Scruffy the Cat's former frontman has a new band, the Legendary Motorbikes, and a new sound -- a rootsy, country flavor hinted at on earlier efforts but only fully embraced here. A mixture of Chesterman originals, covers of obscure tunes by local songwriting pals, a standard and an old Scruffy tune redone, this aptly- titled recording captures Chesterman in a relaxed, freewheeling pose, full of his corn-fed Iowa charm but not totally without the urban grit and irony that gave Scruffy's pop ditties their special edge.

THE CICADAS

In the spirit of similar one-off projects like Rockpile, Little Village and the Traveling Wilburys, the Cicadas brings together an array of country and folk-rock stalwarts, including Rodney Crowell and Steuart Smith, mixing originals with songs by cult songwriters including Jim Lauderdale, Guy Clark, John D. Loudermilk and T.Bone Burnett. The result is a good-time version of Tom Petty meets the Beatles -- perfectly-timed, summertime barbecue pop. [ 7/6/97 ]

HOLLY COLE

This could be the breakthrough for this ultra-cool Canadian songstress who has previously been confined to the jazz ghetto. Herein Cole tackles nothing but Tom Waits tunes, 16 in all, backed by her trio and a few guests. Producer Craig Street, who has worked similar magic for Cassandra Wilson, favors spare, minimalist arrangements which allow Waits' genius and Cole's artistry to shine.

SHAWN COLVIN

HARRY CONNICK, JR.

There's this extraterrestrial reptile that lands on Earth, see, and he meets Harry Connick and they go for a stroll around New Orleans, and ... oh, never mind. On Connick's latest, we discover that the former Sinatra wannabe is actually a Stevie Wonder wannabe, playing all the instruments on a number of tracks, spinning moralistic yarns, and getting personal with self-penned lyrics like "I ride in limousines but it means nothing" and "This lonely life of mine is the best I've ever had/It's not bad." He even picks up the guitar on a few numbers and does a Spin Doctors imitation. Mostly though, the music is grounded in his native New Orleans funk. Best line: "I'm gonna love somebody just like me." No doubt.

KEVIN CONNOLLY

On ``Little Town,'' singer-songwriter Connolly spotlights growing up in small-town suburbia, where ``everyone knew everyone, and had to talk about it/And you could get yourself confused just trying to fit in.'' On slow, rootsy numbers, the southeastern- Mass. native recalls Greg Brown, on country-ish tunes, Lyle Lovett, and on his more soulful, R&B-ish numbers, he harkens back to Van Morrison. He even takes a stab at Paul Simon-like Afro-pop on ``Lucy Falls In Love.''

CORDELIA'S DAD

Spine (Appleseed)

What with the plethora of self-obsessed, confessional singer-songwriters who have co-opted the term "folk," it's easy to forget that in its heyday, genuine American folk music was to pop what punk is to today's mainstream. Northampton-based Cordelia's Dad makes the historic analogy explicit, not through pyrotechnics or folk-rock fusion, but through allowing the sheer desperation and emotion of these traditional numbers -- mountain ballads, shape-note singing, fiddle tunes, Appalanchian laments -- to predominate. The result is quietly chilling, acoustic music perfect for a cool, fall evening with a hint of winter approaching in the air.[ 10/18/98 ]

CORNERSHOP

As good as Cornershop's previous album, "Woman's Gotta Have It," was, the group's follow-up is even better, taking Tjinder Singh's Anglo-Indian fusion and opening it up wide by embracing pop structures and strategies. As a result, Cornershop has come up with the most suggestive, cosmopolitan and funky melange of sounds since Beck's "Odelay." Singh's multi-faceted Punjabi pop is the soundtrack to the world village, where cocktail music and electronica coexist not in the same song but in the same phrase, with a sitar line snaking behind the mix and asserting its ultimate primacy. On the 50th anniversary of India's independence from Great Britain, raga-rock enjoys its ultimate triumph.[ 9/21/97 ]

CORNERSHOP

Gang of Four-style English guitar-punk crossed with traditional modal Indian sounds of the tamboura, sitar and dholki make for a compelling fusion surprisingly reminiscent of the Velvet Underground. The best pop has always been spawned by such musical miscegenation; Cornershop's leader Tjinder Singh joins a long line of such innovators.

ELVIS COSTELLO

Who would've predicted back in 1977 that the adenoidal-voiced singer of "My Aim Is True" would someday mature into the most compelling vocalist in popular music? That is what Costello proves himself to be on his latest effort, which reunites him with producer Geoff Emerick and his band, The Attractions, on a dozen tunes, many of which were written for or recorded by other artists. With his voice mixed way out front and his singular way with a melody the focus, Costello lays claim to the mantle of sophisticated lyricist and melodicist and pop singer extraordinnaire on his best album since "Spike" and perhaps since "Imperial Bedroom."

ELVIS COSTELLO

Subtitled "The Very Best of the Warner Bros. Years," this CD isn't so much a greatest hits collection as a retrospective of Costello's work over the last decade. While so much attention was fixed on so-called alternative rock, Costello -- one of the original alt- rockers -- was making some of the best music of his career. He picks some of his favorites from albums including "Spike," "Mighty Like a Rose" and "All This Useless Beauty," and the CD features Costello-penned liner notes. The album's only new cut, "The Bridge I Burned" -- a sample-heavy, genre-bending track -- bodes well for the future. "Extreme Honey" suggests rather than finding himself at a loss in his later years, Elvis Costello is in the midst of a mature, creative resurgence. [ 10/26/97 ]

ELVIS COSTELLO

It comes only partly as a surprise to learn that one of rock's greatest and most idiosyncratic singer- songwriters of the last two decades is and has always been a record collector. This recording of 15 cover versions of mostly obscure R&B and pop songs functions as much as a tribute to Costello's record collection as it serves to open a window into his creative process, whereby the tunes herein are just so much raw material waiting to be transformed by Costello into his singular brand of music. The songs bespeak as much about his generosity as do his self-penned liner notes.

CRY CRY CRY

Cry Cry Cry (Razor and Tie)

A kind of new-folk supergroup, Cry Cry Cry, the album and the band, teams singer-songwriters Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell with a dozen songs by some of today's best writers who aren't them (and one that is). The trio covers the likes of Greg Brown, Cliff Eberhardt, Julie Miller, The Nields, Robert Earl Keen, R.E.M. and Shindell with the sort of grace and sensitivity that only graceful, sensitive songwriters themselves could muster. Next time out, however, how about an album of all new songs, a la the Traveling Wilburys? [ 12/27/98 ]

CATIE CURTIS

The Brown University-educated ex-social worker has come up with a dozen, straightforward original tunes on which Curtis wrings meaning and tension out of a phrase with her jazzy, swinging vocals. "Dad's Yard" recalls Rickie Lee Jones; "Slave To My Belly" conjures up Maria Muldaur. The centerpiece is "Silhouette," an energetic, folk-pop love song with Bruce Hornsby-like piano carried by the singer's rich, natural vocals.