MUSIC | Ratings for selected releases

'ONE WAY TICKET TO HELL ... AND BACK'
The Darkness
Atlantic ss1/2
The Darkness would be so much easier to accept if we could believe the band was serious about its craft and not just a Spinal Tap-style novelty.
Musically, the British hard rock band is so accomplished and adept at recreating '70s Queen, right down to hiring Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker to produce, mix and engineer this sophomore CD, and recording portions of it in the same Wales studio Queen cut "Bohemian Rhapsody," that most of "One Way Ticket to Hell ... And Back" is a blast.
Given how interchangeable and boring rock bands are these days, an act with The Darkness' flair is a find.
The quartet also has Queen-sized ambitions, folding a Peruvian pan flute, a cowbell and sitar into a couple of tunes, while "Hazel Eyes" has a Scottish flavor. The title track, which sounds like a cross between Queen and Boston, details lead singer Justin Hawkins' struggle with cocaine addiction ("Several massive chocking lines of glorious gack/I bought a one way ticket to hell ... and back.") "Bald" bemoans that common fear among hard rockers: male pattern baldness. Haven't heard that in song before.
The album cover graphics even echo the classic rock era, in this case AC/DC's "For Those About to Rock We Salute You," in which half the album title appears on the front and the rest falls on the back side.
All good 'n' fine; however, Hawkins sings in such an irritating high falsetto it makes everything feel like a spoof.
--Howard Cohen, The Miami Herald
'TRY!'
John Mayer Trio
Columbia/Aware sss
John Mayer has proved that behind the pretty face and soft-rock romancing, there's a guy who makes his Stratocaster sing. Still, his forming a trio in the spirit of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsies smacks of blues-rock shuck-and-jive.
White-bread roots and all, Mayer shows he's a qualified scholar of the blues and its related forms with "Try!," a live set recorded earlier this year.
The world-class rhythm section he's enlisted -- bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan -- understands that the key to the trio dynamic is the space. They lean into it on the busy Hendrix-like opener "Who Did You Think I Was" and sit back in the deep pocket of "Vultures," giving Mayer's falsetto vocal room to smolder.
And Mayer's self-effacing humor earns him some credibility. He introduces the bar-blues howler "Out of My Mind" by telling the audience he's taking them "back to the home of the blues, Fairfield, Conn."
--Patrick Berkery, Philadelphia Inquirer
'PLAYING THE ANGEL'
Depeche Mode
Sire/Reprise/Mute sss
OK, let's get that common prejudice about electronic-pop trio Depeche Mode out on the table: The band makes shallow, self-indulgent, adolescent, sophomoric, indulgent pap. Does the fact that the late Johnny Cash thought enough of the Depeche Mode track "Personal Jesus" to record his own etched-in-granite version persuade you otherwise? If you're still in doubt, have a listen to the group's first release in four years and just try not to groove to the sinuous rhythms, arresting riffs and better-than-therapy lyrics.
Under the track listing of the CD on the back cover is the adage "Pain and Suffering in Various Tempos," but that's a bit misleading, as vocalist David Gahan mixes in silver-lining optimism with his trademark dread and unhappiness, making the proceedings more palatable and less of a slog.
"Precious" is quintessential Depeche Mode, all bouncy and synth-driven, but with the yin-yang message, "Precious and fragile things need special handling/My God what have we done to you/We always tried to share the tenderest of care/Now look we have put you through." Most synth-pop bands are long gone or forgotten, but Depeche Mode has endured for a reason -- sturdy, well-constructed songs, written primarily by founding guitarist-keyboardist Martin Gore and sung convincingly by David Gahan, who's literally come back from the dead after a suicide attempt and heroin overdose.
--Martin Bandyke, Detroit Free Press
'THE BODY ACOUSTIC'
Cyndi Lauper
Epic sss
This unplugged project from the big-voiced '80s icon contains a few OK new songs that are overshadowed (in a good way) by some riveting new versions of her biggest hits.
What may be most surprising is the folky undertow to the album, which features down-home fiddle playing by Allison Cornell along with Lauper herself on dulcimer, of all things.
Special guests abound on "The Body Acoustic," with the best collaborations "I'll Be Your River" and "Sisters of Avalon" featuring the stylish young R & amp;B stylist Vivian Green. "Avalon" also features a rave-up vocal from indie-folk star Ani DiFranco. Sarah McLachlan joins Lauper on "Time After Time" and "Water's Edge," which sound pretty but perfunctory, and guitarist Jeff Beck noodles about on the snoozy "Above the Clouds."
The most striking track is undeniably the moody, reworked version of "She Bop," Lauper's ode to self-gratification. Let's just say that musical masturbation has rarely sounded this good.
--Martin Bandyke, Detroit Free Press