SOUND CHECK.

MOBY: ``18'' (V2), Three stars

Following up the colossal success of ``Play,'' techno-funk wizard Moby spouts off his latest musical alchemy with ``18.'' The multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter says he selected the numerical title because it isn't a word that requires international translation; in Hebrew, the word for 18 also is the word for life and the aliens that crashed in Roswell, N.M., were taken to hangar 18. Album title etymology aside, ``18'' doesn't feature as many straight-up dance tracks as ``Play,'' but it's still electronica. Moby maintains his affinity for blues-gospel influences with guest vocals by Jennifer Price and The Shining Light Gospel Choir. Testify.

- Phillip Zonkel

LAURYN HILL: ``MTV Unplugged No. 2.0'' (Columbia) - Three stars

After a four-year hiatus, Lauryn Hill offers up stripped-down, oftentimes gruff tales of escaping marketing ``prison,'' shedding a celebrity skin and countless searches for redemption and freedom packed into the follow up to 1998's smash ``The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.'' Problem is, following a No. 1 album is like following U2; you just can't top the opening act. ``Unplugged'' is void of the vocal gymnastics and intricate production we've come to expect from Hill - her voice is a little rougher; the songs a little folkier - but the artist's obvious musical tales remain.

-- Heather Wood

VARIOUS ARTISTS: ``Spider-Man, Music From and Inspired By'' (Columbia) - Two stars

Claiming to be influenced by the ``power, mystery, conflicts and adventures'' of the Marvel Comics icon, the collection showcases a host of new music by Alien Ant Farm, Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Pete Yorn and Tom Morello. ``Hero,'' which spotlights Nickelback's singer-guitarist Chad Kroeger and Saliva frontman Josey Scott, and a few others (Taylor's ``Bother'' and Yorn's ``Undercover'') stand out from the nest; however, the grouping has too much radioactive blood and not enough diversity in its sound.

- Phillip Zonkel

JOHN COLTRANE: ``Ballads'' and ``Coltrane'' (Impulse) - Four stars

Just when you thought there was nothing left to mine in the Coltrane canon, we get ``Ballards'' ``Coltrane,'' each adding an extra disc of bonus material from the tenor sax legend. The new tracks -- multiple takes of songs like ``Greensleeves,'' ``Impressions'' and ``They Say It's Wonderful'' -- are as enjoyable as much for the improved sound and great liner notes as anything else. Newcomers who don't own these albums would be best served by the single-disc versions

-- Glenn Whipp

JAY BENNETT & EDWARD BURCH: ``The Palace at 4 A.M. (Part 1),'' (Undertow) - Three stars

What does an alt-country wizard do on his own time? Make possibly the poppiest disc he's ever worked on, that's what. ``The Palace,'' the first of three discs promised by ex-Wilco multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett finds him in top form with Edward Burch (The Handsome Family, The Kennett Brothers). Songs like ``Shakin' Sugar'' (co-written by Bennett and Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy), ``C.T.M.'' and ``Drinkin' On Your Dime'' will take you back to late '60s L.A., when The Byrds, The Beatles and The Doors all still ruled.

-- Theo Douglas

HANK GARLAND: ``Move! The Guitar Artistry of Hank Garland'' (Euphoria/Sundazed) - 4 stars

As one of Nashville's three top session guitarists of the '50s, Garland's dizzyingly lyrical solos and shimmering chords brightened countless pop-country records by everyone from Elvis to Patsy Cline. Around the same time, Garland cut three landmark jazz albums that were once among the most sought-after vinyl records around. ``Move!'' collects every track from those sessions, including the entire ``Jazz Winds From a New Direction'' album, on two highly enjoyable CDs. Even today, Garland's tuneful attack, steely sound and countrypolitan sensibility is a breath of fresh air.

- Fred Shuster

ROBERT PALMER: ``Best of Both Worlds - The Robert Palmer Anthology (1974-2001) (Hip-O) - Three and one half stars

Palmer's music has been often ``Simply Irresistible'' - to lift a title from his hit song - at times throughout his career, but what has set this suave purveyor of blue-eyed soul apart has been his impeccable taste. Best known for his '80s hits and sexy MTV videos, including ``Addicted to Love,'' one of his own songs, Palmer also mixed into his repertoire outstanding covers, including songs by Lowell George (``Sailing Shoes,'' ``Spanish Moon''), reggae (``Pressure Drop'' ``Man Smart, Woman Smarter''), Allen Toussaint's New Orleans-flavored ``Sneaking Sally Through the Alley,'' Moon Martin's rocking ``Bad Case of Lovin' You'' and Todd Rundgren's sentimental ``Can We Still Be Friends?'' His own songwriting matches the high-standards of the covers - ``You're Gonna Get What's Coming,'' ``Some Like It Hot,'' among them. And if you're not totally sold on the tunes on this two-disc set, Palmer's gritty, expressive vocals will ultimately win you over.

- Rob Lowman

YO-YO MA AND THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE: ``Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet (Sony) - Three and one half stars

Celloist Yo-Yo Ma has often ventured off the classical beaten path, exploring genre from the tango to Broadway to American folk. With ``Silk Road'' - a reference to the ancient road that crossed from China to the Middle East - he brings together musicians from the East and West to play either traditional pieces - from Mongolia, China and Persia, among other places - or works inspired by the concept. For instance, Michio Mamiya's ``Five Finnish Folksongs'' are included because the Saami people of Finland were nomadic. There is also a bonus track of composer Tan Dun's ``Desert Capriccio'' from his Oscar-winning soundtrack for ``Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.'' Inevitably, parts of ``Silk Roads'' will be challenging to many listeners, but the wonderful sounds and exquisite musicianship (there are illustrations of some of the more obscure instruments) make it an enlightening and entertaining journey.

- R.L.

HONKY TONK CONFIDENTIAL: ``Your Trailer or Mine?'' (Too Many Dogs Music) - Three stars

Although they play at being perverse rural trash, the members of this humorous, kicking bar band are actually smart-aleck D.C. denizens. Some of their gag tunes are conceptually undernourished, such as odes to Pee-wee Herman and Bill Clinton (``That Depends on What You Mean by Lonesome''). But others, like the title track, are genuinely, inventively hilarious. Especially when crystal-voiced Diana Quinn is singing, they exhibit a high level of country songcraft.

- Bob Strauss

NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND: ``Will the Circle Be Unbroken''(Capitol) - Four stars

This 30th anniversary reissue of the classic collaboration between California's Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (Jackson Browne was an original member) and the elite traditional country stars of Nashville - Roy Acuff, Earle Scruggs, Doc Watson, Merle Travis and Mother Maybelle - sounds just as vibrant today as it did when it was recorded. What made the album a million seller at the time was that the Dirt Band met these stars on its own terms. No one tries to pretty up any of the numbers in order make them more palatable for commercial considerations. The band and its Nashville guests recorded around 40 songs in six days (``on the 7th we played back,'' they joke), and considering the caliber of the of the musicians, you know they didn't have to do many takes. If you've never heard Watson on guitar, Scruggs on banjo or Merle Travis do ``Nine Pound Hammer,'' then you've never been to heaven - country music-wise. A must for ``Down From the Mountain'' fans.

- R.L.

CAPTION(S):

10 photos

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(1) no caption (MOBY)

(2 -- 10) no caption (CD covers)