The Pretenders ¡Viva el Amor! (Warner Bros.) Doing the late-night channel-surf thing recently, I stumbled across a broadcast of Hard Rock Live, the VH1 live-performance showcase featuring classic rock acts. The Pretenders were holding court, and the resulting performance was a testament to the talents of singer-songwriter Chrissie Hynde. It’s…

Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication (Warner Bros.) Apparently, reports of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ creative demise were premature. The band’s new album, Californication, is a dark, hypnotic masterwork that reminds us that alternapop needn’t be a bad word. Like most good albums, Californication is an ambitious, overreaching mess with…

Alex Chilton Like Flies on Sherbert (Peabody) Virtually ignored upon its limited-edition release in 1979 but subsequently hailed as a masterpiece by critics and altrockers alike, Alex Chilton’s Like Flies on Sherbert has finally been reissued in pristine form, along with four bonus cuts, by the same tiny Memphis label…

Smash Mouth Astro Lounge (Interscope) In the world according to Smash Mouth, the ’70s never happened. The group’s infuriatingly uneven 1997 debut album, Fush Yu Mang, was a blend of ’80s-style postpunk, new wave, and reggae informed by a curious ’60s lounge sensibility. Displaying an impressive talent for reconciling disparate…