Daily Staff Writer

“To Venus and Back”

Tori Amos

Tori Amos’ new double CD release, “To Venus and Back,” is a sheer pleasure, overflowing with positive feminine energy.

The set is made up of two parts. The first disk is titled “Venus: Orbiting” and contains 11 new tracks. Amos’ new direction holds onto the angst-filled lyrics of past albums while branching out.

She starts out “Bliss” with, “Father, I killed my monkey/ I let it out to taste the sweet of spring/ Wonder if I will wander out/ test my tether to see if I’m still free from you.”

What a wonderfully jiggy way to start a new effort. This keynote sets the traditional stage of issues from which Amos usually performs, and this effort is rife with those same images.

The album as a whole is filled with images of floating, flying and traversing, signifying the journey — a common theme for this artist.

Amos has never shied away from her personal life as a source of inspiration, but this album seems to be somewhat of a departure. She may be moving on a bit, to the disappointment of fans who found her intense displays of personal passion to be the most inspiring thing about her.

Not that this album completely lacks in Amos-esque vision. It is packed to the hilt with her own special variety of elfin magic.

It’s like listening to Tolkien being sung. It’s like a night at the most popular night club in Loth Lorien where all the really cool elves hang out with the occasional human to sway back and forth to the haunting melodies while drinking margaritas as fairy dust floats in the air. There would also be a great light show with lasers and pixies.

The second disc, “Venus: Still Orbiting,” is a collection of live performances and for Amos fans, this is the sweet stuff.

If you haven’t seen Amos live, that is where the magic really happens. She creates a synergy in concert with the audience. They drive her wild, and she drives them crazy.

Nothing makes listening to Tori Amos more enjoyable than when you feel like you are doing so with thousands of screaming Toriphiles.

THREE STARS

— Greg Jerrett

“The Gift of Game”

Crazy Town

Red hats are everywhere. Red hats with the unmistakable white letters “N” and “Y,” one superimposed over the other. They have a good chance to become to today’s music what flannel shirts were to the music of the ’90s. Perhaps they won’t.

But if every band that was trying to capitalize on Limp Bizkit’s successful melding of rap and hardcore had their vocalists wear red Yankees hats, the music-buying masses wouldn’t even have to hear a song from a band’s album before buying it.

It could serve as a warning label. The record could have a little red Yankees hat stamped on the cover next to the parental advisory warning with the words, “I wanna be like Fred,” appearing under the graphic.

Crazy Town could use such an advisory on their debut album, “The Gift of Game.”

Immediately reminiscent of the wave of Nirvana wannabe bands that emerged following the success of “Nevermind,” Crazy Town presents a startling lack of innovation and originality.

Indeed, it was quite rebellious for the band to play what they call an “explosive, aggressive hybrid of rock and hip-hop.” It is not as if any other band has tried this before.

Also on the band’s agenda is challenging the establishment. This, of course, will be achieved by completely ripping off a band that is well-represented on MTV’s “TRL.”

As if they sat down with “Three Dollar Bill, Yall$” and “Significant Other” and took notes, Crazy Town have made a record that could easily be described as watered-down Limp Bizkit.

“Think Fast” begins with nearly the same guitar riff that opens “I’m Broke,” a Limp Bizkit track that appears on their latest release. Many other songs, including “Toxic,” “Only When I’m Drunk” and “Hollywood Babylon” can be paired with songs Fred and the boys have written.

One thing that Crazy Town surpasses Limp Bizkit on is misogynistic lyrics, such as, “I’ve got a lollipop porn bitch,” from “Lollipop Porn,” and “slippin’ in ’em to win ’em,” from “Revolving Door.”

In order to prevent a litter of Limp Bizkit Jr.’s from polluting the shelves with poor sophomore releases like Bush’s “Razorblade Suitcase,” albums like this one are in desperate need of red Yankees cap advisory labels that will warn discriminating listeners of unoriginal content.

TWO STARS

— Jon Dahlager

“Songs About Cowgirls”

Protein

Protein grabs their sound from a plethora of genres including country, punk and metal.

These days, groups need to stretch quite a bit to add something new to the rock sound — otherwise there’s always a band to compare them with. However, it’s nearly impossible to find a band that compares with Protein.

Vocalist Josh Zee has a voice similar to that of a raspy Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum). But the band’s sound is much tougher to categorize.

“Going to L.A.” is the perfect example of the Protein’s versatility. The song’s intro and verse incorporates hard rock flares, but when the chorus comes in, everything drops out except the echo of the slide guitar and Zee’s emotionally driven voice.

Surprises like this pop up during the entire album. Although the first two songs come off as harder rock, “Over My Dead Body” a rock/country ballad, presents a much different sound. By the jazzy intermission, you’re glued to your earphones, waiting to see what Protein could possibly serve up next.

A few gems to look out for are the punk “Drinking Song,” and “Maybe the World Isn’t Round,” a much softer country/rock ballad with a catchy chorus. Protein gives the country genre a much more tolerable sound.

THREE STARS

— Dewayne Hankins

“Nu-Clear Sounds”

Ash

Unless you’re from Europe, you probably won’t remember Ash. They made an appearance on the “Angus” soundtrack but have otherwise been pretty quiet in America.

In Europe, Ash have seen just about every side of the music business and they are still in their early 20s.

“Nu-Clear Sounds,” which made them hotter than the Backstreet Boys in Europe, isn’t much different than the band’s previous records. It still has that good pop sound with catchy backups.

However, Ash has added quite a bit of aggression to their sound with their new, 18-year-old guitarist Charlotte Hatherley. Songs like “Numbskull” and “Death Trip 21” scream out the frustration Ash has felt during the last few years.

Although the unloyal, unforgiving music business has pushed the band away from their early pop sound, which made them teen sensations, a few rays of early Ash have survived.

“Wild Surf” has a definite ’50s pop vibe, while their first single, “Jesus Says,” is comparable to older Ash. “Burn Out,” the best song on the record, contains the perfect mix of old and new Ash. The song pulls you into a darker vibe and then hits a surprising, happier vibe during the chorus.

A bonus song you might recognize, “A Life Less Ordinary” appears in the film of the same name, and is a great pop/rock love song with familiar harmonies.

Who knows, maybe “Nu-Clear Sounds” will help Ash find new success on this side of the Atlantic.

3 1/2 STARS

— Dewayne Hankins

“Come On Now Social”

Indigo Girls

The Indigo Girls established themselves in the late ’80s and early ’90s as folksy crooners, writing melodic ballads and insightful lyrics, along with the occasional rock-out jam.

But then, in 1997 with “Shaming of the Sun,” Amy Ray and Emily Saliers decided they liked rocking a little more, and they pulled it off quite well.

Two years later, the Indigo Girls strike again in the same vein as “Sun,” with “Come On Now Social,” an album that shows the girls can still croon.

Emily’s “Soon to be Nothing” and “Andy” are the Indigo Girls of old. But on this album, the blue gals prove they aren’t afraid to drag out the electric guitars, with such hard songs as “Go,” “Trouble” and “Compromise.” They even employed Lilith Fair crony Me’Shell Ndegeocello on two songs to add a driving bass line to the mix.

But the Girls didn’t forget their roots. “Ozilline,” a banjo-laced story of an old country woman, and “Gone Again,” an interesting experiment with a country-western sound, are reminiscent of old favorites “Land of Canaan” and “Chickenman.” Singers Joan Osborne and Sheryl Crow even lend guest backing vocals to several tracks to complete the album’s folksy sound.

The most interesting points, however, come when the band uses their music as a forum for political messages. “Trouble” takes a stand on homosexuals in society, and “Faye Tucker,” decries with the death of Karla Faye Tucker, who was convicted of killing two people in 1983 and became the first woman to be executed in Texas since the Civil War.

The country music kick on “Gone Again” is a little irritating, but overall, the Indigo Girls’ diversity in musical styles is fun and interesting.

If you’re looking for traditional ballads, you won’t find as many on this album as in years past. But the Indigo Girls prove they’re growing musically, and if you’re in the mood for something a little edgier, this album is for you.

FOUR STARS

—Sara Ziegler

“Felons and Revolutionaries”

Dope

What does a touch of heavy metal, a smidgen of industrial rock and a pinch of techno and punk equal? A heavy dose of Dope.

On “Felons and Revolutionaries,” Dope takes the best of different music styles and combines them into one psycho, angst-driven album complete with Nine Inch Nails-style industrial beats, snarling vocals and conventional, raw hard-core guitars. Led by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Edsel Dope, the band is obviously very pissed off.

Some of Dope’s favorite lyrical targets are government and society. On “Pig Society,” the album’s opening track, Edsel immediately lets his stance be known. “Sick of politicians and politics and prisons lyin’ and runnin’ my life / You pathetic preachers and hypocritical leaders smilin’ and wastin’ my time,” he complains.

The first half of the record is absolutely solid with tracks like “Pig Society,” “Kimberly’s Ghost” and “Sick” blowing you away with super-charged energies, pissed off attitudes and heavy riffs combined with pulsing drum beats.

But the CD won’t completely hook you until later when Dope rips through a version of NWA’s classic riot anthem, “Fuck the Police.”

Unlike partner in metal madness Fred Durst, Edsel Dope doesn’t try to be the next Tupac. Instead, he simply spits out the song in true heavy metal fashion.

“I Am Nothing,” the record’s final track, takes one more shot at boys in blue with the words, “Punk police wanna follow me / You ain’t got mother fuck on me / Tried me once and they set me free / Drop your gun and step to me.”

Toward the end of the record, Dope seems to get a little repetitive, but not repetitive enough to bring down what is truly one of the most original and fresh metal albums of the year.

FOUR STARS

— Trevor Fisher

Ratings based on a FIVE STAR scale