The best disc of the set is the 70s volume,featuring classics such as van McCoy's "TheHustle" and treats from Elo, the Average WhiteBand, Earth Wind and Fire, and Billy Preston.Preston's "Outta-Space," the second track on thisalbum, features a thick funk groove underneathPreston's organ and key work. Oh yeah, there's agreat instrumental version of Led Zeppelin's"Whole Lotta Love" with King Curtis screaming outRobert Plant's vocal line on his sax, producing aprophetic marriage of funk/soul orchestrationswith heavy metal.

The Soul disc mainly features tracks that werereleased during the 60s R&B explosion, and whilemany of the tracks on here are great (check outthe thick, laid-back groove featured on southAfrican trumpeter Hugh Masekela's "Grazing in theGrass'" the best track on the disc--from theopening deeply grooved cowbell to Masekela'sinfectiously funky trumpet lines, this songgrooves hard) many others are uninspiring anduninteresting.

High points on this disc include the"Cannonball" Adderly's mournful ballad "Mercy,Mercy, Mercy," and the four tracks by Booker T.and MG's (the only band that reallydeserves the label as `the hardest working band inshow biz'): "Green Onions" (which was named whenbass player Lewis Steinberg was asked to think ofthe funkiest thing he could), the molasses-thick"Hip Hug-Her," the ghetto-blues soundtrack to the1969 movie Uptight, "Time is Tight" and"Hang `Em High," an organ-driven remaking of thetheme song for the Clint Eastwood spaghettiwestern of the same name.

The high camp value of a Booker T. and the MG'sremake of an Eastwood-Western theme is maintainedfor the duration of the unflinchingly retro surfdisc, a collection of surfer instrumentals thatwere released between '60 and '63. Like all thebest that camp has to offer, this disc is morethan just an amusement item: the burning guitarwork and unstoppable rhythms that mark classicssuch as the Cantay's "Pipeline" and the Surfaris'"Wipeout" (check out those killer bongos!) serveas the backbone for this disc. The two tunes bysurf-guitar master Dick Dale are predictablystrong, as Dale deftly powers his way through histrademark, riff-based style.

Still, this disc is probably not worth the 12bucks to anyone who isn't seriously into surfmusic or a serious rock and roll historian; afterall, how many times are you really going to listento an hour of surfer music?

The six volume "Billboard Pop Memories" is thebrainchild of world-renowned record researcherJoel Whitborn, and it is hard to argue with eitherthe song selections or the track-by-trackdescriptions of their place in the history ofmodern music. Every track on here is a classic,and most for good reasons, and there are those ofus who genuinely treasure having Judy Garland's"somewhere Over the Rainbow," Duke Ellington's"Mood Indigo," and Dean Martin's "Memories AreMade of This" on one collection.

The tunes range about half instrumentals, halfvocals. This is just the type of collection thatRhino has come to excel in producing, withpredictable Eddie Fisher tracks thrown in withVaughn Monroe's deep baritoned "Riders In the Sky(A Cowboy Legend)," (complete with Vaughn'smournful "Yippie-eye-ays") and Peggy Lee's fakeSpanish-accented "Manana (Is Soon Enough For Me.)"

The most disappointing aspect of thiscollection is the shockingly short lengths of theCDs. Considering that Rhino is asking people toshell out 15 bucks for each of the six volumes ofthis collection, they could have afforded to makethe discs more than the half hour they clock inat. Indeed, this type of ill-fated decision seemsat odds with most of Rhino's compilation packages,which are consistently well-researched,well-produced and well-packaged.

Welcome to the Cruel World

Ben Harper

Virgin Records

Ben Harper has all the signs of a youngstar who is about to make it. He's young--24--goodlooking, intense, and talented. On his debutalbum, welcome to the cruel world, hedisplays a remarkably developed songwriting style,putting his personal imprint on traditionalfolkish melodies. While his arrangements are notentirely similar to anything else going to today(Harper plays a triad of acoustic instruments: thedobro, the acoustic guitar, and the Weissenborn, ahollow-neck lap slide guitar) it is easilyaccessible enough to reach a wide audience.

Harper is being promoted big time by his label,and for once, a big-name record company seemsintent on pushing someone with real talent andsomething to say. The dripping slide that opensthe album's second track, "Whipping Boy," an oldChris Darrow tune and one of two tunes that Harperdid not pen himself (the other being theinfectious "I'll Rise," to which poet Maya Angeloucontributed the Iyrics) sets the intensity at ahigh level that is maintained throughout thealbum. As Harper wails: "Well you can needme....But don't you lead me/I won't followyou/Liston here/ I don't fear/ I don't want to beyour/ Whipping boy" in a voice that is at oncerestrained and totally unafraid, he backs himselfup with slivery slides punctuated by intenselysharp plucks and pulls.

While Harper seems to be consciously shunningthe pretty-boy superstar image, he is a musicianto watch, and Welcome to a Cruel Worldis astrong first album that deserves all the attentionit gets.

Tony Rice Sing and Plays Bluegrass Tony RiceRounder Records