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Aimee Mann

Magnolia

(Reprise)

 Amazon

 Lala

After a decade of record-label neglect and scant output, Aimee Mann, the onetime blond-braided lead singer of ‘Til Tuesday, was ready to blossom as the new millennium dawned in 1999. The MP3 era would suit Mann well, too, as she was one of the first musicians to successfully use the Internet to independently release her music her way—labels and record stores be damned.

Mann’s full flowering began with the 1999 release of the soundtrack to Magnolia, which provided listeners and critics alike with a reminder of what they had been missing since Mann split from her Boston-based bandmates in 1989. Many of Mann’s nine songs on the soundtrack (which also features two by Supertramp, one by ‘90s one-hit wonder Gabrielle, and a snippet of producer Jon Brion’s soundtrack) actually predate the writing of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Oscar-nominated script for the film. And according to the wunderkind director and longtime friend of Mann’s, the songs were a major influence on his sprawling, Altman-like L.A. story, which culminates, famously, in a hail of raining frogs.

The vibe on many of Mann’s tracks is definitely a California one, beginning with her spot-on cover of L.A. legend Harry Nilsson’s haunting classic “One”, a smash hit for Three Dog Night in 1969. Like the film, Mann’s take is a perfect slice of gloomy/sunny SoCal pop (a la Grizzly Bear) with overt nods to (who else?) Brian Wilson and Phil Spector.

The ornate production and power pop of the Beatles are also touchstones here, but it’s Mann’s caustic/clever lyrics (“You look like the perfect fit / For a girl in need of a tourniquet”), coupled with her angelic-yet-vulnerable voice, that really steal the show, especially when couched in producer Brion’s lush arrangements, at times complete with horns and strings. But while Mann’s softer, folkier side provides some of the album’s most arresting moments—“Build That Wall” and “Save Me”, in particular—the power ballads “Deathly” and “Driving Sideways” prove Mann still knows how to rock.

Magnolia is that rare soundtrack album that actually influenced a movie before it was even written. It’s also that rare soundtrack that doubles as a comeback album—and a clear signal that Aimee Mann’s voice was still “carrying” some 15 years after she first burst on the scene. Mike Garrett

The Notorious B.I.G.

Born Again

(Bad Boy)

 Amazon

 Lala

Puff Daddy’s (excuse me, Diddy’s) pilfering of his star pupil’s catalog began with the Notorious B.I.G.‘s posthumous release Born Again. Despite the fact that you’ll want to shake your head at the exploitation factor, this album remains an essential buy for a couple of reasons. One, the album mostly consists of early Biggie rhymes that had been unearthed. Never mind the fact that then-current rappers have been added to the songs, “Dead Wrong” (featuring a then brand spankin’ new Eminem) and the good-natured “Can I Get Witcha” (feat. protégé Lil Cease) are worthy additions to every B.I.G. catalog. Two, several underground B.I.G. classics that had never seen the light of day on an album release are here, most notably the Sadat X duet “Come on Motherfucker” (which teams one of hip-hop history’s best rhymers with one of its most underrated) and the classic b-side “Who Shot Ya?” (which is even more chilling in light of B.I.G.‘s tragic murder). Despite the fact that a chunk of the album features unnecessary revisions of previously released material with new musical backing and an all-star collection of guest emcees (Method Man, Nas, and Snoop Dogg are among the luminaries making appearances), Born Again is by far the best of Biggie’s post-mortem catalog, and probably the only posthumous hip-hop album worth owning. Mike Heyliger

Jay-Z

Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter

(Roc-a-Fella)

 Amazon

 Lala

Jay-Z is hip-hop’s unlikely hero. Coming at a dire time in the history of the genre, following the dual deaths of its reigning heroes, he broke into the musical landscape like a man on a mission. After barely making a dent with his first two albums, the single “Hard Knock Life” burst on to the scene, one foot in the street and one in the charts, the best of both worlds. That album pretty much cemented Jay’s status as force to be reckoned with, as well as ensuring a hefty amount of pressure to follow up with something even more genre defining.

Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter, billed initially as his return to street music after some of the blatantly commercial tracks that littered his previous album, ended up being known as, somewhat, completely the opposite. “Big Pimpin’” is the track that everybody remembers, a bold summer jam that can still be heard at block parties, but it’s the obscure, downright experimental tracks that stand out listening to it now. Minimalist tracks such as “Do It Again (Put Your Hands Up)” and “It’s Hot (Some Like It Hot)” simmer with fragile intensity, while “Snoopy Track”, featuring hot MC of the moment Juvenile, practically emits smoke from its backing track. Craig Hubert