Billboard CD reviews: Ghostface Killah, Thursday

ARTIST: GHOSTFACE KILLAH

ALBUM: THE BIG DOE REHAB

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Even while the Wu-Tang Clan was most active, Ghostface Killah was quietly establishing himself as one of the wickedest, least predictable MCs of this era. This is his third album in 18 months. But if there's a bottom to Ghost's lyrical well, he's nowhere near it on "The Big Doe Rehab," which is jammed full of dense, smoggy New York chaos. For street-gutter crime stories, it's hard to beat "Walk Around," whose blaxploitation horns belie the surprisingly compelling narrative within. For the club, there's "Supa GFK" and "We Celebrate," a hot-tempered party jam based on a left-field Rare Earth sample. And for the fan of fictional party rhymes, there's "White Linen Affair (Toney Awards)," where Ghost lines up the current roster of hip-hop royalty and takes his place strong in the middle of it.

ARTIST: THURSDAY

ALBUM: KILL THE HOUSE LIGHTS (VICTORY)

This collection of Thursday material well-serves its likely purposes of keeping the band top of mind in the fourth quarter while giving screamo fans a new favorite thing for Christmas. Three new songs and nine previously unreleased ones, plus a documentary/concert DVD, make "Kill the House Lights" worth exploring. Instead of throwing in anything the vault offered, the CD is a cohesive play that flitters through a variety of beats, timings and moods. Among the best angst flailings are "Ladies and Gentlemen: My Brother, the Failure," "Signals Over the Air," "Panic on the Streets of Health Care City" and "Paris in Flames." Topping this one-off for former label home Victory is a 12-song sampler of Victory acts in the same vein as Thursday (Aiden, Driver Side Impact) that takes care to catch them at their best angles.

ARTIST: BOW WOW & OMARION

ALBUM: FACE OFF (COLUMBIA)

Full-length pairups between R&B and rap/ hip-hop artists are nothing new. (See R. Kelly and Jay-Z's "Unfinished Business.") On this outing, teen heartthrobs and tour mates Bow Wow and Omarion team for an album that builds on their 2005 hit merger "Let Me Hold You." The result doesn't disappoint. One of the strongest tracks is the engaging groove of lead single "Girlfriend," on which the two artists rhythmically and lyrically draw portraits of their romantic ideals. Omarion's tender tenor perfectly complements Bow Wow's energetic rap as they trade off on the equally catchy "He Ain't Gotta Know" and "Can't Get Tired of Me." A couple of tracks sound derivative, but for the most part fans of the duo will embrace this album as well as the twosome's maturing sound.