ON THE RECORD | What's hot in albums, tapes and discs

`'PLANS'
Death Cab for Cutie
Atlantic sss
For indie rock fans of "The O.C." demographic, Death Cab for Cutie is already ubiquitous. You can't watch "Wedding Crashers" or walk into Old Navy without hearing Ben Gibbard outline his romantic discontent with the articulateness of an English major. "Plans," the major-label debut by the Bellingham, Wash., band, will only increase Death Cab's reach, while causing low-level grumbling among longtime fans.
The album is more piano-ballad heavy than 2003's breakthrough "Transatlanticism," and it lacks the laptop-pop eccentricity of Gibbard's other band, the thoroughly charming Postal Service. Though "Plans" at times errs on the side of the overly sweet, it still delivers the thoughtfully sensitive goods, as Gibbard details an all-too-fleeting fling in "Summer Skin" or promises his sad boy and girl fans not to worry, for "Someday You Will Be Loved."
'COST OF LIVING'
Delbert McClinton
New West ssss
If Delbert McClinton were a baseball player, you'd have to figure he was on the juice. What else but steroids would explain how a guy could keep hitting one home run after another when most guys his age are way past their prime? "Cost of Living" continues an incredible late-career surge for the pushing-65 godfather of Americana.
"I like to listen to rock 'n' roll, but, honey, I like a two-step too," McClinton rasps in his Texas drawl. Here he serves up those two sounds, plus his usual host of others, from low-down blues to New Orleans-style R & amp;B. They frame another collection of deceptively simple songs full of color and character. Lending ballast to the fun stuff like "Two Step Too" and "Hammerhead Stew" are the brooding outlaw saga "Down Into Mexico," the magnificent honky-tonk hymn "Midnight Communion" and the gut-wrenching ballads "Kiss Her Once for Me" and "Your Memory, Me, and the Blues."
'HILLBILLY DELUXE'
Brooks & amp; Dunn
Arista Nashville ssss
These guys already have been named the Country Music Association's Vocal Duo of the Year 11 times. With this hot new album, they've got an even dozen in their sights.
The concept for "Hillbilly Deluxe" is a return to musical roots and a leaner sound. There seems to be just a tad less razzle-dazzle studio gimmickry than usual, giving the duo more room to emote with its down-to-earth subjects. But the title may be a bit of a misnomer.
With "hillbilly" in the name, many listeners may infer that the disc should have more of a twangy sound often associated with that style. Here, while it's clearly country, there's less twang and more honky-tonk, hard-rocking stuff. This is what is expected of Brooks & amp; Dunn, and there are no surprises in that regard.
The instrumental work by the session players is superb throughout, with melody hooks that are a delight. The 13 tracks cut a wide swath from up-tempo barroom romps to poignant ballads, mincing no words along the way and cutting straight to the heart of the subjects at hand.
Of special note among many outstanding songs are the opening "Play Something Country," a rocking tribute to the genre; "She's As Lonely As I'm Going To Let Her Get," a clever and upbeat tale of longing in a barroom setting; and a gorgeous version of the classic "Building Bridges," a heartfelt plea for forgiveness
'BACK HOME'
Eric Clapton
Reprise/Duck Records sss
Sure legends die and stars inevitably begin to fade. If you're Eric Clapton, though, you simply return home. So it is for the 60-year-old British bluesman's aptly titled "Back Home," which brings into sharp focus the reflections of a music man of four decades who has grown to value home and family above all else in the twilight of his years.
To make that point, the album's opening track, "So Tired," doesn't chronicle the bone-deep fatigue a seemingly endless string of show nights would bring. Instead it's an uplifting melody to accompany a parent's lament on the daily grind of raising children. Wait a second. Babies and band practice? Has one of the most influential guitarists ever grown soft? Say it ain't so. The truth is that even the wildest grow timid with years.
And following his reunion last summer with his bandmates from Cream, that 1960's psychedelic British powerhouse, Clapton has reason to step back and count the blessings his guitar has brought. As much as the album is a reflection, it's also homage to the songs that move Clapton just as those life-changing blues die.
Stevie Wonder's "I'm Going Left" and George Harrison's "Love Comes to Everyone" bookend Clapton's first original material in five years, even if the recordings sound closer to elevator ditties than soulful biographical ballads. Still, the three-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has earned time to ponder where his music has taken him.
The album's title track and final number does just that. Flush with countrified blues and foot-tapping rhythms, Clapton captures with electrifying sentimentality that road weary moment when going home is more soothing than any melody. Going home and leaving the scene? Clapton has earned that right.
'AMONGST THE PEOPLE'
Wynton Marsalis
Blue Note s
Wynton Marsalis' latest release captures the sound of people having a good time, and it's really annoying.
On "Amongst the People," there's hooting and hollering, rhythmic clapping and lots of laughter. Recorded in 2002 at a cozy Manhattan theater, the sextet's six tunes are full of marvelous riffs, but each is punctuated with whoops of approval from the audience.
In a concert medium, it's great. In a medium designed for repeated playback, it's going to grate.
'POSSIBILITIES'
Herbie Hancock
Vector Recordings, Starbucks Here Music, Hancock Music s
Call it the Carlos Santana effect.
On Herbie Hancock's latest, the legendary pianist goes for a jazz-minded take on the lucrative combination of old legend and young talent. On "Possibilities," the guests include John Mayer, Christina Aguilera and Joss Stone -- as well as vets Sting, Paul Simon and, yes, Santana too.
While Santana's 1999 "Superstition" was far from the first such duet-heavy disc, it gave the old easy-money formula new prestige after its record Grammy haul -- mirrored by the late Ray Charles' "Genius Loves Company."
But Hancock's pop-fusion has none of the energy that those collaborations did.
The 65-year-old Hancock is not new to pop crossover. After early bop playing, Hancock transferred into funk and synthesizer territory, most notably with the classic album "Head Hunters."
To hear a once so ambitious musician cover the Bono/B.B. King blues song "When Love Comes to Town" with Joss Stone and Jonny Lang, one feels almost embarrassed. Is this a soon-to-be Gap commercial? Actually, more likely an ad for Starbucks -- whose label, Hear Music, helped produce "Possibilities."
Hancock's playing is smooth, but usually reserved to second fiddle, as on Mayer's "Stitched Up." His collaboration with Sting on "Sister Moon" is overdone, but grooves more than anything else here.
At its best, "Possibilities" is a decent cabaret album -- probably suitable background noise for cappuccino sipping.
'MOST WANTED'
Hilary Duff
Hollywood sss
Duff has had a meteoric music career so far. Her first album went to No. 1, and her second debuted at No. 2. Her new disc is a greatest hits package that includes new songs and remixes.
The 13 tracks, clocking in at a shade over 49 minutes, include the 2003 single "So Yesterday" and new songs "Wake Up," "Beat of My Heart" and "Break My Heart." "Wake Up" both leads off the disc and sets the tone for much that follows. It's peppy, with a solid and guitar-heavy arrangement propping up Duff's rather light vocals.
A Chris Cox dance remix of "Come Clean," and "Mr. James Dean" with its harder edge, stand apart from the remainder of the songs on a disc that takes few risks, but likely gives Duff's multitude of fans what they want and expect.
'HANDS ON'
Gene Ludwig
Blues Leaf sss
The Pittsburgh-based Gene Ludwig remains a formidable cat of the stun-and-gun jazz-organ school. Whether it's slinky grooves or moments of pure takeoff, Ludwig and his quartet are proficient at this nasty and necessary art.
The CD ranks as pretty conventional, winding through some new tunes and chestnuts, including Carl Perkins' "Groove Yard" as if it were 1965. But this combo delivers on funky flourishes and an intimacy with the blues that the genre demands.
Guitarist Ken Karsch puts up some powerful twangs on "Willow Weep for Me," while saxophonist Eric DeFade and drummer Tom Wendt round out the able quartet.