Masquerade, Wyclef Jean's third solo offering, is yet another sprawling, audaciously eclectic opus that embraces Tom Jones, Bob Dylan, The Four Seasons, Mos Def, reggae, R&B, soul, pop, eastern vibes, spoken interludes and a serious educational "message to the streets". Phew! In certain uninformed circles, Wyclef has been cast as a bumbling buffoon, only capable of gruffly barking "one time, two time", while the lovely Lauren scoops all the plaudits. Ms Hill is … mehrundeniably a phenomenal talent but there's no doubting that Wyclef was the Fugees' creative core. This time out, there's nothing quite as preposterous as The Eclectif's Kenny Rogers collaboration, though "Pussycat", a camp, light pawed reworking of satsuma tanned Tom Jones' "What's New Pussycat?" is typically cheesy. At the other end of the spectrum is "Daddy", a genuinely moving elegy to Clef's Dad who died last year in a freak accident. Other stellar standouts include the seductive duet "Two Wrongs (Don't make It Right)", with Claudette Ortiz of City High; a head nodding slice of fierce contemporary hip-hop featuring M.O.P and Bumpy Knuckles; and the plaintive Bob Marley lilt of Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" boasting the revised lyric "Mama take these guns away from me". Masquerade is a wildly ambitious, spectacularly unpredictable album that endlessly fluctuates, startles and provokes. There's more innovation and ingenuity here than most artists display in a lifetime. --Chris King weniger

1 - Message To The Streets
2 - Peace God
3 - PJ's
4 - 80 Bars
5 - Masquerade… mehr
6 - 1-800-Henchman Interlude
7 - You Say Keep It Gangster
8 - Party Like I Party
9 - Oh What A Night
10 - Hot 93.1 / Interlude
11 - Pussycat
12 - Midnight Lovers Interlude
13 - Two Wrongs (Don't Make It Right)
14 - Instant Request
15 - Thug Like Me
16 - Daddy
17 - Knockin On Heaven's Door
18 - The Eulogy
19 - War No More
20 - The Mix Show weniger