It’s kind of hard to figure out why Radiohead, on the heels of their two most ambitious studio recordings to date, would put out a live album, all but one track of which are from those two albums.

Is the band low on cash, looking to take advantage of the preholiday music market? Doubtful. Were “Kid A” and “Amnesiac” just a little too soft and musically predictable for fans, and Radiohead needed to truly get their angst and emotion across to fans? Very doubtful.

Whatever the reason it’s out there, “I Might Be Wrong” works – a compelling collection of eight disjointed live tracks that convey an unrestrained energy and explosiveness to those who haven’t seen the band live. Its sometimes methodical studio tracks are replaced with distinctively different stripped down live versions, giving lead singer Thom Yorke the ability to let his haunting vocals dominate in a way it couldn’t with the grandiose production of its recent studio recordings.

This is most clear on the album’s opener, “The National Anthem,” which is lacking the defining horn section featured on the “Kid A” version. Without it, the band guides the song along itself, Yorke’s energetic grumblings sounding like they’re constantly on the verge of explosion.

And the inclusion of “True Love Waits” alone is worth the 10 bucks. Previously unreleased, it’s a calm and poetic acoustic track void of any of the hi-fi special effects Radiohead is known for. Yorke’s calm yet anguished vocals give off a sense of desperation that will leave hard-core fans ecstatic and everyone else fascinated.

Radiohead is a band that couldn’t put out a normal record if it tried, and here it loses the solemness of the studio, replaces it with an unbridled energy and pulls off a less-than-ordinary album that screams to be listened to over and over.

– Tim Paluch

Kid Rock has received a lot of criticism since “Devil Without A Cause,” and has become a whipping boy for mindless rap/rock music.

This isn’t the same Kid Rock, musically, as we heard in 1998, just like he wasn’t the same back in 1990 when he released the straight hip-hop “Grits Sandwiches For Breakfast.”

“Cocky” is a bluesy, hard rockin’, hip-hoppin’ album mixed with plenty of southern rock country pride. Maybe something only Kid Rock can pull off.

“Midnight Train To Memphis,” “Lonely Road of Faith” and the simply amazing “Picture” (featuring Sheryl Crow) draw from Kid’s deep roots in old-school country like Hank Williams – slow, sad and depressing, but beautiful. Whoever thought that Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock could make such a duo?

“Baby Come Home” has Kid playing the slide guitar and banjo and singing about those “lovesick blues,” and “What I Learned Out On The Road” sounds like Kid Rock’s personal tribute to groups like Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Snoop Dogg drops in for the absolutely hilarious bonus track “WCSR” which stands for World Class Sex Rhymes. And Kid drops styles that are reminiscent of the days when he was kickin’ it with Too Short on the album’s title track, “Cocky.”

Kid Rock is still Kid Rock. He’s still about the “red, white, and the Pabst Blue Ribbon,” and he still drops the f-bomb every chance he gets. But musically he is erasing rap/rock. Blues, soul, country, bluegrass – there are no boundaries or genres with Kid Rock.

– Trevor Fisher

“She got a corpse/ under her bed/ she had her/ but now he’s dead.”

The Superbeast is back. Rob Zombie returns with his tormented lyrics in his sophomore album “The Sinister Urge.”

Zombie fans had to wait three years for this follow up to “Hellbilly Deluxe.”

“The Sinister Urge” is driven by hard beats that, at times, power over the lyrics. Zombie is no Shakespeare, but it would be nice to hear his twisted words a little bit better.

Zombie’s infatuation with death is highlighted in many of the tracks, such as “House of 1000 Corpses,” which talks about a cannibalistic serial killer.

A fan of ’50s style horror movies, Zombie allows the genre to influence his music. He includes spoken word tracks that sound like old movies.

However, Zombie is at his best when he leaves behind the images of death and darkness. “Feel So Numb” and “Never Gonna Stop” are great fast paced, head-banging songs.

“(Go to) California” shows that Zombie has the ability to slow his music down, even if it is by just a fraction.

Ozzy Osborne makes a guest appearance in “Iron Head.” Unfortunately, it is a very forgettable track.

The album suffers because many of the songs sound alike. More diversity in beat and pace would greatly improve it.

Even with a couple of dud tracks, “The Sinister Urge” is overall a good disc. While only a few songs stick out, the rest are strong enough to solidify the album.

Zombie has toned down his dark demonic images, and his musical quality is improving, showing that there is more to him than B-movie horror.

This change in style is making him more accessible to new fans.

Rob Zombie is proving that he can do it alone. His decision to leave “White Zombie” seems to have been the right choice.

“The Sinister Urge” is smooth, hard rocking and fun. It will not disappoint Zombie fans, and will impress new listeners.

– Matthew Carlson