THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512150085
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICKEY WRIGHT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
IT'S BEGINNING to look a lot like Christmas. Last Christmas, to be exact, when there were plenty of Beatles and Garth Brooks CDs under trees.
The Beatles' ``Live at the BBC'' and Brooks' ``The Hits'' were among the biggest and fastest sellers in recorded music 12 months ago, and the two acts are back in the new-release sections with ``The Beatles Anthology 1'' and ``Fresh Horses.'' If a Fab Four or Garth fan in your life doesn't already own the latest, there's a gift-giving problem solved.
Still need a tip on what to buy for a teenager - or maybe your older aunt and uncle? Here's a rundown of what's arrived in the shops lately. ROCK
Classic-rockers who've already grabbed the Beatles set might also dig the Rolling Stones' ``Stripped'' (Virgin), a smart twist on the ``unplugged'' trend. Queen's ``Made in Heaven'' (Hollywood) contains the last songs Freddie Mercury recorded before his AIDS-related death in 1991. Pink Floyd fans might go for the London Philharmonic Orchestra's ``Us and Them'' (Point Music), arrangements of some of their greatest hits. ``Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits'' (Geffen) collects radio favorites and two new tunes by once and future Eagle Don. (Other new best-of sets: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Def Leppard, Living Colour and boxes by Elvis Presley and Tom Petty.)
``Alternative''-leaning listeners might prefer ``Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits'' (MCA), a collection of theme songs and other anthems (``Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy'') performed by luminaries such as the Ramones, Violent Femmes, Matthew Sweet, Liz Phair, Sponge and Wax. Go, Speed Racer, go! Also hot: the Velvet Underground's boxed set, ``Peel Slowly and See'' (Polydor); British sensation Oasis' second album, ``(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'' (Epic); the Rentals' ``Return of the Rentals'' (with that ``Friends of P.'' song, on Maverick/Reprise); Chapel Hill favorite Superchunk's ``Here's Where the Strings Come In'' (Merge); and Eric Matthews' divine ``It's Heavy in Here'' (Sub Pop). POP
The gift that keeps on giving for the mainstream pop audience is Mariah Carey's ``Fantasy'' (Columbia), which will probably still be spawning hit singles this time next year. Fans of chilled-out romanticism will find it hard to say no to Madonna's ballad collection ``Something to Remember'' (Maverick/Warner Bros.) or k.d. lang's ``All You Can Eat'' (Warner Bros.).
There are Frank Sinatra packages ranging from Reprise's massive box of studio sessions done in three decades to a four-CD Columbia set and two Capitol albums (both called ``Sinatra 80th''), one a double disc of studio classics and the other live recordings. Tony Bennett's latest is ``Here's to the Ladies'' (Columbia). R&B/RAP
Babyface continues to dominate the current R&B scene with the soundtrack of ``Waiting to Exhale'' (Arista), which he wrote and produced for voices like those of Whitney Houston (whose ``Exhale'' is already a giant single), TLC, Aretha Franklin and many others. R. Kelly's third disc, ``R. Kelly'' (Jive), has wheels. Prince's ``The Gold Experience'' (NPG/Warner Bros.) nosedived on the charts, but it's one of his best of the past decade; take a chance. Janet Jackson looks back on ``Design of a Decade 1986/1996,'' while Stevie Wonder arrives with ``Natural Wonder'' (Motown), his first live tracks since the '60s. Al Green's ``Your Heart's in Good Hands'' (MCA) is a fine redefinition of his secular style. And Phyllis Hyman admirers will no doubt appreciate her posthumous ``I Refuse to Be Lonely'' (PIR/Zoo).
Depending on their tastes, hip-hoppers will be glad to unwrap LL Cool J's ``Mr. Smith'' (Def Jam), Cypress Hill's ``Cypress Hill III (Temple of Boom)'' (Ruffhouse/Columbia), Genius/GZA's ``Liquid Swords'' (Geffen) or the Dogg Pound's ``Dogg Food'' (Death Row/Interscope). History lessons come in the form of a four-CD ``Def Jam Music Group 10th Year Anniversary'' box (Def Jam), or the late Eazy-E's ``eternal E'' (Ruthless). COUNTRY
Sure, there's plenty of Garth to go 'round, but lots of other stars have followed his lead with shiny new CDs stacking up their biggest hits. These include Vince Gill's ``Souvenirs'' (MCA), Alan Jackson's ``Greatest Hits Collection'' (Arista), Travis Tritt's ``Greatest Hits From the Beginning'' (Warner Bros.) and the four-disc ``Strait Out of the Box'' (MCA) by George Strait. There are also boxes from Mercury Nashville on the Statler Brothers and the immortal Roger Miller. Outcast Rosanne Cash has a new ``Retrospective'' (Columbia), while Alison Krauss and Union Station's ``Now That I've Found You: A Collection'' (Rounder) continues to impress.
New music, you say? Dwight Yoakam's ``Gone'' (Reprise) is among his most excellent, and his pal Jim Lauderdale (who's written hits for Strait and Patty Loveless, among others) has an overlooked standout in ``Every Second Counts'' (Atlantic). JAZZ
This year's big boxes (John Coltrane's ``Heavyweight Champion'' on Rhino/Atlantic, Miles Davis' complete dates at the Plugged Nickel on Columbia) are worth every cent, if your pockets are that deep. And you couldn't go far wrong with the Sinatra and Bennett discs mentioned above.
Other good bets for your jazz lover are Ornette Coleman and Prime Time's first since 1988, ``Tone Dialing'' (Verve); the ``Get Shorty'' soundtrack (Antilles); and recent ``smooth-jazz'' by Najee on ``Songs From the Key of Life'' (EMI), a Wonder tribute. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Hip-hoppers will be glad to unwrap LL Cool J's ``Mr. Smith.''
by CNB