Daily Staff Writer

“From Q, With Love”

Quincy Jones

The title alone puts this album in the category of a gift to give to that special someone.

After successfully opening the ears of not only the old and young with “Q’s Joint,” mastermind music producer Quincy Jones tries to do it again with a collection of sultry love songs.

Babyface and others may have tried to bite off Jones’ unique style, but his touch is evident in the 25 love songs performed by the more than 30 artists.

Though Jones has a record of producing award-winning performers and works, “From Q, With Love” made it to the music store shelves almost by accident.

On Oprah Winfrey’s 40th birthday, Jones gave her and 40 of her friends the tape as a gift. But when people started requesting more copies, Jones decided to make the collection available to everyone.

Jones brings together talented artists such as Michael Jackson, Brandy, James Ingram, George Benson, Patti Austin, Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, R. Kelly and others.

He also incorporates some not-so-familiar and not-so-talented names like Naomi Campbell, who gets lost in the song “Heaven’s Girl,” which also features R. Kelly, Ron Isley, Aaron Hall and Charlie Wilson.

The two-volume CD features some old cuts like “Baby, Come to Me,” with vocals by Patti Austin and James Ingram, and “You Put a Move on My Heart” by Tamia.

The expertise Jones uses to mix and match artists on “From Q, With Love” may lead people to dub him DJ Q.

Brandy and Heavy D put a hip-hop flava on the original Michael Jackson favorite “Rock With You.”

The all-grown-up voice of Tevin Campbell singing “Everything” doesn’t compare to Barry White’s low, molasses tunes, but it captures the heart.

Aside from a monotonous row of songs with uninspiring lyrics and an elevator music sound, “From Q, With Love” is sure to get anybody in the mood. Too bad it’s not offered with candles and massage oil.

3 1/2 stars out of five

— Tara Deering

“Who’s Afraid of the Radio Tower?”

Love Kit

Love Kit wants us all to know that it was not featured on the “Austin Powers” soundtrack.

The band wasn’t featured on the soundtrack because its sound is retro-pop straight out of the mid to late ’60s.

Love Kit’s new album, “Who’s Afraid of the Radio Tower,” has all the power and charm of most crappy spy movies and rebel biker flicks that were cranked out between 1965 and 1970.

Occasionally we get a spike of creativity, but for the most part, this album is enough to make a dog gag.

For example, the first track, “Red Meat,” is all about the dangers of red meat. It starts off all trippy and hippie-dippy with “Have a nice day, rise and shine.”

This phrase is repeated about five or six times through a hazy, fuzzy mist. “Like red meat clogging up your arteries,” was the line that really sold it.

The one thing hippie music has going for it is a heavy use of metaphors and mystical imagery to convey meanings with literary merit. This is just crap.

There are moments on this album where the songs almost fulfill their promise by giving the listener something powerful and poignant to grasp, but the retro stuff here really doesn’t move.

These guys would have been lucky to be on the “Austin Powers” soundtrack, because those tracks were unabashedly retro and all-out groovy.

But “Who’s Afraid of the Radio Tower” is too uncommitted. The soft and moody guitar work and the dippy lyrics on these tracks just interfere with any of its good points.

1 star out of five

— Greg Jerrett

“‘Office Space’ soundtrack”

Various Artists

“‘Office Space’ soundtrack” has a song lineup strung together by its variety and how much it bites.

Because there is such a wide variety of songs on this album, however, there are a few worth hearing.

Canibus’ “Shove This Jay-Oh-Bee” starts off the album with warm, juicy beats and creative lyric innovation. The song soars above the rest and is topped off with Biz doing a Louis Armstrong impression.

The hip-hop doesn’t stop there — this album is full of rap.

It includes Slum Village’s first single, “Get Dis Money,” Kool Keith’s “Get Off My Elevator,” Ice Cube’s “Down For Whatever,” and the Geto Boys’ “Damn It Feels Good To BE a Gangsta” and “Still.”

But it’s not all rap. Surprisingly enough, there is some country on the album as well. Lisa Stone covers Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” and Junior Reid sings a twang-filled “Big Boss Man.”

Just when you start to think the variation can’t get much broader, Perez Prado shakes things up on the last two tracks with a little ’50s mambo.

With the exception of Canibus and Ice Cube, the rap is mediocre and flat. However, the mambo tunes make this album worth considering.

2 stars out of five

— Abram Hardinge