Concert Previews

Their new albums are not their best, but Oasis and Ryan Adams and the Cardinals still pack a lot of mercurial talent onto one stage with this double bill. The English lads of Oasis and their American counterparts do have at least one thing in common - talented front men who have a reputation for sometimes being, what's the polite way to put it, jerks.

But, to focus on the music. Oasis'

Dig Out Your Soul

finds singer Liam Gallagher and his songwriting brother, Noel, pursuing their usual vein of Beatlesque pop, but without achieving the catchy sweep of past glories. Too often you're left "Waiting for the Rapture," to borrow one song title.

Since he left alt-country's Whiskeytown, Adams has been as wildly inconsistent as he has been prolific.

Cardinology

falls into the dud department, lacking in tunefulness and the kind of "magick" he sings about on one cut. But, like Oasis, he's got plenty of prime back catalog to draw from.

- Nick Cristiano

The Wu-Tang Clan is a supergroup in reverse. The Clan was a group of relative unknowns when it released its classic debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), in 1993. That album birthed the solo careers of some of hip-hop's biggest names, including RZA, GZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. So now when they reconvene as the Wu-Tang Clan, as they did for last year's

8 Diagrams

, the results can seem like a forcible union of independent stars. That's not a bad thing: They bring out the best in one another. The Wu-Tang show tonight is sure to include plenty of hits (as collected on the new

Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan

), as well as a healthy sampling of individual solo efforts. However, it's not sure to include all the members of the Wu army: The Clan is unpredictable that way.

- Steve Klinge