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© St. Petersburg Times, published March 3, 2002
VARIOUS ARTISTS, THE CHILLOUT SESSION (MINISTRY OF SOUND) "Chillout music," as the hip will tell you, is the gentle tunes you groove to after a rave. In Britain there are special clubs to visit after a night of frenzied dancing and ecstasy (that ecstasy could be, of course, naturally or chemically derived). These clubs offer a place for club kids to sit, unwind and bob their heads to soothing tunes, as they slip into the land of nod.
Now, you can do that right at home with the two-disc The Chillout Session, a sort of greatest hits of such sleepy-time favorites. Naturally, it features many big names in electronica, mostly British. But stay tuned and hear some familiar voices. Things kick off with Massive Attack's gorgeous Teardrop, with its gentle, coaxing beats and former Cocteau Twin Elizabeth Frazier's trademark ethereal lullaby vocals and trills. Who doesn't want to hear Frazier? I say, record her on a loop and play it in airports, theme parks, shopping malls. Heal the planet. Frazier's voice is that wondrous.
French dance pop act Air is on board with the more docile Modular Mix. You've got your Future Sounds of London. Lambchop. Hey, here's a blast from the past: Manchester darlings the Stone Roses. But, wait, who's this? Radiohead? Is Radiohead a chillout band? Er, no. But doesn't Climbing Up the Walls sound dreamy? Chill, baby, chill. And here's brilliant British acoustic artist Badly Drawn Boy crooning The Shining. (Don't worry; only the title sounds scary.)
Iceland's otherworldly Sigur Ros could be a chillout room's house band, its music is so splendid and preternatural-sounding. (Sigur Ros takes the Cocteau Twins route and makes up its own lyrical language to convey the unconveyable.)
Wouldn't it be grand to have these acts play tunes at home for us each night as we slip off into our dream world? But, geez -- think of all those dirty British musicians gathered at your place, chain-smoking, wanting breakfast. Get the disc instead. Then you don't have to share your shower. A
-- GINA VIVINETTO, Times pop music critic
ALANIS MORISSETTE, UNDER RUG SWEPT (MAVERICK) I have one question for Alanis: Why is Under Rug Swept not called Rhetorical Question? After all, nearly every song poses several.
Despite the interrogatory nature of Morissette's lyrics, the album smarts with clarity. Some criticize the stream-of-consciousness style of Morissette's writing, which lends itself to awkward phrasing, but Morissette owes much to those confessional lyrics. Recall the mega hit You Oughta Know. Its vitriol launched Morissette's career.
Those seeking the potty-mouthed Morissette will be disappointed. Her lyrics this time are tame, of course, excepting the opener 21 Things I Want in a Lover, in which Morissette inquires, "Are you uninhibited in bed?/More than three times a week?/Up for being experimental?" over crunching guitars.
Morissette's strengths come in her delicious melodies and pop sensibility, evidenced in super-catchy current single Hands Clean. Morissette sounds oh-so-vulnerable on So Unsexy, complemented by Meshell Ndegeocello's thick, hypnotic bass lines. You Owe Me Nothing in Return, a song about unconditional love, bounces over a striking rhythm section.
Missteps include That Particular Time, a pallid faux-showstopper drenched in drippy piano that sounds like a Barbra Streisand outtake. Utopia is dreamy, but it sounds anemic because of lyrical platitudes such as "We'd open our arms/We'd all jump in/We'd all coast down into safety nets." B
-- BRIAN ORLOFF, Times correspondent