Do You Hear What They Hear? : U2 Starts Pop Top 40 List

Gift hunting in the record jungle can be confusing, especially for those who don’t know the difference between Vandross and Van Halen or INXS and UB40.

So, here’s Calendar’s annual Top 40 Shopping Guide to help sort out the 40 most popular pop albums, as determined by Bill-board magazine for the week of Dec. 10.

The comments are mostly taken from original Calendar reviews, although the ratings in some cases reflect additional staff opinion. The rating system is the same as for Record Rack--four stars: Great Balls of Fire; three stars: Good Vibrations; two stars: Maybe Baby; one star: Running on Empty.

1. U2 “Rattle and Hum” (Island) **** One of the most self-revealing and unguarded rock albums ever attempted--a two-record set that explores some of rock’s country, blues and gospel roots, but more importantly examines the power and limitations of rock music (and rock stardom) on a variety of levels. (Robert Hilburn)

2. Anita Baker “Giving You the Best That I Got” (Elektra) *** Traverses basically the same turf as last year’s acclaimed “Rapture.” This consummate musical tightrope artist straddles the line between pop and jazz, deftly integrating nifty, non-linear jazz touches with pop-style instrumentation and backing vocals. Too bad the songs aren’t better, though. (Dennis Hunt)

3. “Cocktail” sound track (Elektra) ** 1/2 From a ho-hum film comes a score that’s slapdash, but not half-bad. John Mellencamp gives Buddy Holly’s “Rave On” a swampy Cajun treatment, while Bobby McFerrin’s whimsical “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and Preston Smith’s infectious calypso-pop “Oh, I Love You So” add to the fun. Low spots, however. (Darryl Morden)

4. Guns N’ Roses “Appetite for Destruction” (Geffen) *** 1/2 There’s a power and conviction to this band that is both unsettling and stimulating as it explores feelings of rebellion and rage, temptation and consequences as unflinchingly as the best hard-rock bands ever. (R.H.)

5. Bon Jovi “New Jersey” (PolyGram) * 1/2 Side 1 of this teen-oriented pop-metal product tries to combat criticism from heavy-metal fans that 1986’s “Slippery When Wet” was too wimpy and girl-oriented, but Side 2 aims offers up more of the sentimental ballads and love songs. (Chris Willman)

6. Bobby Brown “Don’t Be Cruel” (MCA) *** Assisted by some of the best R & B/pop producers around, the ex-New Edition member exercises his new-found writing and producing skills to create an album with more personal flair than his 1987 debut LP. (Tammy Sims)

7. Def Leppard “Hysteria” (Mercury) ** 1/2 While there are three albums from 1987’s year-end Top 40 back on this year’s list, this is the only album that was in the Top 10 both years. It’s like a 12-song sampler of popular metal styles, past and present. Several songs have a cinematic quality--short sound tracks in search of videos. (Duncan Strauss)

8. Traveling Wilburys “Volume One” (Warner Bros.) *** Your basic quintet made up of five of the most popular and important figures from three decades of rock ‘n’ roll--Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. Refreshingly, these veterans let their hair down with 10 wild, woolly and witty (but seriously good) collaborations. (C.W.)

9. Kenny G “Silhouette” (Arista) ** This sax player is making a fortune submerging his talent and playing mushy, easy-listening jazz for the masses. To hard-core jazz fans, G’s music is unbearable pablum. At best these mostly instrumental tracks are nice background music for romantic evenings. However, the best track--”We’ve Saved the Best For Last”--features silky vocals by Smokey Robinson. (D.H.)

10. Barbra Streisand “Till I Loved You” (Columbia) *** What do you do for an encore after you’ve sung--in the best-selling “The Broadway Album”--some of the greatest theater songs of the last 50 years? Streisand seems to have found the right solution to the challenge with this lush, romantic collection that is reminiscent of the LPs Streisand made in the ‘60s. (Paul Grein)

11. Poison “Open Up and Say Ahh” (Enigma) ** Poison is competent enough to sling stock neo-metallic riffs and construct songs around them, resulting in cookie-cutter sounds that go gold. Steal a little from Aerosmith, pinch a little from Kiss, tie it up in a pseudo-rebellious little package and you’ve got the latest edition of fist-in-the-air “yeah man!” rock ‘n’ roll for boys and girls. (D.M.)

12. Luther Vandross “Any Love” (Epic) *** 1/2 Vandross travels across the emotional terrain of the heart in a way that stamps him as a major talent. His music offers elements of sadness, loneliness and sensitivity that few other male vocal stylists of the day express as convincingly. (Connie Johnson)

13. George Michael “Faith” (Columbia) *** The songs on Michael’s first solo album are more grown-up in tone than his Wham! guts. The songs reflect a take on life that isn’t cliche-ridden or predictable, and he can sound like a modern-day, soul-weaned star on one cut and a suave ‘40s tunesmith on another. (C.J.)

14. Cinderella “Long Cold Winter” (Mercury) ** Fourth-generation blues-rock with good intentions, but a certain amount of insecurity. Instead of coming into its own, the band molds itself to the fashionable Aerosmith-Led Zeppelin sound and seems lost in the quagmire of influences. (Janiss Garza).

15. R.E.M. “Green” (Warner Bros.) *** Give R.E.M. credit for not sitting still atop its gradually built mass popularity, though some of the album’s appealing moves here are dampened by the occasional tendency of Michael Stipe to overindulge himself with troubled introspection without the compensating reward of an interesting melody. (Mike Boehm)

16. Ozzy Osbourne “No Rest for the Wicked” (CBS) ** This is not Ozzy at his best, but there are some interesting things going on here. Most notable is new guitarist Zakk Wylde, who overcomes the Randy Rhodes (Ozzy’s late, venerated sidekick) by emerging with a style of playing as twisted as Osbourne’s image. (J.G.)

17. INXS “Kick” (Atco) ** 1/2 The group’s adeptness at constructing spare instrumental tracks helps mask a basic lack of fundamental song skills, and the lyrics are best left unexamined. (C.W.)

18. Van Halen “OU812” (Warner Bros.) ** All the familiar elements are still well in place . . . except wit . (C.W.)

19. Ratt “Reach for the Sky” (Atlantic) ** Even though its music has progressed little from its inception, the L.A. quintet still has the ability to create hip-grinding rhythms and attention-grabbing riffs. (J.G.)

20. Tracy Chapman “Tracy Chapman” (Elektra) **** In the year’s most celebrated debut, the folk-accented artist employs understated commentary and disarming craft to put a rare pop spotlight on society’s underclass. (R.H.)

21. New Edition “Heart Break” (MCA) ** 1/2 The bubble-gum soul singers from Boston have grown up. With the assistance of producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and the debut of new member Johnny Gill, New Edition now has a funkier, more mature and sexier sound. (T.S.)

22. Metallica “ . . . And Justice for All” (Elektra) *** The Northern California speed-metal quartet can still generate the familiar noggin-rattling intensity, but it has broadened its musical attack. “Justice” not only places it at the head of the class, but also in a separate category for special achievers. (D.S.)

23. Bobby McFerrin “Simple Pleasures” (EMI) *** Thanks to his cheery “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” pop fans have finally discovered this remarkable singer who has been thrilling jazz fans for years with his minimalist sound. Singing a cappella with spare percussive support, McFerrin offers scintillating versions of his compositions and oldies like “Drive My Car” and “Sunshine of Your Love.” Doo-wop lovers all flip over his sensational version of the Rascals’ “Good Lovin’.” (D.H.)

24. Steve Winwood “Roll With It” (Virgin) *** In the same lofty league as “Back in the High Life,” which was arguably the best R & B album by a white singer in the last five years--until George Michael’s “Faith” came along. Winwood doesn’t really explore new territory, and his R & B is heavily slicked-up for maximum commercial appeal. (D.H.)

25. Duran Duran “Big Thing” (Capitol) ** True substance may be beyond Duran Duran’s reach, but at least they’re trying now to be more than teen-heartthrob fashion princes. Side 1 focuses on big beat dance music that should keep the teen contingent happy, and Side 2 moves into moodier territory with some ambitious sound textures. (M.B.)

26. UB40 “Labour of Love” (A&M;) *** Not the English reggae band’s new album, but a five-year-old collection of charming remakes of the group’s old favorites that has sneaked up the charts behind the surprise belated success of the album’s version of Neil Diamond’s old “Red Red Wine.” (Steve Hochman)

27. The Escape Club “Wild Wild West” (Atlantic) ** The amusing title song--which went to No. 1 on the pop charts--and the raucous “Shake for the Sheik” are the highlights of this pop-rock album which offers nothing else of substance. Fairly high-quality musicianship squandered on inferior songs. (D.H.)

28. Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians “Shooting Rubber Bands at the Stars” (Geffen) ** 1/2 The pop positivism of the hit single “What I Am” is carried throughout the Texas band’s winsome debut. But the dominating Suzanne Vega meets the Grateful Dead easy shuffle, coupled with Brickell’s wispy delivery, underscores a monochromatic, lightweight aura. (S.H.)

29. Taylor Dayne “Tell It to My Heart” (Arista) ** The best female white soul singer to emerge in years, Dayne is much better than most of her material--particularly the dance tunes like the title song. The ballads, like “I’ll Always Love You,” showcase her skill much better. The run-of-the-mill dance tracks bring the album down. (D.H.)

30. Keith Richards “Talk Is Cheap” (Virgin) *** Rock’s greatest rhythm/lead guitarist steps out from the Rolling Stones for his first solo album and leaves no doubt where the true Heart of Stones really beats. (Don Waller)

31. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young “American Dream” (Atlantic) ** CSN&Y;, 1988 Edition, breaks down thusly: an erratic Young, an indifferent Stills, a saccharine Nash and--surprise--a renewed Crosby. The highlight is Crosby’s “Compass,” an effective dreamy/jazzy piece about the singer’s recent emergence from his drug haze. But otherwise, this reunion fails to regenerate the old magic. (S.H.)

32. Rod Stewart “Out of Order” (Warner Bros.) ** There’s nothing diminished about Stewart’s throaty voice. The problem is he has little of interest to say with it. Too many of the songs here deal in trite, overblown mythologizing of the rock ‘n’ roll life or in the hormonal moonings of love-struck men. (M.B.)

33. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts “Up Your Alley” (CBS) ** Routine, overly-produced rock from a dynamic performer who still hasn’t been properly captured in the recording studio, where she still sounds like an overaged Runaway rather than a grown-up rocker. After you see her in concert, it’s hard to listen to her albums. Not awful, but, with one or two exceptions, not memorable. (D.H.)

34. Pet Shop Boys “Introspective” (EMI) *** 1/2 The six cuts of thinking-man’s dance music from the English duo are just the way the dance music crowd likes them: long and souped up with clever symphonic touches. The high-tech sound is personalized with Neil Tenant’s echo-chamberized vocals that sometime sound like a voice from the dead that contrasts with the sunny rhythms. (D.H.)

35. Robert Palmer “Heavy Nova” (EMI) ** The King of Suave Rock is back with another cross-cultural rock ‘n’ romance extravaganza. Eclecticism only goes so far, though, before you want to hear strong songs behind all the orchestras and trumpets and screaming guitars and Brazilian vocalists and funky rhythms. (C.W.)

36. Breathe “All That Jazz” (A&M;) * The trick with this album is staying awake while you’re listening to it. A new low in wimpy pop from a group that way be more punchless than Air Supply. Breathe’s “Hands to Heaven” and “How Can I Fall?” are two of the year’s worst Top 10 singles. (D.H.)

37. Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock “It Takes Two” (Profile) *** Offers no particularly pithy messages, but intense, riveting rapping and imaginative, free-wheeling arrangements make this one of the year’s finest pop-rap albums. The urgent, relentless title song is a knockout. And check out “Crush,” a touching rap ballad. This is currently one of the two or three most promising pop-rap outfits. (D.H.)

38. Winger “Winger” (Atlantic) ** Mediocre melodic metal that’s woefully derivative--very noisy but not very distinctive. The band’s version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” is laughable. (D.H.)

39. “Dirty Dancing” sound track (RCA) ** 1/2 An intriguing, satisfying mix of old and new hits. (P.G.)

40. Kiss “Smashes, Thrashes and Hits” (Mercury) ** Chronicles the New York band’s 15-year journey from comic-book glitter-monger to mainstream metal hit-maker. Relics like “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “Shout It Out Loud” hold up surprisingly well, but the more recent material is notable mostly for its lack of verve and character. (S.H.)