54-40

Album: Northern Soul

Label: True North

Grade: * * * * / * * * * *

54-40 has been the most under- appreciated band this country has produced. Since forming in the Vancouver suburbs in 1981, Neil Osborne and Brad Merritt have produced consistently well-crafted and literate albums. Their latest is better than the ballyhooed recent efforts by contemporaries such as R.E.M.and the Tragically Hip. It's remarkable that 54-40 continues to remain fresh and relevant, whether through the pop potential of tracks such as The Chant, Snap and Where Did The Money Go or through the hit-at-home politics of the title track. At times the Celtic folk imagery of songs such as Shade Grows and Lucky seems a tad anachronistic, but we can forgive them for that. Catch 54-40 at Hamilton Place Nov. 17.

Jennifer Hudson

Album: Jennifer Hudson

Label: Arista/Sony/BMG

Grade: * * * 1/2 / * * * * *

Why does every R&B artist feel compelled to pad out their album with three or four big name "friends?" So it is with Jennifer Hudson's latest with three tracks featuring Ludacris, Fantasia and T-Pain. Hudson doesn't need their help. She's got one of the finest R&B voices since Whitney. When Ludacris steps in on the already edgy Pocketbook, you want to smack him off the microphone. And the title of Track 4, What's Wrong (Go Away) can only be about T-Pain and his evil voice distorter. Hudson's extraordinary vocal talent manages to win out over all this friendly interference and synthetic production. Tracks such as Giving Myself and You Pulled Me Through are killers. And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going will pop your eyes out of their sockets. And, OK, the duet with Fantasia is kind of good, too.

The Clash

Album: Live at Shea Stadium

Label: Sony/BMG

Grade: * * * 1/2 / * * * * *

Only The Who could have had The Clash open for them. The Clash would have blown any other band off the stage. They were that good -- perhaps the last of the great rock 'n' roll bands. There'll be lots of debate about whether this 1982 concert at Shea Stadium represents The Clash at its best. It's certainly the band at its tightest and most popular. The dissension that had already started to tear apart the band is not apparent here. And Strummer, Jones, Simonon and Chimes play all the hits. London Calling, Rock the Casbah, Train in Vain, Should I Stay or Should I Go, Spanish Bombs, Guns Of Brixton, I Fought The Law, Police on my Back and the magnificent Clampdown.