D.O.A.
War and Peace (Sudden Death)
This might not be the first D.O.A. greatest-hits package - that was '84's Bloodied But Unbowed - but it's certainly is the better of the two. Though it mines Joey Shithead's 25-year career with the band, the real treasures, of course, are the pre-Let's Wreck the Party era. In fact, over half of the 26 tracks here are taken from the pre-'85 era, way before Shithead became Keithley and started hanging around Randy Bachman and Terry David Mulligan. "Fucked Up Ronnie," "Fuck You," "The Prisoner," "General Strike" - it's all here and hasn't aged a day. Once guitarist Dave Gregg and drummer Chuck Biscuits left the band, the piss and vinegar got a bit watered down, but Keithley suprprises with 2001's "Just Say No to the W.T.O.," which provides a perfect bookend to the opener "Disco Sucks." Looking forward to the next 25 years. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins) With Pit Boss, October Crisis and And the Saga Continues at Foufounes Électriques, Fri., Nov. 21, 7pm, $10

Ryan Adams
Rock N Roll (Lost Highway/Universal)
Ryan Adams
Love Is Hell Pt. 1 (Lost Highway/Universal)
This guy can really churn 'em out. Last month he released his odd tribute to hardcore as the Finger, and now here's both of these, with Love Is Hell Pt. 2 expected soon. Adams is an expert chameleon, whether stumbling and swaying through alt-country in his previous band Whiskeytown, delivering the heart-wrenching ballads or poking fun at hardcore. On Rock N Roll, Adams brings on the sleaze and swagger but mucks it up when he lifts the Smiths on "Anybody Want to Take Me Home" and U2 on "So Alive." He makes up for it with great songs like "Do Miss America" and "Note to Self: Don't Die." Love Is Hell Pt. 1 is where he really soars, letting the lyrics paint the picture and giving it all the space it needs. Again, though, he mucks up a near-perfect performance with a cover of Oasis's "Wonderwall." A true artist, Adams knows how to surprise, but will really dazzle when he learns to keep his hand out of other people's pockets. Rock N Roll 7.5/10, Love Is Hell 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Primus
Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People (Interscope/Universal)
With the original line-up of Les Claypool on bass and vocals, Larry Lalonde on guitar and Tim Alexander on drums, the legendary trio return for a quick little album that borders on experimental. It seems the years have seasoned these boys. Or maybe they took a weekend off, did 'shrooms and recorded five new tracks. The lyrical content hasn't changed, it's the Twilight Zone soup of sonics accompanying it that's gotten thicker. But the DVD of rare stuff, live footage, all their videos and more is the real star. In fact when you open the case it's first and the audio CD is second. A must-have for the Primus fan. 9/10 (Lateef Martin) At Metropolis, Sat., Nov. 22, sold out

Jim Guthrie
Now, More Than Ever (Three Gut)
Three albums in, Royal City's guitarist has honed his solo songcraft and carved out a space in Canada's folk music lineage. He's also shelved the Sony Playstation and, with it, the unique songwriting tool that set him apart from the sea of modern folkies. He's opted instead for an all-organic concoction featuring members of the Hidden Cameras (strings), Royal City (bass), Rockets Red Glare (drums) and the Constantines (banjo). The album's lighter arrangements go hand in hand with Guthrie's classic tuneage and slacker poetry, but thick layers of soulless strings and stiff riffs frequently gel into a dull, stately jumble. 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

The Thrills
So Much for the City (Virgin/EMI)
Is Ameriphilia a word? Well, it should be, and this Irish quintet should be its archetype. It's not their reliance on '60s sunshine pop (popular territory for nearly everyone nowadays), it's the full-on California fetish. Only three songs are actually named after the state's cities (plus one for Las Vegas, just 'cause), but they're all slices of imagined West Coast life with a rustic pop backdrop. Singer Conor Deasy's Neil Young wheeze drifts through pedal-steel porch ditties, knees-up, top-down pop songs and chamber ballads, an ambitious debut that's a tad flimsy, forced and (literally) detached. 7/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Anjali
The World of Lady A (Wiiija/Select)
London, England's Anjali Bhatia works an angle comparable in some ways to our own Ramasutra. A languid sexuality permeates all corners of her sonic salad, one tossed up with traces of ripe exotica, oily lounge jazz, classy breaks, vintage twang and of course the Desi flavour of her background. But whereas Ram favours the weird and incongruous, Anjali plays her sexy retro trip rather straight. Too straight at times - some tracks feel too controlled, her sex kitten delivery too calculated and forced. On the other hand, the raw surf and shiny sitars of "Stinging Sitars X 9," for instance, are right in the pocket. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Mr. Roam
Tom Strokes presents the Classix Plus Six (Choice Cut)
Toronto MC Mr. Roam has always relied on the simple combination of tight bass and drums behind his charming and relaxed flow. After basking in the heat and light of his affiliation with the Grassroots, Roam finally releases this 12-song combination of previously released tracks and B-sides, as well as a new crop of Choice Cut joints. Along with the melodic stomp of the first single "System," many will recognize the Saukrates collaboration "Luvovadu" as well, with Sauks singing the hook and dropping a verse with ease. Production is handled for the most part by Mr. Attic of Grassroots fame, with Roam splitting his MC duties with production on a few songs to boot. 8/10 (Scott C) At Blizzarts, Fri., Nov 21, 10 pm, $6

Various
True Crime: Streets of L.A. Soundtrack (Koch)
If you design a video game that allows players to live out their wildest West Coast criminal fantasies to the fullest, you definitely have to complement it with a soundtrack suitable for breaking the law, right? Well, that's what we have here, 20 songs that will add to your True Crime experience, with authentic West Coast hip hop outfits lined up to contribute. Songs like "Don't Fight the Pimpin'" by Suga Free, "We Don't Stop" by Soul Star and "Don't Do the Crime" featuring Kam definitely convey a California state of mind, but for some reason, don't seem quite as captivating without the criminal grind of the video game. Who knew music could sound better with an X-Box controller in your hand? 7/10 (Scott C)

Kid 606
Kill Sound Before Sound Kills You (Ipecac)
Among the hundreds of thousands of words in the English language, there are a few adjectives that keep popping up in every Kid 606 CD review: irreverent, schizophonic, erratic, hyper, insane, hardcore. He's been called everything from an ironic piss-taker to the bad boy of IDM, from the bastard child of techno to one of the most dangerous men on Earth (seriously). One listen to Kill Sound Before Sound Kills You and you'll have to agree. Once again 24-year-old Miguel Depredo defies categorization as he mixes up dancehall, jungle, hardcore, noise, pastoral IDM psych-pop and gentle DSP glitch explorations on this, his second album for Ipecac. The question remains, is there anything he can't do? 7.5/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Susumu Yokota
Laputa (Skintone/Fusion III)
Yokota has once again created the perfect soundtrack to a film that does not yet exist. In fact, the more I listen to this album, the more I'm reminded of another forward-thinking film scorer whose work made every film he contributed to. Like Ennio Morricone, Yokota creates a unique mood through juxtaposition of found sound and droned melody, punctuating emotive symphonic crescendos with lonesome guitar or found-sound collage. While some of the arrangements are quite otherworldly, Yokota's use of voice (whether it be choir or vocal sound snippets) always brings the listener into a world that is both foreign and familiar. A wonderful listen. 7.5/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Nick Holder
The Other Side (NRK/Fusion III)
T.O.'s prolific Holder has been dropping tracks on imprints such as DNH, Stickman and !K7 for over a decade. Bossa-house kickers such as "Da Sambafrique" and "Summer Daze" have secured his position as a global DJ force. On his latest album, which boasts a vaunted roster of top house producers including Danny Krivit, Joey Negro and Miguel Migs, Nick rounds up a phalanx of Toronto talents to deliver an intriguing gumbo of Afro-Brazilian house, dub, Detroit-style hip hop and U.K. breakbeat soul. The pick for the DJ flight cases is "The Dream Lives On," representing Holder at his minimal finest, while "No More Dating DJs" is a smooth downtempo nugget that has a tongue-in-cheek quality. 8.5/10 (Peter Lightburn)

David Occhipinti
Intersection (Occdav Music)
Horace Silver
Rockin' With Rachmaninoff (Bop City)
Two very different but excellent releases, both featuring front-rank Canadian tenor players. Mike Murley joins guitar-playing Occhipinti along with Andrew Downing on bass and drummer Terry Clarke on 10 of the leader's musically interesting originals, while Ralph Bowen appears on the latest from Silver, a jazz giant as both a pianist and composer. Among the others adding to the success of this one are another tenorman Rickey Woodard, trumpeter Michael Mossman, bassist Bob Maize and drummer Carl Burnett. Handling the vocals are Andy Bey and the lesser-known Dawn Burnett. Eleven Silver originals that include the title piece and one called "Monkeyin' Around With Monk". Both CDs hold memorable moments and are recommended. Both 9/10 (Len Dobbin)

Mini CD Reviews

Johanne Desforges Quiet Times (XXI-21) A new one from this fine local singer ably assisted by the Jeff Johnston Trio. Try Bill Evans' "The Two Lonely People" for size. 8 (LD)

Fort Lauderdale Pretty Monster (Memphis Industries/Fusion III) Sounds like Marc Bolan is alive and beaming space-age folk-rock out of Florida. 8 (LC)

MTX Yesterday Rules (Lookout/Outside) Mr. T. Experience may have helped spawn the pop-punk sound but don't hold it against them, because now they have more in common with late-'60s bubblegum. 7.5 (JC)

Various Tricky Back to Mine (DMC/Fusion III) From the Cure to Le Tigre to Eric B. & Rakim, Tricky mixes and mumbles through this foggy-minded comp. 7.5 (LC)

Danny Vibes Jonah Dan Improvisators Dub (Le Chalet/Fusion III) A U.K.-flavoured roots session featuring the vocals of Jonah Dan and arrangements by Danny Vibes. I don't believe it was improvised. 7.5 (SC)

Jack Bruce More Jack Than God (Sanctuary/BMG) Ex-Cream dude proves himself still vital here, but the inclusion of Cream's "I Feel Free" is just downright sad. 7 (JC)

Daniel Bell Blip Blurp Bleep (Logistic) Thirteen track retrospective of jackin' Detroit techno imbued with Bell's quirky personality. Most of the long-winded tracks are better suited for mixing than for end-to-end listening, though. 6.5 (RK)

Fun Lovin' Criminals Welcome to Poppy's (Sanctuary/BMG) Precious little fun here. Except for "You Got a Problem," this is largely turgid alt-rock by some small-time crooks. 4 (RB)

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