Records are rated on a scale of one (awful) to five (classic) stars:

BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY 'STRENGTH & LOYALTY' (INTERSCOPE)

Not since the opening track of the second disc of the Notorious B.I.G. double-album "Life After Death" have Bone Thugs-N-Harmony opened an album with such a crisp and ear-capturing anthem as "Flow Motion."

The first track on their recently released "Strength & Loyalty" album strikes at what has made this Cleveland-based group the sleeper and seminal artists they have become in the 13 years since releasing "Thuggish Ruggish Bone."

Backed by what sounds like the hard-hitting snare repetition of a semi-automatic rifle, Layzie, Krayzie and Wish Bone deliver a barrage of patented slick and pointed rhymes that are as equally damaging as any assault weapon.

The song sets the tone for what is one of the more promising new releases by an established group of rap artists since the rise of commercialized and watered-down rap music.

After a tumultuous inner-squad beef, the group has left behind Bizzy Bone and served a refreshed sound that shines especially on the Will.I.Am-produced "Streets." Trading bars with The Game, they do not lose focus of their colloquial sound that reigned supreme on their debut album.

The song is as damaging a critique of the rap industry as Nas' "Hip Hop Is Dead."

The album does not come without its flaws, including the commercially successful track "I Tried" with R&B crooner Akon. While the group delivers what is probably some of the most introspective rhymes about poverty and inner-city life, the song seems to be groomed for the radio crowd.

But regardless of the single's faults, the strength of the album lies in the simple fact that Bone has adapted to the changing art form not by assimilating blindly, but sticking to a formula that will likely grow as they continue to produce hits.

-- Moustafa Ayad,
Post-Gazette staff writer

VARIOUS ARTISTS 'A TRIBUTE TO JONI MITCHELL' (NONESUCH)

It's the nature of tribute records that it's virtually impossible for any one person to appreciate the entire thing. I've never been a fan of these records and still shudder at the prospect of the Indigo Girls doing "Working for the Clampdown."

Fortunately, there's nothing so egregious here. "A Tribute to Joni Mitchell" sports such indie darlings as Sufjan Stevens and Bjork, while also courting Elvis Costello, Sarah McLachlan and k.d. lang, to explore both the folk and more out-there jazzy sides of this mercurial artist.

Some play it straight -- McLachlan's "Blue" is just a little more ethereal, James Taylor's "River" is a little flatter -- while others reach for the more exotic. Stevens shoehorns "Free Man in Paris" into one of his rollicking chamber pop arrangements. Bjork takes "The Boho Dance" into some childlike fantasy world. Perhaps the biggest surprise is Prince's gospel-jazz take on "A Case of You."

A tribute to Mitchell calls for an unorthodox approach and, on that note, this succeeds.

-- Scott Mervis,
Post-Gazette pop music critic

THE CLIENTELE 'GOD SAVE THE CLIENTELE' (MERGE)

One day The Clientele is going to break out with a crazy '60s psychedelic-rock record, hinted at in the track "The Garden at Night." But for now, the London band is content making hazy, dreamy '60s folk-pop like Donovan on downers.

"God Save the Clientele" swims in gorgeous, sleepy, shimmery pop that seems equally fitting for a summer day in the country or a late-night lullaby. Sweet, melancholy and endlessly melodic, comfort music doesn't get any better.

-- Scott Mervis

CHUCK LOEB 'PRESENCE' (HEADS UP INTERNATIONAL/TELARC)

Add yet another artist to the aggressive contemporary jazz label, this time the Nyack, N.Y.-reared guitarist who joined Stan Getz's band in 1979 and later performed with Steps Ahead and the Fantasy Band as well as doing numerous studio sessions in New York. I found the material on his first Heads Up release a bit uneven and even a bit dull at times, probably because Loeb plays one-man band on a number of tunes.

"Good to Go," the current single, is one of those "do everything" songs, though Loeb does have help from daughter Lizzy on flute and trumpeter/trombonist Nathan Eklund of We Three. "Starting Over" sounds like something out of 1970s acoustic pop, and Loeb adds a reggae feel to the Steely Dan chestnut "Rikki Don't Lose That Number."

The best tunes, which are quite good, are the lightly-grooving "The Music Outside," likely a reference to his 1996 hit "The Music Inside"; the homey "Hangin' With You," Andy Snitzer helping out on alto saxophone; and "Mr. Martino," a tribute to fellow guitarist Pat Martino and on which Loeb turns up the intensity toward the end.

On the other hand, I didn't care much for the stately, country-meets-classical title track or the dramatic, string-laced "The Western Sky."

-- Rick Nowlin,
Post-Gazette staff writer

HAVANA CARBO 'THROUGH A WINDOW ... LIKE A DREAM' (MODL MUSIC)

If you're in love with Spanish boleros, you're going to love "Through a Window ... Like a Dream," a new recording by Havana Carbo.

With Havana Carbo, it's all about the song, exploring each one for all its possibilities.

Born in Cuba, but raised in New York, Carbo has a warm, soothing voice that conveys an enormous amount of pain and nostalgia.

One moment, she yearns for the Cuban countryside and the next she's singing a song in French with accordion accompaniment.

But that's the way Carbo is. She has lived a broad life, writes poetry and has traveled to some of world's most exotic places.

She is fluent in Spanish, French, English and Portuguese, and all those languages come into play. You can feel her loneliness when she sings "Solamente Una Vez" and "Siempre En Mi Corazon," and "Los Ojos Negros" is achingly beautiful.

Carbo isn't a recognizable name, but she should be.

-- Nate Guidry,
Post-Gazette jazz writer