"AFRODISIAC"

"AFRODISIAC"
Brandy
(Atlantic)
ssss Created in the aftermath of Brandy's divorce, references to hurt, pain and mistakes pepper almost every song on "Afrodisiac," the singer's fourth album. And, other than the "tabloid expose-with music!" feel of first song "Who I Am," Brandy has created a compelling narrative from her emotional turmoil.
Brandy dumped longtime producer Rodney Jerkins; this time around, Timbaland is Brandy's chief collaborator. He accessorizes her vocals with his trademark combination of offbeat samples and sound effects. The results occasionally feel shopworn, but creations like "I Tried" are fresh and new, combining the thudding of Iron Maiden with forlorn Brandy's attempts to overlook her man's philandering.
The title track is a sexy carnival ride, while "Should I Go" borrows from Coldplay's "Clocks," as the singer ponders "Should I go?/Should I stay?" in her relationship and decides "I'm in control either way."
Brandy spends most of what is undoubtedly her best album celebrating newfound independence.
"23RD STREET LULLABY"
Patti Scialfa
(Columbia)
ssss Patti Scialfa steps out of the shadows most career backup singers are relegated to, producing a strong, warm disc that's a major improvement over her only other solo work, 1993's "Rumble Doll."
"23rd Street Lullaby" benefits from Scialfa's decision to make a song suite, with each of the tracks reflecting on the time she spent in the early '80s living in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York. The thematic consistency presents an engaging coming-of-age story that never falls victim to too much nostalgia.
At 50, Scialfa's able to look back on those years with a combination of wisdom and wonder. With producer Steve Jordan, she draws on the girl group sounds of the '60s, folky Joni Mitchell-like arrangements, and street corner rock for inspiration.
She's sung with everyone from the Rolling Stones to David Johansen and, of course, as a member of husband Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, so she has the vocal range to pull it off. Her voice is a comfortable croon, full of vibrato and often resembling a female version of Garland Jeffreys, another New Yorker.
The title track, the disc's first single, is a beauty of a midtemp pop rocker, ending with Scialfa pleading "I can't hear you" over a pillowy backdrop of female singers. "City Boys" cops a Dylan groove, sounding like a lost cut from his "Love and Theft" album. And "Love [Stand Up]" features an understated guitar solo by Springsteen.
Scialfa's wise to let the disc stand on its own, though, barely calling on any help from her famous husband. As the mother of three, she brings an intriguing dichotomy to tackling 12 songs that focus on her younger, wild days.
But it works well, making "23rd Street Lullaby" a surprisingly strong work from an artist who sounds good in the spotlight.
"REVELATION"
Joe Nichols
(Universal South)
sss Joe Nichols delivers thought-provoking lyrics in his rich baritone on his new album "Revelation."
As with his first album, "Man with a Memory," the 11-track CD is dominated by ballads, which suit Nichols' style, although he has a rollicking good time with the two upbeat tunes. In "What's a Guy Gotta Do," lamenting the difficulty of landing a date, he sings, "Had an old man tell me, 'Boy, if you were smart/You'd hit the produce aisle at the Super Wal-Mart'/So I bumped into a pretty girl's shoppin' cart/But all I did was break her eggs and bruise her artichoke hearts."
Contrast that with "Singer in a Band," which compares what he does for a child recovering from cancer, a single mother working overtime or a soldier in a minefield.
The first single from the album, "If Nobody Believed in You," already in Billboard's top 25 country songs, reflects on the anguish of a young baseball player who's berated by his father and the old man whose son takes away his car keys.
"Farewell Party," a remake of the Gene Watson hit, is just pure old-time country -- weepy fiddle, whining pedal steel and all.
Nichols' first album, also rich in story songs, went gold and produced four hits, including the No. 1 country tune "Brokenheartsville."
If anything, "Revelation" is better -- possibly because Nichols' initial success gave him access to better material on his sophomore outing, or perhaps reflecting even more confidence in making his selections.
"YOU MADE ME"
Josh Todd
(TODD Entertainment)
ss1/2 If Scott Weiland somehow manages to screw up his career again, the rest of Velvet Revolver might want to put Josh Todd on speed dial. The former Buckcherry frontman isn't cuckoo like Axl or a slithery ghost like Weiland, but he can sing a gutter-rock anthem with the best of them. Most tracks on "You Made Me," Todd's debut with his new backing band, fall somewhere between good gin and cheap bourbon -- they all have bite, but sometimes the aftertaste is sketchy. The choruses of "Broken" and "The Walls" are as amped-up as Buckcherry's best output. But the radio-geared tracks "Shine" and "Circles" sound more careful than they have to be. Maybe Todd's new band mates are the problem -- where Buckcherry had the blues, these guys have nu-metal tendencies. And that might be the best reason for Slash to come calling. Instead of rescuing a fallen grunge hero, he could be giving Todd a ride to the top. Now that's community service.
Compiled from wire dispatches