TOM ZE

Fabrication Defect (Luaka Bop/Warner Bros.)

Tom Ze may have 40-odd years on Beck, and sing in Portuguese, but for the last three decades Ze has been mining the same sort of trendy, post-modern antics that Beck has been taking to the bank this past decade (and which the latter acknowledges on his recent album on a track called "Tropicalia"). "Fabrication Defect" is Ze's best American effort yet, a kind of manifesto of his "arrastao esthetic," replete with footnotes and circular saw. This album is no less vital and surprising than anything by Beck, except it's in Portuguese. Don't let that stop you, however -- translation is rovided.[ 1/3/98 ]

SOPHIE ZELMANI

The 24-year-old, Swedish singer/songwriter Sophie Zelmani has a lot going for, beginning with her faux- naif vocals suggesting a vulnerability to match her doe-eyed, waifish glance adorning the cover of her international debut. Plus, her dozen original, folk- rock tunes boast such infectious melodies that any number of them might freakily wind up propelling this gloomy throwback to the top of the pop charts. What's more, Zelmani phrases with just enough of a beguiling accent to cloak the seeming naivete of her lyrics in a layer of foreign intrigue. That is, until you listen too closely and discover she's singing about things like crying in the shower and matters of even less import to the likes of me and you.

WARREN ZEVON

If Jackson Browne was the quintessential, California singer/songwriter, then Warren Zevon was his evil, maladjusted twin, chronicling the dark underbelly of life in L.A. and by extension the whole U.S. of A. But as this long-overdue, two-CD retrospective makes clear, Zevon's talents go far beyond what Browne has dubbed Zevon's "song noir." The classically-trained protege of Igor Stravinsky wrote dozens of gorgeously arranged rock songs and ballads that far surpass the novelty hit he is most noted for, "Werewolves of London." This compilation features 44 tracks, including five previously unreleased ones, serving as a great introduction for those new to Zevon or needing to fill a gap in their collection, and as a must-have for fans.