Billy Corgan (2 stars)
The Future Embrace
Billy Corgan was born to rock. The former Smashing Pumpkins leader was the king of blistering guitar solos and 10-minute epics in the alt-rock heyday of the '90s. Even when the Pumpkins added synths and drum machines, they still took time to rock out. On the sole album by his post-Pumpkins band Zwan, Corgan also delivered an album of loud, thick, catchy rock.
But Zwan is gone, and on his debut solo album, Corgan no longer wants to rock. There are no 10-minute epics, no guitar solos. There's barely any guitar at all, and what there is, is buried under layers of effects or drowned out by fuzzy synths. Every song is a mid-tempo dirge, with mostly canned drums and minor-key synths. Even when he gets the Cure's Robert Smith to guest on a Bee Gees cover, Corgan sounds like nothing more than a bad Depeche Mode rip-off.
Loggins & Messina (2 stars)
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Sittin' in Again
They made middle-of-the-road cool in the '70s, but back then, middle-of-the-road meant you weren't kidnapping Patty Hearst. There isn't much to recommend this collection of the duo's soft-rock hits other than a trip down Memory Lane.
Ferry Corsten (4 stars)
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Kingdom of the Netherlands
Something for everyone in this two-disc set, provided everyone likes electronica: trance, danceable beats, progressive sounds and even vocals. And we love our vocals.