REVIEW'S

DAUGHTRY - LEAVE THIS TOWN

(The almost was American Idol Chris Daughtry has leveraged his TV exposure cleverly)

Assembling a tight bunch of musicians in his band also called Daughtry, the full throated singer ensures

you don't forget how successful his first album was. It's also from this platform that the second album takes off. Twelve songs of mainstream rock that should be played at top volume at home to make your walls tremble.

The production is slick, the musicians on rocket throttle, so how good are the songs? Its a mixed bag, weighed down by its soaring ambition. Chris Daughtry is only 30 years old, but he writes songs as if he was twice that age, lacing his lyrics with too much nostalgia and unrequited - love yearnings. But from

this album the band will score at least five hit songs, so their status quo n the rock world can continue.

This should make them happy. But what about you?

BEST MOMENT: In the song Open Your Eyes, "For the peace you can never find, just waiting there to hold and keep you , welcome to the first day of your life."

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CHRIS ISAAK - MR LUCKY

(Mr multi-talented has his eyes on your credit card with his tenth album)

He's not just a singer-song writer. He's also been a model, an actor and a talk show host. Questions his fans always ask : Does Mr Isaak spread himself too thinly ? Will he ever settle down and just concentrate on writing superb songs like he did in his 1991's Wicked Game ? And how lucky will he be with this album? With Isaak you know you will get at least half an album full of bitter-sweet love songs. And once again, you can hear strong influences of Roy Orbison, whom Isaak has always emulated. Opening track Cheaters Town is a peppy country-pop song, whereas We Let Her Down the first single to hit the airwaves is a guilt-filled lovely ballad, sung in the style that Isaak is justly famous for. Michelle Branch (who seems to duet with anyone and everyone nowadays) comes on board in I Lose My Heart and so does Trisha Yearwood on ?Breaking Apart'. With almost each song possessing a memorable melody, Chris Isaak proves his point. That 25 years, later he hasn't lost the charm of his vocal chords. Carry on Chris.

BEST MOMENT: The opening bars of We Let Her Down , "Her father, her mother never showed her any affection at all , I wonder if it hurts her now?

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MOBY - WAIT FOR ME

( One of the world's most eclectic musicians is back with his most non - commercial album ever)

Even in his brightest dance songs , Moby has always injected a note of wistfulness, a tone of longing. In fact his sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought, to borrow a famous poets immortal lines. He has made a successful career out of this genre, mostly because his compositions are largely singable and unforgettable. His album 18 holds the distinction of each song being bought and used in TV commercials. And his tunes have shiveringly enhanced the Bourne film trilogy. With this album, Moby makes his boldest statement yet. This is for me, I dont need my compositions to make it to the top of the charts ! Apart from the four obvious download singles-- Pale Horses, Mistake, Study War, and the title track Wait For Me, -- all the other tracks tend to be light, airy, almost nothings of digitally driven strings, organs and humming voices. Even the vocals have been sung by his friends , singers whose names are not easily recognisable. But let me share what I do recognise about this enigmatic musician- composer ? singer. There are spaces in his head that are so fertile and so fearless that Moby will always be compelled to produce music of the type that will shock and awe his peers in the music world. More than a landmark album, this is a kind of a pause moment in Moby's life, before venturing on the next next cutting edge journey!

BEST MOMENT: In Mistake , where his voice is a tingling mix of being threating and afraid, "Dont speak to me this way, Dont let me ever say , Dont leave me again , Dont leave me again..."