RECORD REVIEWS

'LIFE'
Gary Spencer
Gary Spencer
sss 1/2 (out of five)
In a CD full of longing and loss, Gary Spencer somehow makes "Life" seem ultimately uplifting and worthwhile. The British-born singer, whose influences range from Depeche Mode to Motown, has crafted a set of songs that embrace '80s pop without drowning in it. Sometimes, a play on words turns a little creaky ("Untouchable"), but Spencer's heart-on-his-sleeve romanticism and quirky ironies keep the disc grounded. Spencer, who was in British pop bands and has been the route of big labels, is marketing "Life" on his own. He has a deal with CD Baby (http://cdbaby.com/cd/garyspencer) and has the CD tracks on iTunes, so people can have the disc or the downloads. (How modern.) For samples of the tunes, check out his site, http://www.garyspencermusic.com/.
--Michael McGowan, The Vindicator
'SHINE'
Trey Anastasio
Columbia
sss
Judging by its title and the cover art, Trey Anastasio is happy to be out of the Phish-bowl that has defined his career for the past decade. With this, his first post-Phish solo album, Anastasio (with producer Brendan O'Brien's polished touch) has created a radio-friendly pop-rock album that showcases his crisp, formidable guitar playing with a surprising amount of focus (nothing cracks the six-minute mark).
From the love-your-neighbor title track -- with its chiming '70s AM radio vibe -- to the acoustic-laden closer, "Love That Breaks All Lines," Anastasio sounds revitalized throughout, despite the occasional hippy-dippiness of his lyrics. While the songs are structured to easily gain complexity on the road, they (unlike much of Phish's studio work) don't require a live setting to come alive.
-- Nicole Pensiero, The Philadelphia Inquirer
'DISTORTION'
Rev Run
Def Jam
sss
It's worth lacing up the Adidas shell toes, donning the dookie rope, and pulling out the four-finger ring, if only for just under 30 minutes. Joseph Simmons, Run from RUN-DMC, now Rev(erend) Run after his ordination, reminds us of the golden age of hip-hop with his solo album, "Distortion."
Run's staccato rhymes haven't diminished, the beats still sound like a drum kit abused by Godzilla, and producer Whiteboy knows better than to put anything other than rock loops and snippets from the trio's classics underneath the Reverend's spit.
The album's second track, "Home Sweet Home," pays tribute to deceased Run-DMC DJ, Jam Master Jay. Rapid-fire verses underneath the well-known Lynyrd Skynyrd chorus make it hard not join in the remembrance.
Other boom-baps, such as "Breaktime," "Take A Tour" and the only track that belies the Reverend's religious path, "The Way," easily could have appeared on Run-DMC's earlier work if accompanied by Jam Master Jay's scratching and some response rhymes from Darryl McDaniels (DMC).
And maybe that's the reason "Distortion" is so short. Those unheard two-thirds of RUN-DMC can't be replaced with the Kanyes or 50 Cents of today. Better to leave "Distortion" as just a glimpse into part of once was. Sort of like those shell toes.
-- Rob Watson, The Philadelphia Inquirer
'LIFE GOES ON'
Terri Clark
Mercury
sss
Both a country-rocking crowd-pleaser and a thoughtful balladeer, Terri Clark has been one of Nashville's most spirited and charismatic hitmakers over the last decade.
"Life Goes On" plays to the Canadian's usual strengths, even if it doesn't cut as deep as her 2003 career peak, "Pain to Kill." Catchy, up-tempo numbers like the title track and "Tear It All Down" alternate joy and pain, while "Honky Tonk Song" is a raise-your-glass sing-along anthem that's hard to resist, even if there's a whiff of contrivance to it. The standout ballad is "I Wish He'd Been Drinking Whiskey," which, unlike "She Didn't Have Time" and "Cowboy Days," is a domestic tale without a happy ending.
-- Nick Cristiano, The Philadelphia Inquirer