Sliding out of perhaps the greatest winning streak in history, slipped into decadence and star excess with , their sequel to This is where ' image began to eclipse their accomplishments, as ascended to jet-setting celebrity and slowly sunk deeper into addiction, and it's possible hearing them moving in both directions on , at times in the same song. As plays the devil (or, dances with Mr. D, as he likes to say), the sex and sleaze quotient is increased, all of it underpinned by some genuinely affecting heartbreak, highlighted by This may not be as downright funky, freaky, and fantastic as , yet the extra layer of gloss brings out the enunciated lyrics, added strings, wah-wah guitars, explicit sex, and violence, making it all seem trippily decadent. If it doesn't seem like there's a surplus of classics here, all the songs work well, illustrating just how far they've traveled in their songcraft, as well as their exceptional talent as a band -- they make this all sound really easy and darkly alluring, even when the sex'n'satanism seems a little silly. To top it all of, they cap off this utterly excessive album with a nasty rip that grooves on its own mean vulgarity -- its real title is "Starf*cker," if you need any clarification, and even though they got nastier (the entirety of , for instance), they never again made something this dirty or nasty. And, it never feels more at home than it does at the end of this excessive record. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine