The Roots

Things Fall Apart (MCA 08811 1948)

Because rap arose out of DJ culture, where the vocalists didn't sing and there were no traditional instruments in sight, it was seen by some musicians as being anti-musical.

Rap crews didn't hit the stage with guitars, keyboards, bass and drums. Instead, they turned up with just microphones, a couple of turntables and a mixer -- hardly the sort of thing that could be considered band gear. Worse, instead of emphasizing melody and harmony, rappers worked on a mostly rhythmic level, relying on prerecorded, repetitious "loops" to fuel the verbal interplay.

Maybe that's why the Roots have always been accorded a tad more respect by rap-phobes. This Philadelphia-based sextet not only used "real" instruments (keyboards, bass and drums), but often performed unplugged, delivering a sound almost as rich and warm as a jazz combo. No wonder they were invited to play high-toned, cutting-edge clubs like New York's the Knitting Factory.

They may have been rappers, but the Roots at least looked like a band.

Funny thing is, they sound just as hip-hop as any DJ-driven crew. Even though "Things Fall Apart" finds the Roots bringing in a host of guest vocalists and instrumentalists, including the redoubtable Erykah Badu, its sound isn't particularly pop-friendly. If anything, use of live instruments leads the Roots even deeper into the world of hypnotic hip-hop rhythms.

"Don't See Us" is typical. At first glance, the track seems free-flowing and jazzy, with live drums, urgently probing electric piano and angular, slightly dissonant guitar fills from Tony! Toni! Tone! guitarist Spanky. But even though the instrumental patterns vary greatly as the track progresses, the net effect is trancelike and repetitious, building tension without ever finding release.

The difference is that where other rap crews hammer their rhythmic ideas home by repeating the same two-bar loop over and over again, the Roots work continuing variations around a single idea. So just as the rappers maintain the flow while letting their words play with the beat, the instrumentalists let the groove eddy and churn without impeding its flow.

Occasionally, they do play that rhythmic fluidity for pop accessibility, as on "You Got Me," which balances the rhyming against Badu's soulful, melodic singing. They also go the other way, letting jazz cellist Diedre Murray ride their rhythm on "Diedre Vs. Dice."

But the best tracks -- the roiling "Double Trouble," the ominous "Step Into the Realm," the beautifully dream-like "Act Too (The Love of My Life)" -- are a perfect balance of rap and rhythm, with a groove that's as complex and flowing as anything laid down by rappers Black Thought, ?uestlove and Malik B.

Indeed, the Roots are just like a band -- a band that plays hip-hop. ***1/2

Pop/rock

Marvelous 3

Hey! Album (Elektra 62375)

Rock and roll isn't dead, it's just exhausted -- tired of the same old guitar-band cliches being repeated ad nauseam. It doesn't need rappers or DJs to get out of its doldrums, just a few fresh ideas. And that's precisely what the Marvelous 3 bring to the table with their "Hey! Album." On an instrumental level, the 3 are a typical guitar-driven power pop combo, slamming away like everybody from Cheap Trick to Eve 6. But they pull an incredibly broad palette from their guitar, bass and drums, ranging from the tuneful simplicity of "Every Monday" to the lush, Indo-psychedelic tapestry of "Until You See." Even better, the songs are incredibly catchy, as proven by the rollicking, infectious "Freak of the Week." ***

Various

Respect Is Burning, Vol. 2 (Astralwerks 75612)

House music is alive and well, and living in Paris. At least, that's the message implicit in "Respect Is Burning, Vol. 2," a collection of contemporary house music "inspired by" the Parisian nightclub Respect. Don't take the Francophile focus to mean you have to parlez-vous; not only are all the tracks in English, but a number are by Americans. DeeJay Punk-Roc is represented here by a giddily percolating remix of "My Beatbox," while Freeez's electro classic "I.O.U." is offered in a deep-thumping dub mix. But it hardly matters where these acts hail from, because house is an international language, incorporating everything from Chezere's gorgeously austere "Where Does Your Mind Go" to Catalan FC & Sven Love's exuberant "Private Number." ***

Soundtrack

Jawbreaker

Music From the Motion Picture (London 314 556 033)

What better excuse could you have for a cool, smart and subversive indie-rock collection than a cool, smart and subversive teen comedy? But just as the film "Jawbreaker" isn't the new "Heathers," neither does "Jawbreaker: Music From the Motion Picture" deliver on the promise of its contributors. True, Letters to Cleo may finally have the hit it's long deserved in "I See," but Imperial Teen doesn't hit the mark with either of its efforts, and it's silly to squander the wonderful Ednaswap on a cover of the Police oldie "Next to You." In fact, apart from the brilliantly tacky Shampoo (the brattiest band in Britain, aptly represented by the pouty "Trouble"), the "Jawbreaker" soundtrack will likely leave a sour taste in your mouth. *1/2

* = poor

** = fair

*** = good

**** = excellent

Pub Date: 03/04/99