The Roches

Another World is my second favorite Roches album (after the first) although it has some very serious flaws. It was their fourth album (as a trio) and final album for Warners. Conventional wisdom says this is one of their weakest albums, maybe the weakest. Of course conventional wisdom is often wrong, as it is here

While just about every critic and fan has a favorite Roches album that was inexplicably ignored, most will probably agree that Speak was the one that really should have gone gold. All of the ingredients for a huge album are here: emotional yet accessible songs, radio-friendly folk-pop arrangements, and the sisters' usual mind-blowing vocal pyrotechnics. True, the title cut does have harmonies and cadences that are more typical of Bulgarian music, but much of the rest of this album is radio-ready.

It's all in the chord of voices. Right, "chord." The imprint the Roches brought to popular music when they issued their self-titled debut in 1979 was as three voices forming a chord rather than as a lead vocalist with backing. The emotional quality in the grain of that chord has been a trademark for the group, but more than this is the poetic unspeakable notion of how all of everyday life – with its losses, loves, noble aspirations, and petty resentments – exists in the space between those voices, resulting in an authenticity that is utterly seductive in its warmth, quark strangeness, and mysterious charm.

While just about every critic and fan has a favorite Roches album that was inexplicably ignored, most will probably agree that Speak was the one that really should have gone gold. All of the ingredients for a huge album are here: emotional yet accessible songs, radio-friendly folk-pop arrangements, and the sisters' usual mind-blowing vocal pyrotechnics. True, the title cut does have harmonies and cadences that are more typical of Bulgarian music, but much of the rest of this album is radio-ready. "Big Nuthin" and "Person With a Past" are two obvious hits, but there are plenty more; in fact, this album doesn't have a dud track from end to end.

This 1992 release was, in essence, the follow-up to 1989's SPEAK. Dove album for sale On this album, the Roches sing over an ensemble accompaniment that features horns (by Lenny Pickett primarily) and drums, along with the group's usual keyboards and guitars. Though earlier efforts at achieving this kind of sound were more tentative and not always completely believable (as if they were bowing to pressure and rocking out), on A DOVE, the Roches confidently meld rock idioms, gospel, and blues while keeping the group's familiar character intact.

The Roches' third album retained the services of producer Robert Fripp (instrumental in their stunning debut release), who brought along fellow King Crimson mates Tony Levin and Bill Bruford for the session. Unfortunately, what results is a much watered-down version of this band compared to their stellar heights. Beginning with an a cappella rendition of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" that seems to have been included for no better reason than to show off the group's vocal chops, many of the ensuing songs lack the heartfelt lyrical immediacy of their earlier work.

In honor of Philip Glass' 70th birthday, Sony has devoted two CDs to 18 short works and movements of larger works, from recordings in its archive. The set provides a useful introduction to the composer's work from a relatively brief span in his long career, from 1976 to 1988. It was an exceptionally productive period for Glass; works written during that period include his three large-scale portrait operas – Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha, and Akhnaten – all represented here, as well as two very popular albums of short pieces: Glassworks and Songs From Liquid Days.