originally published August 16, 2006

BRUCE HORNSBY

Intersections (1985–2005)

RCA/ Legacy

Since becoming a baby boomer favorite with '80s smashes like “That’s the Way It Is” and “Mandolin Rain,” Bruce Hornsby has kept his artistic cred up by not attempting to duplicate his past success. Intersections, a four-disc box highlighting Hornsby’s 20-year career thus far, looks like a bit much upon first glance. The hits are on the first disc, then there are three additional volumes of live stuff, fan favorites and collaborations, plus an hour-long DVD. However, the set's greatest reward lies in the finer details made more apparent with each subsequent listen.

Intersection’s first disc is enough for casual interests, as it compiles the aforementioned singles from Hornsby and the Range’s 1985 debut on up to his most recent work with the Noisemakers. Disc two compiles tributes and side projects. Three and four cover both popular and obscure requests.

The set makes clear a couple of things about Hornsby's without-a-net musical predilections. First, it shows his studious recycling of rock's storied past is an often-enjoyable habit, not a nervous crutch. Live renditions of Elton John's “Madman Across the Water” and Don Henley’s “End of the Innocence” are present, as are mid-song drop-ins of “Long Black Veil” and “Mystery Train.” At times, it's as if he drops in song snippets here and there just to see if the train can stay on track long enough for the next original chorus to roll around.

Second, it shows that there's no telling what shape some of Hornsby's material will take upon any given performance. “The Valley Road,” the Grammy-winning inclusion from 1989’s Will the Circle Be Unbroken II album, appears three times in three distinctly different versions: the Circle II Nitty Gritty Dirt band-assisted take, a Cajun-flavored live rendition and a salty blues rocker with the Grateful Dead, which actually sounds more like Little Feat than either of the two parties involved.

A few indulgences threaten to bog the track listing down at times, particularly the inclusion of the lengthy block of “Song A, B, C” etc. instrumental pieces that leads disc two. Still, for a commendable ratio of variety versus consistency, Hornsby bats a pretty sound average. Socially themed cuts like “Look Out Every Window” sit comfortably alongside R&B-juiced workouts like “Rainbow's Cadillac.” The way the CDs are compiled may take a little getting used to, but patience definitely pays off. Whether tackling pop, jazz, R&B, country or semi-classical, Hornsby remains an engaging and often modestly spoken performer.

The accompanying DVD collects videos for many of the box's inclusions and several live performances on which Hornsby is joined by such guests as the Dead (“They Love Each Other”) and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters (“Comfortably Numb”). The liner notes’ first-person track-by-track commentary is another bonus, as it sheds (often humorous) light on origins of the songs. A long, winding, unpredictable listen, Intersections is also a scattered but seriously revealing document of one of the game's brightest team players and a commanding frontman to boot.

MATTHEW SWEET

Girlfriend Legacy Edition

Volcano/ Legacy

A benchmark album of early ‘90s college radio, 1991’s Girlfriend was the album that put former OK Go guitarist Matthew Sweet on the map, but it also proved to be an achievement he would seldom match. Seeing as how the album often teetered on collapse - as recounted by Bud Scopa in the liner notes of this attractive double-disc package - it’s amazing such a fluid and complete product ever materialized at all.

Sweet caught many an ear with the jangly title track, but hindsight reveals the enlisted musicians (including Richard Hell guitarist Robert Quine and Television’s Richard Lloyd) who contributed to the album are the secret ingredients to its sensitive, distressed and majestic aura. From the stinging opening riff of “Divine Intervention” to the gnarled power pop of “Evangeline” to the hormonal surge of “Does She Talk,” it was a throwback to the kind of restless guitar garage pop that made Chilton and Westerberg household names to a slim but dedicated margin of displaced American youth. Combined with Sweet’s oft-confessional lyrics, the mix still sounds fresh and inviting after a decade and a half.

The Girlfriend Legacy Edition also tacks on the bonus disc Goodfriend, a collection of alternate takes and live tracks originally released only as a label promo disc. Though many Girlfriend cuts are included, the differences in these versions make the retreads sound surprisingly fresh. Sweet’s covers of John Lennon’s "Isolation" and Neil Young’s epic “Cortez the Killer” give hints of where Sweet looked for further inspiration, and several originals take on a more loose, immediate vibe than their Girlfriend counterparts. Overall, Girlfriend/ Goodfriend is one of the strongest Legacy Edition packages to arrive in recent memory, as well as a reminder of how heavily the album played into the mass acceptance of “alternative,” not only as a pop-culture click term, but also as an emerging radio format at the time.

DIANA ROSS

Blue

Motown/ UME

Originally slated to follow Ross’ soundtrack to the Billie Holiday biopic Lady Sings the Blues, the previously shelf-bound Blue was tucked away by Motown exec Berry Gordy before its release, most likely to avoid Ross becoming bogged down in its - as well as Lady’s - WWII-era torch song theme. Now, almost 25 years after it was recorded, Blue finally sees the light of day and, for fans of the Great American Songbook-style format (or more specifically those who really know how to make it work), that’s nothing but good news.

Boosted by the input of arranger/ conductor/ producer Gil Askey and an ace string section, Ross wraps her sultry timbre around standards like “What a Difference a Day Makes,” “Let’s Do It” and “My Man (Mon Homme)” with enough in-pocket finesse that this reissue could possibly signal a late-in-career comeback for the reclusive diva. It probably won’t, but Blue (now amended with four bonus cuts) is a highly relevant find for Motown enthusiasts, torch song devotees and those just seeking suitable musical accompaniment to a lazy Sunday and an uncorked bottle of wine.

Michael Andrews Redux Nation is a monthly column focusing on album reissues, repackagings and box sets.

Michael Andrews

Redux Nation is a monthly column focusing on album reissues, repackagings and box sets.