For any music fan who awaits the latest release from their favorite artist, the moment of temptation is never greater than when the CD is popped into the player for the first time. With the excited memory of previous albums and radio releases, you patiently listen through each song and justifiably wait until the disc is complete to make your collective judgment on the piece.

Despite its placement as the sixth solo release from Sting, (following a relatively short but very successful existence with The Police,) Brand New Day evokes the same excitement as any of his previous works. One might expect that anything beyond a second solo effort would be stretching for content. Not here.

Admittedly, none of the tracks sound the same—a trademark sting has developed through the years—and the only consistency lies in his willingness to experiment and try something different with each song. Brand New Day’s most notable demonstrations of this talent are "Desert Rose," Sting’s duet with French-Algerian vocalist Cheb Mami, and "Perfect Love…Gone Wrong," a delicate melody infused with French rap. Other notables on the album include performances by James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, and Branford Marsalis.

The album has both its supporters and detractors, but regardless of the review source, none can deny the wonder of Sting’s persistent innovation. To say he goes out on a limb with each new effort is to imply that he would later regret it. Despite its vast divergence from popular music, that has never been the case with Sting. (A&M)

Joe Ely has a dusty, Southern voice that makes his musical tales come to life with blinding truth. Besides his stellar writing, Ely has gained a reputation from his earliest days as a dynamic performer who brings hard luck stories to life on stage. With his newest release, Live @ Antone’s, Ely combines both of his strengths in a near-perfect live set. Since his start in the mid-1970s debuting with The Flatlanders, this Amarillo, Texas native has shown an ease of mixing his musical influences in a large stew pot and serving out helpings to whoever would listen. While Ely hasn’t become a household name (even though his various stints have included a tour with The Clash as his backing band), he is a well-worn songwriter who is comfortable with his abilities. On Live @ Antone’s, Ely and his phenomenal band (including guitarist Jesse Taylor and pedal steel master Lloyd Maines) jump effortlessly from country two-step to Tejano to straight-ahead rock without missing a beat. If Ely was coming up through the musical ranks today, he would leave record label representatives scratching their heads wondering what round hole would best fit Ely’s jack of all trades square peg. The truth is Ely should just be left alone to do whatever he damn well pleases. (Rounder)

It’s long been suggested that within the context of today’s music industry, bands must choose and develop their sounds quite cleverly. Rarely do we find that this has happened.

Mest — with their 14-song debut album, Wasting Time, skillfully produced by John Feldmann (Goldfinger) — has risen above the rest. This album is a colorful blend of punk, reggae-pop, garage-rock, and ska with a remarkably harmonious tone. Whatever your flavor, you’ll find it here.

Mest offers the best of both worlds. Their first single, "What’s The Dillio?," has been in rotation at national radio powerhouses since June, and has a chorus that will stick in you head as if it were implanted there.

Emphatically punching and energetic in nature, this pop punk band is unburdened and enthusiastic. Growing up in Chicago’s South Side, the band was started when cousins Tony Lovato (vocals, guitars) and Matt Lovato (bass) began playing together at age seven. By high school Jeremiah Rangel (guitarist) and Nick Gigler (drums) had joined the band and Mest was on their way to stardom.

Each of the songs written on this album has a very specific and carefully arranged melody, and each set of lyrics tells a true story. "Change" has a funky groove to it, and has become an ode to the record industry’s constantly changing views on what kind of music a band needs to produce to make it big.

Lovato and Rangel have a very capable guitar tandem, but the shining star is Gigler, with a massively reverberated drumbeat sounding much like a downpour of rain against a door. Together, these four guys have changed the sound of punk, each adding their own creativity to make up Mest.