Buzz Ballads

As an outgrowth of the Razor & Tie record label's Buzz series, Buzz Ballads covers much of the same territory. Firmly rooted in the 1990s and early part of the new millennium, the series gives a great sampling of that era's music.

On Buzz Ballads, the label has taken the same basic approach. They've culled the best music of roughly a decade, but for this disc, the focus is on the songs that soothed the soul rather than rocked it. The album provides a great cross-section of music and this is a satisfying disc for anyone who enjoyed a steady diet of rock and pop during that time.

Even within the context of "the ballad," this disc proves that there's a lot of room for musical interpretation of that particular type of song. Staind's once-ubiquitous "It's Been Awhile," one of the few songs that still seems to emerge on the radio fairly regularly, launches the album. Like many of the other acts, such as Fuel ("Hemorrhage"), Bush ("Glycerine") and Tonic ("If You Could Only See"), Staind buries its aggressive side for this song. But the music still hints at the band's heavier side in this wistful number about someone who has inadvertently but thoroughly made a mess of his life.

The disc strolls into lighter fare with offerings by acts like Lifehouse, Counting Crows and Vertical Horizon. "Hanging By A Moment" stormed the charts and made a name for Lifehouse in 2000. Given the even quieter approach the band has since taken to making music, it is surprising to hear this gently rocking number and be reminded how much this act has mellowed in six years.

Perhaps the most haunting ballad on the disc is Hole's "Doll Parts." Although Courtney Love's name is rarely heard in the same sentence as "ballad," this single from Hole's 1994 sophomore album, Live Through This, became even more compelling in the wake of the suicide of Love's husband, Kurt Cobain. The vulnerability is startling and the pain is palpable on this cut about love and rejection, and those two components make for an irresistible combination.

By the album's end, it has served up some long-forgotten hits that were the soundtrack of the '90s. Nearly 10 years after it was originally released, "Desperately Wanting" -- Better Than Ezra's dark alt-rock song about a misunderstood friend who is never given a chance -- remains tragic and touching. It's a reminder of just how good this band was, and like many of the other acts gathered here, it's enough to make you want to sit down and revisit their entire catalog of music.

With 18 tracks, Buzz Ballads provides a solid but mellow listening experience that clocks in at more than 76 minutes long. And somehow, this collection is good enough to still make that seem just a bit too brief.