Edited By Mike Breen

· Emmylou Harris -- Cimarron and Last Date (Eminent Records)

Country music has never been big on innovation, and coming from the sticks as it does, it tends to incorporate musical trends long after other genres have moved on. That's why much of mainstream Country today sounds like 1980s Power Pop, albeit with twangier voices and pedal-steel guitar -- which might seem like a regrettable trend until you consider that the rest of mainstream Country is taken up with redneck hokum like "She Loves My Truck." With that in mind, these two never-before-on-CD reissues from Emmylou Harris are more welcome than ever.

While these titles are not among Harris' very best work, they have much to recommend them. Cimarron, released in 1981, is essentially an album put together from leftover tracks from earlier sessions. But all things considered, it's a remarkably strong effort. The album includes some essential Harris tracks, including her version of Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You," Bruce Springsteen's "The Price You Pay" and an unreleased bonus track of Rodney Crowell's "Colors of Your Heart."

1982's Last Date is the only recorded document of Harris' Hot Band, the group she performed with from 1975 to 1989. Recorded during a series of dates in California honky-tonks, Harris tears through an eclectic set of covers, including Hank Snow's "I'm Movin' On" (long a Hot Band favorite), Neil Young's "Long May You Run" and three compositions from Harris's mentor, Gram Parsons.

Harris' vocals are more fiery on this live set than on her studio recordings, and where Cimarron is too sterile to be completely engaging, Last Date provides some grit to Harris' sometimes too pristine recordings. (Brad Quinn)
CityBeat grade: Cimarron: B; Last Date: B.

· No Doubt -- Return of Saturn (Interscope/Trauma)

Named after the point in adulthood at which the planet Saturn realigns with its position at a person's birth, Return of Saturn explores the view of a world as seen by a group of friends and musicians who have spent the last 13 years together. After a severe case of writer's block, Gwen Stefani produced a string of songs that have a common thread of adult issues (in "Marry Me," for example, she sings, "I wouldn't mind it if my name changed to Mrs."). Saturn delights the listener with variety, from the bouncy "Ex-Girlfriend" to the soulfully crafted ballad "Simple Kind of Life." Stefani takes the listener inside her life with honesty and openness.

Inspired by the music of the 80s, Saturn is intertwined with familiar keyboard, guitars and bass. Stefani is a master at weaving her vocals throughout the music. At times she's soft and reflective, other times moody and passionate.

As a package, Saturn delivers. Following the tremendously successful Tragic Kingdom, No Doubt prove their worth as a band that'll be around for some time. (Sara Hoffman)
CityBeat grade: B.

· Supergrass -- Supergrass (Polygram)

The musical and songwriting progression from the first two albums by this BritPop trio was staggering. The group moved from the super-charged partylike songs of I Should Coco to the brash, mini-Pop-symphonys of In It for the Money (one of the best Pop albums of the 1990s). So it's not suprising that the band's latest takes that "maturity" one step further.

This eponymous album is a little less "goofy", as the music, while still rockin' (usually) and hyper-catchy (always), takes a more subtle approach. Unlike the band's previous work, Supergrass requires a few more listens to get, but it's well worth the time invested.

The opening track, "Moving," mixes an ethereal hook into the Baroque-ish Pop style the group made famous with Money, while the latest single, "Pumping on Your Stereo" (as well as "Jesus Came From Outta Space") suggest some inspriation from the Glam Rock revival that was sparked by the film Velvet Goldmine. And the album closes on a sparkling, low-key note, with the twilight glide of "Born Again" and the beautifully melancholic acoustic track "Mama & Papa," where singer Gaz Coombes pines, "Miss my mommy and I miss my daddy/Won't you please bring them back home."

Supergrass marks another step toward more sophisticated songcraft for the band. Unlike so many of their peers, though, Supergrass growing up isn't a bad thing -- and hopefully it never will be. (Mike Breen)
CityBeat grade: B.

E-mail Mike Breen

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