Virtually inventing the electronic genre known as ambient-house, "The Orb" have made their mark on the rave scene. Formed in London in 1989, "The Orb" took the techno/raver worldhd by storm, with their slower, more ambianent "early morning rave," creating a distinct niche in the dance worldhd.

Including "Light Fluffy Clouds" (lfc Dance Mix2), the "classic" Orb "Blue Room (7"mix), "Outlands" and "Mickey Mars," to name a few, "U.F. Off" is all the "Orb" you'll need in one package.

Tons of samples mixed in with spacy keyboards and jungle beats just overtake this record. Pop this CD in, turn on the funky lights, and, well, let's just say this is a good one to take on a "trip."

Released by the Gainesville, FL label Fueled By Ramen, "Jimmy Eat worldhd" returns with their self-titled EP featuring "Lucky Denver Mint" and "For Me This Is Heaven" from the forthcoming Capitol LP, "Clarity." It also includes three songs recorded by the band before, during and after the "Clarity" sessions.

Continuing to exhibit the best in syrupy sweet pop, the EP is just a taste to wet your appetite for what will surely be a great record. Jim Adkins (vocals, guitar), Rick Burch (bass), Tom Linton (guitar) and Zach Lind (drums) rack up perfect 10's in musicianship, songwriting and over all delivery. "Lucky Denver Mint" is catchy from the get go, showcasing the all too beautiful vocal stylings of Adkins, dripping with harmonies and the sweetest of melodies. "Your New Aesthetic" sways in a ballad style that calls on a "Ben Folds Five" influence, and "Roller Queen" ends the disc dreamy and crooning, so much it practically grows wings and takes flight.

Produced, engineered and mixed by Mark Trombino (blink182, no knife, mineral, drive like jehu...) in May and June of 1998, the self-titled EP is literally the lead up to "Clarity," expected in February '99. Each song on "Clarity" was pieced together individually, and then a different recording approach was applied to each song. One re-occurring device carried over from "Jimmy Eat worldhd's" 1996 Capitol album, "Static Prevails," is the use of textural sounds, low in the mix, to add to the mood of the song.

Judging from the EP, "Clarity" will be a summer feel good record in February. Just the thing to melt those snowy days. Both releases are definitely a must have.

When you see 21 tracks on a single disc, especially a rap effort, it's a pretty clear indication of one of two things. Either there are a number of spoken interludes which usually end up either intriguing or annoying with no middle ground, or there are a bunch of filler tracks. In the case of MC Lyte's latest album, "Seven & Seven," the same problems that marred her previous discs show up once again. She presents a few outstanding tracks, and surrounds them with insubstantial material.

"Seven & Seven" starts out with a synthesized "Star Spangled Banner," over which a P.A. system chimes "Introducing MC Lyte," eliciting "ooohs" from an unseen peanut gallery. A humorous beginning to "In My Business," a track featuring Missy Elliott, and one of the good songs on the disc. Elliott also shows up on the track "Want What I Got."

Other points of interest come with the LL Cool J co-written, G-funk infused "Playgirls Play," which is immediately followed by "Put It On You," built around a David Bowie riff. The CD ends with the gospel-tinged "Better Place," featuring a buzzing synthesizer throughout, at least this song has a full, melodic sound, unlike anything else on the CD. Rather than being merely out of place, however, it's the best song on "Seven & Seven."

"MC Lyte's" music relies more on her flow than on any sledgehammer beat, and she has the ability to deliver some abslutely great stuff from time to time. Although "Seven & Seven" isn't a bad disc, it isn't the best she's ever done either.

I have a problem with what people these days are trying to pass off as Reggae. This is no different from what happens whenever a certain genre happens to be the "in" thing of the season. Grunge is cool? Let's all record Grunge. Swing? No problem. Ska? Why not? And so it goes.

Reggae has suffered from this problem for many years. When Bob Marley was struggling to get a decent recording deal, nobody was interested. Eric Clapton comes through and records "I Shot The Sheriff" and suddenly everybody is interested in Bob Marley. And eventually Reggae became cool.

Because of this, I am predisposed to prefer the older style Reggae that Bob Marley polished to near perfection over his lifetime. I also prefer Bob Marley for his superior songwritting. Listening to a Bob Marley song is listening to some of the most beautiful poetry ever written.

By having such high standards, it may seem to others that I'm being unfair, but I'm holding my ground. It's nearly impossible to play Reggae and avoid being compared to Bob Marley, and the people that do it, know it. Where does "Michael Rose" fit into this? Well, he was the singer of the legendary "Black Uhuru" (Swahili for "Freedom"). He left in the mid-1980's to pursue his solo dreams. Now we are in 1999, and "Michael Rose" presents us with 16 tracks of the same Reggae we could hear form a hundred other bands. Somehow this is not right.

The only thing that makes this CD bearable is that "Michael Rose" has a great voice. The man can sing, but his music borders on boring. This is the kind of thing that would not be an issue for a newcomer, but "Michael Rose" has been in and out of the Reggae scene for more than 20 years. He has no excuse whatsoever. I gave this CD 2 1/2 stars because of "Michael Rose's" singing, but the music is pretty much boring. You're better off buying whatever Bob Marley you don't have already, or maybe some UB40.