Mitchell May

Midi, Maxi & Efti Midi, Maxi & Efti (Columbia) (STAR)(STAR) Born in Ethiopia, schooled in Sweden and raised on MTV, these three teenagers and an army of Swedish producers weave...

Sweet Lizard Illtet Sweet Lizard Illtet (Warner) (STAR)(STAR)1/2 Brandishing guitars and drum machines like assault weapons, this New York-based quintet spews out a violent collage of punk, metal and rap...

Sir Mix-A-Lot Mack Daddy (Def American) (STAR) Whether it`s the police (''One Time`s Got No Case''), women (''Baby Got Back''), cars (''Testarossa''), guns (''No Holds Barred''), his hometown (''Seattle Ain`t...

Chaka Khan The Woman I Am (Warner) (STAR)(STAR) 1/2 Chaka Khan always had a knack for being a little bit ahead of the competition. She propelled Rufus, one of the...

Died Pretty Doughboy Hollow (Beggars Banquet) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) The swirl of ringing, jangly guitars and mumbled murky lyrics make the first three songs off this Australian quintet`s fourth release sound so...

Geoffrey Williams Bare (Giant) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)(STAR) Like other retro-soul rockers (Terrence Trent D`Arby, Lenny Kravitz, Seal), Geoffrey Williams works liberally from the blueprint established by James Brown, Sly Stone and Curtis...

Kathy Troccoli Pure Emotion (Reunion) (STAR) As a performer of contemporary gospel music, Kathy Troccoli earned two Grammy nominations and her first three recordings racked up sales in the hundreds...

Beats International Excursion on the Version (GoBeat) (STAR)(STAR) 1/2 In reggae circles, a song that borrows rhythms and sound bites from other records is called a version. Led by Norman...

A Man Called E (Polydor) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) Dedicated to ''everyone who ever rained on my parade,'' E`s debut shows the enigmatic singer/songwriter is never quite so happy as when he`s miserable....

Vanessa Rubin Soul Eyes (Novus) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) A vocalist of stunning clarity, Vanessa Rubin is a throwback to legendary jazz and blues singers such as Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah...