This is a reviews page based on my own collection, which just keeps growing despite itself. If it isn't listed here, it's because I don't own it yet, or I haven't gotten around to it yet. If you think you might want to buy it, click the link and go to Amazon.

Also, bother your local "new rock" radio station and make sure they are playing "new rock" and not "I Melt With You," which is not new.

note: entries in red text indicate my pick for the artist's best available album. A gold numeral indicates the POPocalypse winner of the year's best album; second- and third-place winners are in blue. Green lettering indicates an obviously exploitative record company compilation without apparent artist input.

OASIS: Definitely Maybe (1994, UK #1, US #58, *****)
Very promising debut, full of strong lyrical hooks and a down-to-Earth style. "Cigarettes and Alcohol" is wonderful, a perfect song to open the loudest concert ever. Simple, hook-filled and thunderous guitars, and the epic "Live Forever."

OASIS: (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995, UK #1, US #4, ****)
Just as Beatleness begins to overtake their songwriting (but no "Yellow Submarine" videos at this stage), the Gallaghers and company put together a stunning echo of the swinging 60s. The American singles, particularly "Don't Look Back in Anger," are the best tracks, and for the most part, they're strong enough to stand the test of time.

OASIS: "Wonderwall" CD single (1995, UK #2, US #8)
The American version contains the lead and four bonus tracks from earlier English singles, including a rather long live reading of "I am the Walrus."

OASIS: "D'You Know What I Mean?" CD single (1997, UK #1)
Pretty good value for money... this 1997 effort includes the lead and three B-sides, one of them an interesting (though to my mind, poorly mixed) version of Bowie's "Heroes."

OASIS: The Masterplan (1998, UK #2)
This 14-song compilation features only previously unavailable B-sides from their first 10 or so singles, most of which had never seen American release of any kind before. It features a good essay, recording and release information and lyrics, making this a great set, even if fans have most or all the material. Best track has got to be the remarkable "Rockin' Chair."

OASIS: Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (2000, UK #1, ***)
Their fourth album cemented them as one of the biggest, most important rock acts in England's recent history. It's noisy, important, intelligent and, with the exception of Liam's whiny "Hey Jude" redux "Little James," well-written. In the US, however, it dented the top 30 before sinking without trace. The single "Go Let it Out" was enormous in the UK, but ignored by US radio. We had Backshit Boys to play.

OASIS: Backbeat Volume 2
Atlanta record shops are full of this disc! Very professional-looking and well made, but legally very shady indeed as it compiles previously-released material, in this case all the unavailable-on-album B-sides from the singles "Some Might Say," "Roll With It," "Wonderwall," "Champagne Supernova," "Don't Look Back in Anger" and "Morning Glory," 16 tracks in all. It's made mostly redundant by the officially-released Masterplan collection.

OCEAN COLOUR SCENE: Moseley Shoals (1996, UK #2, ***)
America's steadfast apathy towards OCS has left us with little to judge them. Most British reviewers rank this 1996 album among the best of the decade though, and with a soulful, retro-mod sound that earned Paul Weller's approval and a guest appearance. Most of the singles hit the UK top 20, darned if you know anything about them.

MAURA O'CONNELL: A Real Life Story (***)
An Irish folk singer with a beautiful voice covers ten songs in what's the only American release I'm familiar with. She sings Shawn Colvin's "I Don't Know Why" a few years before Shawn recorded it herself.

SINEAD O'CONNOR: The Lion and the Cobra (1987, UK #27. US #36, ***)
Before her rollercoaster ride up to stardom and down to obscurity, Sinead courted alternative rockers with this frequently amazing 1987 release, built on anger and strength, with musical accompaniment ranging from the guitar attack of "Mandinka" to the beautiful strings accompanying the outstanding "Troy" to the dance rhythms of "I Want Your (Hands on Me)." Guests on the album include Enya, Marco Pirroni and ex-Japan guitarist Rob Dean.

OF MONTREAL: The Gay Parade (1999, ***)
I don't own many records like this one, although some of Coltrane's later shenanigans come close. Unless you are listening closely to this album, the music is discordant to the point of extreme irritation. However, if you listen carefully, it's a truly amazing set of tunes. Formed by Kevin Barnes, the band is one of a number of loosely-arranged combos from Athens, such as Elf Power and the Olivia Tremor Control, both of whom have a few members making guest appearances here. The music is extremely dense, psychedelic and not very melodic. Lyrically, the songs are simple and charming: "My Favorite Boxer" and "Nickee Coco and the Invisible Tree" especially so, but they are wrapped in an amazing swirl of instrumentation that demands your attention. Not recommended for parties.

THE OLIVIA TREMOR CONTROL: Animation Music Volume One (***)
There aren't many people pushing the frontiers of what you can do in pop quite the way this Athens five-piece does. Taking a cue from improvisational jazz, the 27 songs on this very cohesive album weave from three-minute pop into one-minute freeform synthesizers and back. One of 1999's more interesting releases, this was never radio-bound, but found a few listeners outside those used to their stupendous live act.

THE OPAL FOXX QUARTET: The Love That Won't Shut Up (***)
Their only album, recorded in a number of locations over some time and released after the band split, doesn't come anywhere near capturing the power of their live shows. The Atlanta act, you see, put on the best concerts on the planet, ever, and this just can't carry the same weight as their live set. It's a shame, but all this does, even when several tracks were produced by Michael Stipe, is capture echoes, though "Frail Body" is still terrifying and their cover of "Strange Fruit" isn't like anything you've ever heard. Opal Foxx mined an insidious, dark Southern vein for their material, like Flannery O'Conner on heroin. Many of the songs recount Opal's (the late "Benjamin Smoke") unapologetic and unashamed homosexuality and carry sometimes disturbing metaphors, therefore giving "Strange Fruit," with its lynching-from-Magnolia imagery, a much darker and frightening edge.

ROY ORBISON: King of Hearts (1992, UK #23, ***)
A 1992 compilation of many of the releasable tracks recorded towards the end of his life, this has the astonishing duet with k.d. lang on "Crying" and a very upbeat stomper called "Heartbreak Radio" which would have been massive 30 years before. It also reveals that he recorded "I Drove All Night" before its writers offered it to Cyndi Lauper, but sadly, his version wasn't up to par. Much of the rest is pretty forgettable, owing to some subpar songwriting.

Born in Norwich in 1970, Beth Orton spent the early 1990s as a backing vocalist for producers like the Chemical Brothers and William Orbit. The first exposure most listeners had to her voice was on the beautiful single "She Cries Your Name," which became a fluke hit on alternative rock radio, driving sales Trailer Park. Mixing trip-hop beats with mellow, folk rhythms, Orton had a strength and honesty missing from other female-fronted beat acts like Portishead or Sneaker Pimps. William Orbit's presence is very heavy on the album, but it wouldn't work so wonderfully without Beth's mournful delivery. Her cover of "I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine" is one of the saddest songs ever performed.

To the considerable surprise of anyone who was interested enough to read more about this new singer (and to The All Music Guide, which still hasn't figured it out), Trailer Park was actually her second album. Superpinkymandy was released the year before on Toshiba-EMI in Japan only. By no means as innovative or original as Trailer Park, it functions chiefly as a William Orbit album with a female vocalist. Oddly, Beth's vocals are more confident on Superpinkymandy, but part of what makes her later material so unique and thrilling is that lack of confidence, which comes across as worry, or naivete. It does feature an early version of "She Cries Your Name" and a spectacular little percussion-driven piece called "Faith Will Carry," but the overall effect is something that, while strong, is still somewhat anonymous, and recommended for diehards only.

In 1997, Beth released the "Best Bit" EP single, featuring American folk singer Terry Callier on two of its four tracks (five in the US): a cover of Fred Neill's "Dolphins" and Callier's "Lean on Me." The lead song was the most upbeat pop number she had produced yet, and her first entry into the UK top 40. The relationship with Callier continued into her next album, 1999's Central Reservation. Even stronger than her debut, the album confidently mixes tearjerkers like "Pass in Time" (written for her late mother and again featuring Callier) with the upbeat and unusual single "Stolen Car." The title track, presented in both slow and upbeat versions, is built around an incident where Beth was due to return home after a night with a boyfriend, changed her mind at the airport and went back for more lovin'. Guests on the album include Ben Watt, Dr. Robert and Lucy Wilkins. The bright Daybreaker, led by the single "Concrete Sky," followed in 2002. (12/02)

MARIANNE OSIEL: Strange Girl (1995, ***)
I found this wonderful album while digging through the local bin in a Nashville record store. Marianne is actually a California native now residing in New York, but she spent much of the 90s with the Nashville Symphony and doing studio session work as an oboist. Strange Girl was her only solo release of the period, a deeply textured set of lyrics showing not only a wide range of influences, but a talent for tackling different styles well. "Simply by Osmosis" is typical Nashville country, while "Mosaic" is a tape-loop experiment that Lennon & Ono would have appreciated. The rest of the album is reminiscent of Sarah McLachlan, actually. Imagine Sarah coming from a country background and you'll have a reasonable idea of what you'll find.

OWSLEY: Owsley (1999, ***)
Will Owsley had been a member of the influential Nashville power-pop band the Semantics in the early 90s, but the group split after a dispute with their label Geffen. Owsley toured with Amy Grant, giving him enough industry cred to sell Giant Records on his solo album. She also recommended her drummer, country/Christian rock session veteran Chris McHugh. "I'm Alright" sounds like the best thing Weezer never recorded, and "Sonny Boy" sounds like an outtake from Ben Folds' "Fear of Pop." Certainly a good record, it flopped and can even be found in the bargain bins in Nashville.