moments) that often suffers from getting too zoned in its own groove. 6.5 (LC)

The Eastsidaz Duces 'n' Trayz: the Old Fashioned Way (TVT/Universal) Battlecat, Hi-Tek and Swizz Beats all help out some old dog pimps. 6 (SC)

The Crystal Method Tweekend (Interscope/Universal) All-American rock-no. Ruthlessly and relentlessly run-of-the-mill. 5 (RB)

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