PAUL SIMON
Songs from "The Capeman"
Warner Bros.
Reviewed by Jonathan Cohen

It's this attitude that has caused Simon, now 56, to be labeled as a control freak, and it's probably why Songs from "The Capeman" is the artist's first new album in six years. Songs is an hour's worth of music from Simon's forthcoming Broadway musical "The Capeman," based on the true story of a Puerto Rican teenager named Salvador Agron who murdered two people in New York in the summer of 1959 (the nickname stemmed from the fact that Agron was wearing a black cape at the time). Subsequently, Agron became the youngest person in state history to be sentenced to death, although his sentence was commuted and he wound up serving 20 years in prison. He died of natural causes in 1986.

Songs captures the historical context of the crime flawlessly, opening with the a cappella, doo-wop inflected "Adios Hermanos." The song serves as an introduction to Agron's character, describing his mindset as he entered the courtroom for sentencing: And now it was time for some fuckin' law and order/the electric chair/for the greasy pair/said the judge to the court reporter.

"Born In Puerto Rico" is painted lightly with acoustic guitar and piano, as we hear Agron adjusting to life in New York City. "Satin Summer Nights" reminds us that even a bustling city can foster soft, breezy evenings, despite the gang overtones of spoken lines such as you don't get no respect around here unless you belong to a bopping gang.

"Bernadette" is the album's first single and sports the familiar Simon jangle, changing tempos at will but lingering in the air like sweet perfume. The jazzy, piano-and-horn "The Vampires" chronicles Agron's initiation into the gang of the same name, laying the foundation for his participation in the aforementioned murders.

At this point in the album, one would expect a song that dealt with the crime itself, but all Simon offers is brief snippets from an interview that was conducted with Agron after the murders. Agron is without remorse, a notion that would seem central to understanding his motivation. Instead, "The Vampires" is followed by "Quality," which could pass as an outtake from "Grease."

Next is "Can I Forgive Him," a sad, sparse, six-minute visit with Agron's mother Esmerelda. Recorded solo at Simon's home, the creek of his detuned acoustic guitar is audible behind lines such as only God can say 'forgive'/his son too received a knife/but we go on, we have to live/with this cross we call our life.

"Killer Wants to Go to College" imagines a conversation between an inmate and a guard dismissing Agron's attempts to rehabilitate himself while in prison, set over a blues-rock shuffle and reprised later in the CD. "Time is an Ocean" is sung by actors Marc Anthony and Ruben Blades, both of whom play Agron in various stages of life during the musical. We hear Agron's life in prison compressed into verses and choruses, singing of hopeful resolution: I'll take the evil in me/and turn it into good/through all your institutions/never thought I could/so now I'll turn to say goodbye.

If nothing else, Songs from "The Capeman" is a giddy peek into Simon's highly anticipated musical. And although some of the music drags in places, it's hard to be too judgmental with these pieces out of the context of the entire musical. That said, it's safe to predict that with "The Capeman" and the recent release of a three-CD Simon and Garfunkel box set, the spotlight on Paul Simon is far from dimming.

CELINE DION
Let's Talk About Love
Epic/550 Music
Reviewed by Martian Tsai

On her fifth sung-in-English album, Let's Talk About Love, Dion finds support from some of the most respected talents in today's music industry. She collaborates with Barbra Streisand, Luciano Pavarotti, the Bee Gees, Carole King, Beatles producer Sir George Martin, David Foster and Walter Afanasieff -- to name a few. To make the album even more irresistible, she even throws in the theme song from the upcoming epic "Titanic." But this bombastic musical blockbuster is not nearly as cheesy and uninteresting as you might expect.

With her flawless vocal skills intact, Dion tries to show her more soulful side on this new effort, reminiscent of her self-titled second English album. She is earnestly confident and ingenious while patching up the skills of Streisand and Pavarotti. Dion also challenges herself by employing the staccato techniques on her collaboration with Diana King and Brownstone on the reggae-splashed delight "Treat Her Like a Lady."

What might prevent the album from becoming a classic is Dion's persona. The amiable but apathetic vocalist lacks the emotional strength that could lead her well into divadom. Her vocal skills are perfected but seldom effect enough to ignite the listeners' fire within. Once Dion is able to accomplish that, she will be able to manage just fine without a star-studded guest list.

WILL SMITH
Big Williw Style
Columbia
Reviewed by Martian Tsai

From "Independence Day" to "Men in Black," the artist formerly known as Fresh Prince is now one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. Riding high on his success, Will Smith returns to his rapper roots with a mission to revamp the genre.

The fun-loving rapper who is famed for tracks such as "Parents Just Don't Understand" couldn't have returned at a better time, when gangsta rap is declining and Puffy's pop-flavor is topping the charts. The album's premise is fun, and it doesn't have anything else to offer.

Big Willie Style is filled with familiar and catchy samples such as Chic's "Good Times," Kool & the Gang's "Celebration," Cameo's "Candy" and Patrice Rushen's "Forget-Me-Nots." And for a refreshing change of pace, the album's lyrics are tame and amiable enough to do without a parental warning sticker on the cover.

Most of the album offers senseless fun, with Smith spiritedly word-playing and asserting on his success. His terrific old partner DJ Jazzy Jeff supplies his awesome scratching that unmistakably interplays with Smith's rhymes.

But most of the tracks on the album are nothing new. Though Smith is not falling into the trap of the recent popular formula, he doesn't invent a new style of his own. At times the album comes off with the feel of an old-school collection because Smith is still doing what he did back in the day. Nothing wrong with that, but it's nothing to brag about either.

FLYING SAUCER ATTACK
New Lands
Drag City
Reviewed by Jonathan Cohen

"Present" churns with the sound of something being shredded as Pearce sings breathily in front of a barely audible rhythm, while "Up In Her Eyes" approximates what a passing train would sound like if it were looped and repeated again and again. Guitars are reduced to crystalline tones brought out of the cold by Pearce's warm, permeating singing.

"Respect" can only be ingested after groping through the fog of guitar scree and vinyl scratching. Scrape deep enough into the song's torso to hear some alien rendering of a guitar solo.

And while there's obviously some sense of meaning buried in these pieces, as with like-minded groups such as Crescent, Movietone and fellow Bristol expatriots Broadcast, Flying Saucer Attack's tonal manipulation creates music that stresses introspection over clarification.

TONY CONRAD
Early Minamalism:Volume One
Table of Elements
Reviewed by Eric Weddle

A composer and violin player since the late '50s, Conrad is a man history seemed to have forgotten. Until recently, his only recorded music was with the Theater of Eternal Dream Music, a legendary NYC improvisational group started in the early '60s by controversial minimalist composer La Monte Young with John Cale and Marian Zazeela, among others.

Problem: These recordings have never been heard by anyone other than Young. In the past 10 years, Conrad has been reconstructing this Dream Music in the hopes others could hear what Young has hidden and see where the foundations for minimal music lie.

Early Minimalism: Volume One is a four CD box set containing four pieces. The compositions "April 1965," "May 1965" and "June 1965" are close replicas of the music the Theater of Eternal Dream Music was making at that time. "Four Violins" is the only piece Conrad recorded outside the Theater in the '60s. A 96-page book details Conrad's account of the music and the history that goes along with it.

The music on these CDs is otherworldly. Ebbing and pulsing, the notes repeat again and again until the structure of the music vanishes. The listener hears other sounds and arrangements inside the music that are not there. In the tradition of Indian music, Conrad's playing consists of perfectly intonated chords played on the violin for hours at a time. The pieces feature Conrad solo as well as with other musicians on violin and cello.

Though many will not realize or understand, these recordings help connect the missing elements of musical history. Countless composers, musicians, artists and filmmakers have been influenced by Conrad's music, and this document helps place the music, which only once reappeared in dreams, in reality for all to hear.