"YOU DO YOUR THING"

"YOU DO YOUR THING"
Montgomery Gentry
(Columbia)
sssIt's standard practice in Nashville to have hits custom-made by eager tunesmiths. Big stars are too busy signing autographs and looking cool in cowboy hats to take the time to compose their own songs. Still, it comes as a surprise that the two Montgomery Gentry guys don't write a lick. That's because on "You Do Your Thing" -- the fourth album by the tough-guy duo that makes Brooks & amp; Dunn sound like the wusses they are -- their brooding Marshall Tucker-meets-Hank Williams Jr. blend comes across as so seamlessly their own.
Baritone Eddie Montgomery, in particular, turns everything he sings into a personal statement, and the honky-tonk rock songs the duo picks eschew simple-minded piety, preferring to keep things messy and ambiguous, like real life.
The chorus of the title cut, for instance, expresses a live-and-let-live sentiment, but Montgomery turns it into a statement of barely contained rage directed at people who the song's protagonist suspects are looking for a handout, or are not willing to fight for Uncle Sam. And "She Loved Me," in which our ZZ Top-loving hero ends up in Alcoholics Anonymous, divorced, and missing his kids, is delivered with an honesty that's hard to come by on the country charts.
"HOLLA!"
Baha Men
(S-Curve)
ss1/2 The Baha Men unload a fresh batch of songs for sports events and movies with "Holla!" -- though until those connections are made, the tracks seem a little lost bundled together without context.
The Bahamian collective of musicians and singers scored a breakthrough in 2000 by unleashing the single, "Who Let the Dogs Out?" -- a Top 10 hit that hung around forever thanks to its widespread play in arenas and stadiums. Hollywood also discovered the magnetism of the group's Junkanoo-based celebratory sound, and within a few years Baha Men songs landed on the soundtracks for films including "Men in Black II," "Rugrats in Paris," "Scooby-Doo," "Shrek," "Big Fat Liar" and "The Wild Thornberrys."
The Baha Men have yet to duplicate the commanding appeal of "Who Let the Dogs Out?," but the act continues its soundtrack proliferation with the title track of "Holla!" that's featured in the new "Garfield" movie. The chant-happy, cheese-filled song ripples with clean energy, undemanding island music for the masses.
Between the charismatic array of the group's multiple vocals and the percussive roll of its festive rhythms, "Holla!" is playful, if mindless.
"UNDERMIND"
Phish
(Atlantic)
sssFans looking for clues as to why Phish is breaking up after 21 years may find some if they look hard enough in the band's latest -- and perhaps last -- studio release, "Undermind."
"Crowd Control," which the band debuted on stage last year and finds its place on the disc, seems to be addressing Phish fans.
"Show us why we came here before we lay on the ground," the song says. "Give it to us loud and clear, make the devil turn around." The refrain hints at the breakup announcement made in May: "The time has come for changes/Do something or I will."
And on "A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing," the repetition of "Run away run away run away" could be directed at either band members or their followers.
With "Undermind" the band finds a way to make well-crafted tunes work without sacrificing the originality and improvisation that has attracted the core of its fan base for more than two decades.
The first single, "The Connection," is such a tightly woven, polished and melodic song it has all the markings of a Top 40 hit. And the funky title track seems tailor-made for live exploration.
That doesn't mean the disc is a total success. The orchestral arrangement of "Secret Smile" coupled with lead singer Trey Anastasio's overly earnest vocals seems forced.
However, on the whole, "Undermind" works. It does not sound like the effort of a band on its last legs just phoning it in. On songs like "Access Me" and the a cappella barbershop rendering of "Grind," the band appears to be having a lot of fun, which makes the breakup even more of a shock.
"TO THE 5 BOROUGHS"
Beastie Boys
(Capitol)
sssThe Beastie Boys' highly anticipated new album, "To The 5 Boroughs," is a return to the classic hip-hop style not heard entirely on a Beastie's release since 1989's "Paul's Boutique."
Gone are the prog instrumentals, the two-minute thrash anthems, the sabotaged '70s hard rock and the live instruments. Recorded entirely on a computer, "5 Boroughs" is an ode to Gotham and the East Coast hip-hop groups of the early '80s: think passing mics, juvenile rhymes, rubbery basslines, scratching records (courtesy of Mixmaster Mike) and stomping beats.
The Beasties constantly reference the people, places and things that are popular and esoteric in New York City -- Mike Piazza, Page Six, Canal Street watches and the sporting goods store Modell's just a few of the many name-dropped.
Anything goes when Ad-Rock, MCA and Mike D rhyme in tandem and it often comes off like a freestyle at a rec center. Though they touch on weighty subjects like politics on "Time to Build" ("We got a president we didn't elect/The Kyoto Treaty he decided to neglect"), there's inside jokes that range from basketball to food.
The choice samples (EPMD, Big Daddy Kane) evoke the ghosts of hip-hop's past with choruses cribbed directly from earlier joints. Their punk roots show up via the Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer" -- they take the song's main guitar riff for "An Open Letter to NYC." That song is a highlight, along with Ad-Rock slipping into fake foreign accents and Mike D's declaration of "you heard me like I was E.F. Hutton."