Amazon.com The Hilltops didn't have as much twang as Blue Mountain and used perhaps too much R.E.M. jingle-jangle, but when the songs were good, the band was exhilarating. One of the best songs, "Dead End Street," was so good that Blue Mountain recut it for Homegrown, but the original version is stronger because the Hilltops gave it an urban edge to go with its drug-deal scenario. Even better is Hudson's "Broke Down and Busted," an unflinching folk rock look at the gap between hope and reality in the "promised land." Just as good is John Stirratt's "Sidewalk," a dizzying love song which recalls the glories of the "Fifth Dimension" Byrds with its buzzing psychedelic guitars and high vocal harmonies. --Geoffrey Himes