A 17-track album for those who believe that profound quirks and quiddities of love are best expressed by music. This is a compilation of some of the best love songs of recent times. The album gets a smooth start with Queen’s Love Of My Heart, followed by Reflection by the teeny bopper Christina Anguilera. Westlife does a cover of Extreme’s More Than Words. My Love Is Your Love proves that Whitney Houstan was never out of the love-collections-circuit. Sarah McLachalan presents her mellow side with Do What You Have To Do. The album also features Marc Anthony’s current hit You Sang To Me, George Michael’s Kissing A Fool and Extreme’s When I First Kissed You. Joy Enriquez brings about his best with How Can I Not Love You. Other soulful tracks include Monica’s Right Here Waiting (a Richard Marx cover featuring 112), Martina McBride’s I Love You, Lisa Loeb’s Stay and Lovefool by The Cardigans. However, more discerning romantics will appreciate the inclusion of K-Ci and Jojo’s All My Life and Trademark’s Only Love, while TLC’s Dear Lie sounds colossal.

Now this is something you just don’t hear every day. It’s popular, it’s happening, uplifting Christian songs re-worked in the style of Gregorian chanting. Gregorian is a vocal chanting group of 12 men, all of whom have a background in classical and choral music, backed by New Age electronics. The opening hit track Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits, is in a surprisingly good outfit. Scarborough Fair by Simon and Garfunkel and Sebastian by Steve Harley work splendidly as they are closer to the medieval idiom. Eric Clapton’s Tears In Heaven offers some fantastic soundscapes. Other interesting works include Still I’m Sad by Paul Samwell, When A Man Loves A Woman by Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright, Midge Ure’s Fade To Grey, Paul Simon’s The Sound Of Silence and Don’t Give Up by Peter Gabriel featuring Sarah Brightman. The top picks include Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters and REM’s Losing My Religion, both very carefully handled. You’ll no doubt recognize the songs instantly, and other than the echoing, haunting vocals, they are all faithful adaptations. Hear it to believe it.

A soulful album from all angles. This Boney M ballad compilation finally hits the Indian music stores. The album showcases wonderful ballads of Boney M. The collection here contains some obvious hit titles like El Lute, Still I’m Sad and Heart Of Gold. Well-known Christmas songs like When A Child Is Born and Mary’s Boy Child also finds a place here. Another highlight of this album is The Carnival Is Over which was never released on CD before. There are also a few twisted feelings attached to the album. The track 10,000 Light Years seems very much out of place, so as Time To Remember, as it is not the real Boney M playing. Boney M fans will also miss the absence of Marcia Barett as leadsinger. Although not really a ballad singer in the band, she produced some fantastic slow/mid tempo tracks like Never Change Lovers In The Middle Of The Night and Silent Lover— both offering her smooth and wide ranged vocals. However the magic of Somewhere In The World, Consuela Biaz, Sad Movies, Ribbons Of Blue and Boat On The River makes you ignore the flaws.

What this compilation brilliantly showcases is sounds which have become an integral part of lifting any party higher, which will still conform to a more instantly accessible and durable house format. Without a gurgling bass line in sight, and even a scattering of lyrics, these 14 undeniably danceable tracks vary beats, samples, scratches and chords to devastating effects. Sure-shot floor-burners include Karima with world music feel performed by Simon Says, Hello How Are You by No Mercy, Don’t Wanna Let You Go by Five, Dr. Alban’s Mata Oh A Eh, Sweet Dreams by La Bouche, I Want You Back performed by ‘N Sync, Don’t Take My Heart Away by Modern Talking, Chilli by Tic Tic Tac featuring Carrapicho and Rame performed by Snap. A compilation that lives up to its name.

Singers are often considered the backbone of the bands they front. Zack De La Rocha certainly proved to be one. And now with a backbone transplant, it’s yet to be seen how long the new line-up keeps the band running. Rage Against The Machine remains remorselessly, incessantly earnest. Renegades, like the previous albums finds itself tilting at the standard windmills of global capitalism, corruption, and racism with a what-other-problems-have-you-got attitude, sounding as ever, like an adrenalised hybrid of Cypress Hill, Minor Threat, Jello Biafra, Crass and Motorhead. "Like heroin/ As soon as the bass kicks, I need a fix," Rocha declares on a fiery rendition of Eric B and Rakim’s Microphone Fiend. Bandmates Tom Morello, Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford build a fiercely hypnotic guitar, bass grooves on the rap driven Pistol Grip Pump, with portions adopted from More Bounce To The Ounce by Roger Troutman. I’m Housin’ takes Rage to piercing violence— complete with throbbing bass lines and electrifying riffs. Renegades Of Funk is a hard-hitting track, which contains samples from the original number performed by Afrika Bambaataa and Soul Sonic Force, shouting "No matter how hard you try, you can’t stop us now." The high charged punk reading of Down On The Street brings glory to The Stooges’ classic. The band’s unique rendering of Street Fighting Man, The Ghost Of Tom Joad and Maggie’s Farm proves that no other band can handle such fragile topics better than RATM. The 12 cover versions that comprise Renegades — recorded during one session — makes it more than a mere souvenir. It’s a statement, a revolution.

—Saurabh & Gaurav