Record Rack

The lure in this eclectic and uneven soundtrack is the teaming of R&B; legend Curtis Mayfield and hip-hop wunderkind Lauryn Hill on “Here but I’m Gone,” a melancholy reflection about taking wrong turns in life.

Unlike Hill’s strictly behind-the-scenes contributions last year to Aretha Franklin’s exquisite “A Rose Is Still a Rose,” the role taken by the young New Jersey vocalist-writer-producer this time is quite visible.

She kicks things off with an aggressive rap sequence that is similar in tone to some of the socially minded commentaries on her Grammy-winning “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” album. Later, she returns to provide vocal punctuation to Mayfield’s own silky delivery. It’s a classy outing that should lead to another Grammy nomination for Hill and Mayfield.

There are some other noteworthy moments on the album, including “You’re an Artist,” a striking track by minimalist rockers Morphine that should be a modern-rock radio hit.

Mostly, however, “The Mod Squad” comes across chiefly as a random assortment of styles and concepts. We have tracks specially designed for the album, some simply lifted from other current albums (Everlast’s “Ends”) and even an oldie (Chocolate Milk’s “Action Speaks Louder Than Words”). As ambitious as some of this is, it rarely gels.

*

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).

*

Hear the Music

* Excerpts from these and other recent releases are available on The Times’ World Wide Web site. Point your browser to: http://ukobiw.net./soundclips