“Restless”

Xzibit

Compare to: DMX, Dr. Dre,

Everlast

****

After popping up on numerous albums from the Dr. Dre family over the past two years and doing a guest track on Limp Bizkit’s third release, raspy-voiced Xzibit has put out a record of his own.His third album, “Restless,” marks the biggest release for the rapper and the first since teaming up with the infamous Dr. Dre as executive producer.Since Dre’s return to the mainstream hip-hop scene, only a handful of rappers have found themselves under his wing. Eminem, Nate Dogg, Warren G, Snoop Dogg and now Xzibit have recorded under the direction of Dre. That list is short for good reason; Dre only works with the best rappers with the best potential and the most talent, and Xzibit fits that mold nicely.”Restless” is filled with Dre-style producing, which includes catchy hooks and the funkiest beats around. But the element that makes this record complete is the prominent flowing of Xzibit’s rapping and rhyming.The album’s first single, “X,” is obviously one of its great songs, but the real stand-out tracks are “Been a Long Time” featuring Nate Dogg, “Kenny Parker Show 2001” featuring KRS One, “Don’t Approach Me” featuring Eminem and the record’s lead-in track, “Front 2 Back.”Xzibit already proved he’s a lyrical mastermind when he blew away Fred Durst on the Bizkit track “Getcha Groove On,” and “Restless.”On “Been a Long Time,” Xzibit raps, “I lost more than I can ever gain back/ From this road to riches making my heart turn black/ So I’m cold to bitches and I never call back/ Plus I’m stoned and vicious.” That is of course followed up by a super-catchy Nate Dogg-sung chorus.One of the few downfalls of “Restless” is that people may get a little tired of Xzibit’s raspy voice. But the distinction in his delivery keeps things fresh for the most part.Like with most hip-hop albums, the amount of Xzibit’s guest rappers allows too much room for an excess of undesirable guests. “Rimz & Tirez” featuring Defari, Goldie Loc and Kokane, is a good example of this.After riding the coattails of Dre and Eminem throughout 2000, Xzibit has proven that he needs his love as well. And “Restless” lives up to the anticipation the rapper has built through guest appearances and his stint on the “Anger Management Tour.”

— Kyle Moss

“Blender”

Collective Soul

Compare to: Our Lady Peace, Better Than Ezra, Seven Mary Three

**

Though Collective Soul may not be stuck in ’94 musically, they haven’t exactly embraced the new millennium with a vibrant new style either. “Blender” is the fifth release from the post-grunge act since 1994. Say what you will about Collective Soul’s contribution to American pop music, at least “Shine” stuck out like a speed bump. If anything, this new album is a teflon-coated pebble that spits out from under your tire without notice while you’re four-wheeling across the musical landscape.”Skin” has the most potential of all the tracks, but with a good half of the lyrics being “bop diddy bop bah,” it sounds like Collective Soul is getting their big ideas from Hanson these days. There is considerably less of the grunge influence on this album and it’s much less hard than past efforts. As a step in the band’s evolution, it appears they are trying to grow with their old audience. Sadly, the newer and more mature sound is just boring. It takes ethereal to a new place, drops it off and promises to be back in a couple of hours and then never shows up. “Perfect Day” features Elton John, but leaves one wondering why. When you think of Collective Soul, their influences and roots, John isn’t the first artist to pop into your mind and there is a good reason for that. This pairing just stinks of a marketing ploy to capture a larger chunk of the adult alternative market, but musically it is unimpressive.This is an unremarkable album that makes easy listening at best.

— Greg Jerrett

“Haunted”

Poe

Compare to: Fiona Apple, Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morrissette

** 1/2

Alt-pop artist Poe shares a similar past with many great musicians — a broken home and the drive to convert that and other experiences into something that can be understood and embraced by an audience.Following her time as a full-scholarship student at Princeton University, Poe eventually exorcised some of her demons on her 1995 debut, “Hello,” finding moderate success with songs such as “Angry Johnny” and “Trigger Happy Jack.”Five years later, she has released “Haunted,” her second and more ambitious studio album. Poe’s latest offering functions as a sort of a counterpart to “The House of Leaves,” her brother’s recently released novel. The record is somewhat conceptual, featuring segues of sampled recordings of her deceased father’s voice mixed with her own “responses,” forming what the singer likes to call a “conversation.”This is, perhaps not surprisingly, the most interesting, and occasionally disturbing, aspect of Poe’s sophomore effort. How often does a person get the chance to listen to someone’s personal post-mortem interaction with a deceased parent?The father’s voice recordings are simply eerie. They occasionally float in and out of songs, disembodied and ghostlike while sounding warm and fatherly at the same time.Though they link songs together on the album with varying success, the samples are most effective in the poignant concluding track, “If You Were Here.””If you were here, I know that you would truly be amazed at what’s become of what you made/ If you were here, you would know how I treasured every day,” Poe quietly sings, her voice dripping with warm, salty tears.The album truly is a fictional private conversation between a father and daughter set to music. At times, this idea succeeds. However, tracks such as “Not a Virgin” and “Walk the Walk” — the first single — seem cliche and unnecessary.Though these songs feature some of the energy found in past Poe hits, a pseudo country influence is found in lyrics such as “Hey everybody when you walk the walk you gotta pack it all up/ Can you talk the talk?”These songs stick out, but much in the same way a swelling whitehead stands out on an otherwise acne-free face.Many of the remaining tracks float by, somewhat entertaining though difficult to distinguish from one another.The deeply personal nature of the album is almost too intimate at times, obviously meaning something to Poe, but often failing to relate to a broader audience. Perhaps that was her intent.Regardless, Poe has taken a common idea (father-daughter relations), put a unique spin on it (voice recordings), and produced a mature, decent record that contains a few worthy moments. — Jon Dahlager