Album Reviews

Eric Clapton

`Complete Clapton'

Universal

This landmark compilation on e two discs features Eric Clapton's career from 1966.

Clapton, one of the most respected guitarists, presents his double album at a single album price, featuring such classics as ``Layla,'' ``Tears In Heaven,'' ``Wonderful Tonight,'' ``I Shot The Sheriff'', ``Cocaine,'' and ``Change The World.''

The first disc covers hit numbers of the ``(Universal) Polydor Years'' including ``Lay Down Sally'' and ``Bell Bottom Blues'' while the second disc focuses on the numbers from the ``Warner Years'' including ``Layla-unplugged'' and ``She's Waiting.''

-Chung Ah-young

Stevie Wonder

`Number Ones'

This album is the wonderful collection of legendary singer Stevie Wonder. The album includes 20 of his big hits, all of which took top positions on the charts.

His number one hits range from Motown, dance, funk, R&B, pop, and adult contemporary, which Wonder's music still captivates.

The songs have all been remastered and restored, containing tracks including ``Uptight,'' ``Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours),'' and ballads such as his Oscar-winning 1984 smash hit, ``I Just Called To Say I Love You.''

Jimmy Eat World

`Chase This Light'

Interscope

Mesa, Ariz., quartet Jimmy Eat World has always been a reluctant standard-bearer for the " emo" brand of alternative rock. With " Chase This Light," its first full-length album in three years, the band stages a passive-aggressive rebellion against the tag.

Musically, Jimmy Eat World's recipe is simple and effective: Start with persistent, locomotive drum beats, add layer upon layer of throbbing guitar riffs and top it off with howling vocal harmonies. On each track, power chords urgently build toward a satisfying crescendo, without lapsing into soft rock.

Usually, the band's collective songwriting process suffuses this mix with complex themes and reasonably profound, impassioned observations. But " Chase This Light" is like the sensitive guy who tries to act tough by getting a tattoo and turning up his amp. Although the effort is earnest, it's difficult to tell one emotion from another -- from the romantic optimism of the title track to the frustrated pessimism of " Feeling Lucky," everything rocks, but nothing resonates.

By taking the emo out of the group's formula, Jimmy Eat World has reduced itself to (at best) hollow alt-rock or (at worst) shallow alt-punk. " Chase This Light" only proves that because the band is going to be categorized anyway, it ought to do what it does best.

-- JASON HAMMERSLA (LATIMES)