"Russian Roulette," released weeks prior to Rated R, just hinted at Rihanna's sudden desire to provoke. Even with the realization that it is metaphorical, the song startles with its hesitant gasps, spinning cylinders, and verses that are glacially paced, where a cold piano line and the slight inflections in Rihanna's voice are front and center. And then there's an audible shudder followed by a discharged bullet -- the abrupt end to one of Rated R's most restrained moments. It's not the only instance where Rihanna's rise in fame, combined with being the victim in the decade's highest-profile felonious assault, added up to a perfect-storm scenario for a creative overhaul. Rated R is more like Good Girl Gone Evil, or Abused Girl Full of Vengeful Rage, not Good Girl Gone Bad, where the only casualties were some dishes.

The closest the set gets to upbeat pop is "Rude Boy," and by any standard it is stern; needless to say, there is quite a difference between "Can you get it up?" and "You can stand under my umbrella." Much of this daring album is absolutely over the top, bleak and sleek both lyrically and sonically, but it's compelling, filled with as many memorably belligerent lines -- two of which, "I pitch with a grenade/Swing away if ya feeling brave" and "I'm such a fuckin' lady," set the tone early on -- as a rap album made ripe for dissection. "G4L," over a low-slung and sleek production, is the most fantastical of all, in which Rihanna leads a band of homicidal women, opening with "I lick the gun when I'm done `cause I know that revenge is sweet" and "Any mothaf*cka wanna disrespect/Playin' with fire finna get you wet." The breakup song, "Fire Bomb," even though it is also metaphorical, is a close second in terms of lyrical extremity.

Whether the album seems ridiculous or spectacular (or both), Rihanna's complete immersion in the majority of the songs cannot be disputed. That is the one thing that is not up for debate. ~ Andy Kellman


  Silky Soul Music: An All-Star Tribute To Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly CD
  by Frankie Beverly
Our Price: $10.19 CD
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A San Francisco-based smooth R&B act with roots in Philadelphia soul, Maze (usually billed as Maze featuring Frankie Beverly) never managed to break with a larger mainstream audience during their late-`70s to early `80s peak, but nevertheless ... Full Descriptiongarnered a devoted following in urban radio as one of the progenitors of the romantic, understated style known as "quiet storm."

And the group's jazz-funk sophistication can certainly be felt in contemporary R&B and neo-soul styles of the `90s and `00s, with some of their career highpoints ("Joy and Pain" and "Before I Let Go") being heavily sampled by hip-hop producers. SILKY SOUL MUSIC, a tribute project organized by Frankie Beverly's son, Anthony, pays proper homage to the oft-overlooked R&B act with 10 of their best known songs as covered by top contemporary R&B and gospel artists, including Musiq Soulchild, Mary J. Blige, and Joe, among others.

  Love CD
  by Boyz II Men
Our Price: $12.64 CD / $9.99
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The title of Boyz II Men's third consecutive covers album is only partially indicative. The love songs covered on this disc span several decades and styles, unlike Throwback (`70s and early-`80s funk and soul) and Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville nUSA (self-explanatory), both of which were more focused thematically. What ties these songs together is that they are love songs, and nothing else. That early-`60s R&B (Sam Cooke's "Cupid"), late-`90s country (Lonestar's "Amazed"), and early-`80s rock (Journey's "Open Arms," a choice likely influenced by producer Randy Jackson) are all part of the mix only hints at the randomness of the selections. Despite the range of the sources, Boyz II Men tie it all together. ~ Andy Kellman

  Shaft (Deluxe Edition) CD
  by Isaac Hayes
Our Price: $9.99 CD
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Font color="red"> This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

A diverse selection of artists encompass the collection, from lascivious soul stirrer R. Kelly to the rugged Latin hip-hop of Fulanito, along with many other noteworthy diversions that represent the many flavors of contemporary urban soul. Most of the material focuses on John Shaft's street smarts and bravado, or the film's pimps, hoes, and gangsta imagery. As expected, Southern hip-hop is well represented, with Outkast, Mystikal, and Big Gipp from Goodie Mob contributing. The tracks offer typically gritty observations on street life, over bleak, minor chords and busy percussion. T.I.P. featuring Beanie Sigel offers "2 Glock 9's," one of the soundtrack's most rugged grooves, a minimal, stripped-down drum break that stutters and skids backwards and forwards over a Notorious BIG vocal sample and is easily the eeriest track on the album. The only light relief is provided by Too $hort's "Pimp Sh*t," a humorous foray into playa politics.

The title track's perennially recognizable hi-hat and wah-wah guitar intro, interlocking horn/string parts, and smooth, proto-rap verses conjure the name SHAFT as surely as a snake-charmer's incantation. It also conjures the name of Isaac Hayes--the songwriter, arranger, musician, and producer responsible for the phenomenally successful soundtrack to the landmark 1971 Blaxploitation film. Hayes's status as a key player in the Stax/Volt soul empire, and as a solo artist of considerable renown, went through the roof with this double-LP (now compiled on a 70-minute CD).

Despite its codification into our collective pop culture consciousness, Isaac Hayes' "Theme From Shaft" is a highly original composition. It's been remade by Hayes himself for the remade Shaft film, and appropriately kicks off this collection of tunes from the movie by some of R&B's New Jacks.


  Only Doo-Wop Collection You'll Ever Need CD
  by Collection
Our Price: $17.05 CD
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Don't let the title fool you; after listening to The Only Doo-Wop Collection You'll Ever Need, you'll definitely want more. This is a good starting point for the curious, since all the basics are here in the original hit versions: "The Great ... Full DescriptionPretender," "Earth Angel," "I Only Have Eyes for You," "Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight," and, thrown in for good measure, a few tracks that even vocal group scholars wouldn't mind hearing again by the Marvelows, the Duprees, the Jive Five, and the Earls. While this is an excellent primer, the best representation of vocal group harmonies of the era remains the lavish (and pricey) 101-track Doo Wop Box on Rhino. ~ Al Campbell

2cds-Del Vikings/Platters/Dion & Belmonts/Five Satins/Spaniel

  Unexpected CD
  by Angie Stone
Our Price: $13.10 CD / $9.99 MP3
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On her second album for Concord's Stax imprint (and fourth overall), Angie Stone delves deeper into funk and hip-hop than on her previous outings. Her last offering, The Art of Love & War, was a critical and commercial triumph for the vastly underrated vocalist, and topped the Billboard chart. With a slew of producers including Sly Williams, Willie "Chuck" Shivers, Karrim King and Fitzroy Reid, Steven "Supe" White, Jonathan Richmond, Jazze Pha, and Stone herself, these dozen tracks continue to reveal her versatility as a vocalist and recording artist; she can sing whatever it is she wants to with equal verve, authenticity, and flair. Despite the slicker and more diverse sounds on Unexpected, the soul quotient is high, even if this isn't strictly a neo-soul album. The new beat consciousness reveals itself most on the title track, which is hard funk at its 2009 best. Cuts such as "Free" might have come right out of the 1990s with their use of careening synths, shimmering hip-hop beats, and colliding loops. But the melody is solid, its chorus and refrain catchy. "I Found a Keeper" is another; its production, arrangement, and structure actually feel like it was recorded in the 1990s -- and is at least reminiscent in spirit to material by the trio MoKenStef. But these are not complaints. Stone's voice is so strident and drenched in soul that even the harpsichord sound on the latter track can't overpower it. The one complaint is the utterly unnecessary use of Auto-Tune on a beautiful song like "Tell Me" -- the synths and dancefloor beats are one thing, but the inclusion of this device just feels plain alien on this track.

For fans worried that Stone abandoned her old-school sound completely, they needn't worry. The first single, "I Ain't Hearin' You," is drenched in neo-soul grooves, as are "Think Sometimes," "I Don't Care," and the gorgeous ballads "All Over Your Body" and "Why Is It." If one goes back to Angie Stone's debut album, Black Diamond, and follows the progression of her sound, it will be obvious that there has been a continued and restless path of growth and experimentation. Unexpected simply feels like a leap more than a step. ~ Thom Jurek