The Beatles (4 stars)
The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1
As packaged by Capitol Records, the Beatles' first four U.S. albums were bastard children, cobbled together from earlier British releases. Meet The Beatles—released in January 1964—collected songs from their first two British LPs, and bears many of the band's early traits, from the contagious enthusiasm of "I Saw Her Standing There" to their knack for inventive elements like the call-and-response on "It Won't Be Long."
Issued only three months later, The Beatles' Second Album reaffirmed their penchant for tight, up-tempo rock and acknowledged their roots, with versions of songs by Chuck Berry, Little Richard and female doo-wop.
Through 1964, Capitol released two more albums that put chunks of longer British companions with random singles and B-sides.
Something New, taken primarily from the Hard Day's Night soundtrack, showed the Beatles acclimating to the recording process with more sophisticated arrangements and richer sounds.
Beatles '65, their last release of the year, was notable for its embrace of Carl Perkins and George Harrison's fascination with guitarist Chet Atkins.
This reissue affords today's listener the opportunity to hear what America initially encountered and then enthusiastically embraced—music celebrating early rock 'n' roll while offering a pioneering new take.
Lindsay Lohan (2 stars)
Speak
Boy, that Hilary Duff sure is prolific. Didn't she just put out an album a couple of months ago?
Oh, wait. Speak isn't Hilary's new collection of generic teen pop-rock songs. It's the debut from her arch-rival, fellow Disney alum and teen queen Lindsay Lohan. Lohan's eclipsed Duff in the entertainment press lately, mainly because she's already turned 18 and thus has maximized her opportunities to hit the party circuit with such luminaries as Paris Hilton and Bijou Phillips, take up smoking and preen with her (now ex-) boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama.
Apparently, she also found time to record an album, on which she even receives a few highly dubious co-songwriting credits. It's almost entirely full of the sort of blandly "rock"-oriented songs that have dominated teen pop since the ascent of Avril Lavigne, professing interchangeable sentiments of love and/or heartache.
Unlike Duff, Lohan doesn't have a song that's a thinly-veiled attack on her rival, but she does have a couple about the persecutions of the paparazzi. These two—"To Know Your Name" and J. Lo-aping lead single "Rumors"—mostly abandon the faux singer-songwriter approach for thumping club beats, and Lohan sounds much more at home as a bitchy dance diva than a lovelorn troubadour.
The unfocused album bespeaks the kind of deep identity crisis that's likely to lead to a nervous breakdown a year or so from now; of course, by that time, it's doubtful anyone will still care.
Soul Asylum (3.5 stars)
After the Flood: Live From The Grand Forks Prom, June 28, 1997
"Hi. Welcome to the prom," Dave Pirner offers before his band kicks into a stupid, fun version of Alice Cooper's "School's Out." This recently released first live album captures Soul Asylum at its commercial zenith: playing a prom in an airport hanger for flood victims from North Dakota high schools.
Anyone who saw Soul Asylum live back in the day know that on a good night, this was the world's greatest bar band, and the sloppy covers, top-40 hits and raucous energy must have made this one hell of a dance.
A few years on the gig still make for a good introduction to Soul Asylum, or for a reminder of why this group grew so popular. Hits like "Runaway Train" and "Black Gold" are as catchy as ever, and live Soul Asylum always smoked the studio takes.
But the band on a great night was a lot better than this show, and as a set list, After the Flood mostly ignores the band's best discs like Made to Be Broken and Hang Time. Still, if for nothing else, After the Flood is worth it for Soul Asylum's country punk sing-along version of "Rhinestone Cowboy."