Embrace

Released in 2002, before the band broke from Hut and moved to Indepediente, Fireworks: Singles 97-02 is, as the title indicates, 13 of Embrace's singles during that time period. Culled from three albums, The Good Will Out, Drawn from Memory, and If You've Never Been, the compilation is a good collection of what the group offered and a nice look back into late-'90s British rock. With cuts like "All You Good Good People," "I Wouldn't Wanna Happen to You," "One Big Family," and "Wonder" (plus a cover of the Schoolhouse Rock! track "Three Is a Magic Number"), Fireworks is a good choice for Embrace fans who want to relive the band's glory years without having to invest in the full albums.

Debut albums rarely arrive with as much expectation as Embrace's The Good Will Out – in Britain, at least. Arriving after the massive success of Oasis and the Verve, The Good Will Out was perceived as the heir apparent to the lad-rock throne. One listen to The Good Will Out illustrates why – the group ingeniously combines the anthemic hooks and monolithic roar of Oasis with the sweeping aural majesty of the Verve. That alone makes the album a bracing listen, but The Good Will Out doesn't quite have enough substance to compete in the big leagues. Danny McNamara simply doesn't have the charisma of Liam Gallagher or Richard Ashcroft, and his songs aren't as immediate or memorable as Noel Gallagher's or Ashcroft's. That's not to say they're bad songs – on the contrary, they're quite good, and they're performed passionately. It's just that in comparison to their peers – who really are their influences, as well – they lack that certain magic. Nevertheless, The Good Will Out illustrates enough promise and panache to make it a first-rate debut.

.While many Jon Anderson fans knew he had it in him to do something very light and airy and perhaps even without vocals (Olias of Sunhillow essentially led the way), the fact that it's something this light and airy is likely to come as a bit of a shock. Anderson presents the listener with a soundscape made up of long, sustained notes and drifting chords, a construction in which the few melodies present take minutes to work through – there's far more in common with the Hearts of Space catalog here than with much of Anderson's prior work, though the Vangelis influence is to be felt, too (especially on the quarter-hour "New Eire Land")…