Greatest-hits compilations make the most sense for performers with uneven catalogs, which is why the format was tailor-made for hip-hop. But with De La Soul, the genre's most consistent group, it seems a little redundant: As even a casual listen through their catalog attests, Posdnuos, Trugoy (later Dave), and Maseo make such excellent albums that you lose a little boiling them down to their highlights. Timeless is a farewell to Tommy Boy, who dropped them along with the rest of their rap roster after 2001's AOI: Bionix (De La are apparently working on a new album for their own label). It's also a surprise, because what you gain is the sense that these guys are weirder than even their albums convey. The odd humor and whimsical sound of early singles "Plug Tunin'" and "Potholes in My Lawn" fit right in among the odd angles (teeny skits, lotsa in-jokes) that stick out all over their 1989 debut, 3 Feet High and Rising, but on their own, they sound even more eccentric. Even when their humor turns sour later on, as on "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)," "Breakadawn," or "Stakes Is High," De La's sense of play remains intact, whether or not you get their oft-obscure wordplay. The De La album represented second most often after 3 Feet High is 1996's stark, monochromatic Stakes Is High, which seems oddsingles are about vibrancy, hooks, color. But here, the four Stakes songs sound as inevitable, as welcome, as the bouncy 12-inch remix of 3 Feet High's "Buddy," which lopes along free and easy on a hefty lift from Taana Gardner's club classic, "Heartbeat." If what makes De La Soul irresistible is the groove their albums carve out, what makes Timeless work, up to and including "Baby Phat" from 2001's AOI: Bionix, is how easily those grooves sit next to each other while remaining distinct. M.M.
De La Soul play the Comcast Mainstage in Memorial Stadium during Bumbershoot with Common and Black Eyed Peas at 1 p.m. Sun., Aug. 31. $15/$20 one-day pass, $28/$35 two-day pass, $48/$55 four-day pass.
MARSHALL CRENSHAW
What's in the Bag?
(Razor & Tie)
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Why is "grown-up" in rock and roll too often spelled B-O-R-I-N-G? Don't blame Marshall Crenshaw. Despite carrying accoutrements of respectabilityplaying as much acoustic guitar as electric these days, hanging with revered radio DJ Vin Scelsathe former new wave hotshot continues to gracefully fuse his songwriterly ambitions with humor and roots so deep he doesn't have to brag about them. Like most of his post-major-label albums, What's in the Bag? trades the jangly momentum of Crenshaw's key works for a quieter, occasionally ethereal approach. He remains sui generis in an on-the-down-low manner that allows him to get away with observations like "And there she sat in her perfect hat/She had a way of dressin' up like that" and makes a bus ride with a girlfriend sound thrilling. From the match of melody with wistful ponderings ("The Spell Is Broken," "Where Home Used to Be") to informed, loving cover choices (Prince's "Take Me With U," Bootsy Collins' "I'd Rather Be With You") and a couple of the playful instrumentals he's recently specialized in, this is the same sweet guy who filled the grooves of Marshall Crenshaw and Field Day with a deeply profound love for life and music. Anyone who's ever cared about his winsome, touching artistic voice will dig this snapshot. RICKEY WRIGHT
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