'MY EVERYTHING'

'MY EVERYTHING'
Anita Baker
Blue Note
ss During her 10-year break from recording, soul siren Anita Baker traded the limelight for a starring role as doting wife and mother. The Grammy winner's comeback disc, "My Everything," reflects her family values.
The upbeat title song is a Valentine to her husband, and "Men in My Life" is a saccharin dedication to her two sons. But in this bootylicious era, where tabloid headlines attract more attention than talent, will the smoky-piped Baker's sentimental musings keep R & amp;B enthusiasts interested?
At times the music fails to reach the same heights as Baker's soaring vocals. "Like You Used to Do" is a bland duet with Babyface, and "How Could You" is a lifeless attempt at doo-wop. The production does, however, rise to the occasion on several of the disc's 10 songs.
The Latin jazz-tinged "In My Heart" recalls Rapture's simmering "Been So Long," and "Close Your Eyes" is vintage Baker: The song's building, quiet storm arrangement perfectly complements the chanteuse's smoldering, skat-inclined vocals.
'THE LIBERTINES'
The Libertines
Rough Trade
sss The Libertines constantly teeter on the edge of collapse. That's what makes them so appealing.
The last two years have been a "Behind the Music" episode on fast-forward for the English punk band, as the volatile relationship between singer-guitarists Peter Dougherty and Carl Barat (not to mention Dougherty's struggles with addiction, violence and the law) threaten to send them down a Sex Pistols-style path toward implosion. Like the Pistols, the Libertines infuse their music with the desperate energy of a group that knows its time is short. And on its self-titled second album, the band and producer Mick Jones (formerly of the Clash) strive frantically to capture that fleeting magic between fights and overdoses.
The sloppiness becomes grating on several tracks, such as "Don't Be Shy" and "The Ha Ha Wall." But when the pair's slurred emotional outpourings connect with the frenzy of "Can't Stand Me Now" and "What Became of the Likely Lads," the results are as stirring as they are sad.
'LIVE LIKE YOU WERE DYING'
Tim McGraw
Curb
ss In a moment of hilarious irony that ranks right up there with Billy Joel's declaring, "It's all about soul," Tim McGraw opens his new album by invoking the legend of the great bluesman Robert Johnson. The song, "How Bad Do You Want It," is all about ambition. McGraw certainly has plenty of that. Artistry continues to be another matter for this terminally bland superstar.
The guy who once defiantly defended the fact that "Things Change" here turns to the fuzzy-headed nostalgia of "Back When." But don't be fooled. "Live Like You Were Dying," which takes its title from the overblown, meant-to-be-uplifting hit single, offers more of the modern, carefully scrubbed pop-country that has taken the singer to the top. There are moments of macho swagger amid the limp balladry, but like his yearning for the past, they come across as just another pose.
Listen to how little McGraw makes of even good songs such as Bruce Robison and Darrell Scott's "Old Town New" or Rodney Crowell's "Open Season on My Heart," and it's clear that even if he could make a deal with the devil, as a singer he doesn't have any soul to sell.
'LIVE IN LA PAZ BOLIVIA ...'
Marlon Simon and the Nagual Spirits
Self-produced
sss Marlon Simon, a percussionist and educator from Cherry Hill, N.J., makes a stylish sweep through Latin jazz on his third CD as a leader. Simon, who was born in the oil patch of northwestern Venezuela, took the name Nagual from the late writer Carlos Castaneda, who used it to describe the magical part of human experience that reason cannot explain.
This live recording captures the band's bright and uncluttered sound and its penchant for driving hard-bop set off by percolating rhythms. Simon's "Sandra Malamdra" contains the group's full spectrum, with its boppish melody and explosive drum solo by the leader. "Obsection" is more playful, simmering with Latin rhythms and a trumpet solo from Alex Norris that includes a quote from "Old McDonald Had a Farm."
Marlon's brother Edward Simon sits in on piano, with Peter Brainin on saxophones and Boris Kozlov on bass for this session, which sounds restrained at times but manages to put down some truth. The disc is available at www.marlonsimon.com.
'VILLAGE GORILLA HEAD'
Tommy Stinson
Sanctuary Records
sss The prevailing wisdom regarding legendary Minneapolis post-punk group the Replacements was that bassist Tommy Stinson was the guileless teen pinup, with frontman Paul Westerberg responsible for most of the band's magical mix of nonchalant swagger and thoughtful song craft. Stinson's work since the 'Mats broke up more than a decade ago -- including leading the bands Bash & amp; Pop and Perfect and playing with the reconstituted Guns N' Roses -- didn't do much to challenge that school of thought. Not a heckuva lot there.
That's why "Village Gorilla Head" is such a welcome surprise, showcasing a musician who has raised his game in every way that matters. It's a disc that's sure to appeal to Replacements fans or anyone who thinks that rock 'n' roll is best when it doesn't take itself so seriously, albeit in a sometimes serious way.
Like Replacements records so often did, the mood of "VGH" veers as erratically as a college freshman's: The title track has a surreal and funky lounge vibe that somehow works; straight-ahead rocker "Motivation" mines a quality the Replacements often lacked; mid-tempo opener "Without a View" is laced with self-doubt but features some beautifully nuanced production.
The one consistent thing is that Stinson is finally effectively employing some of his old boss's tricks, while undeniably making them his own.
Combined from wire dispatches