RECORD REVIEWS

'WE SHALL OVERCOME:THE SEEGER SESSIONS'
Bruce Springsteen (Columbia)
Grade: A
The songs on Bruce Springsteen's "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" bleed with blue-collar sentiments and emotions that once were aligned with communist unrest and the Red Scare.
And somehow, in these modern times, they all seem more American than ever.
From the album's opening moments -- punctuated by Springsteen laughing and counting out a rhythm for "Old Dan Tucker" -- you can sense something different.
Followed by a banjo and fiddles, Springsteen heads off on a wild musical escapade to sing the absurd folk song about a poor man named Dan that dates to the 1800s.
It's a remarkable moment, one that grabs listeners unexpected. Its freewheeling, lighthearted spin flows through the entire album, through ancient sea chanteys and dust bowl blues -- with the Boss frequently yelling amid the music's fervor to direct the band.
It takes someone with an appreciation for the nature of these songs to sing them well. They are about happiness amid life's hardships and hope when all seems hopeless.
While Springsteen wrote none of the songs on the album, all were once played by folk legend Pete Seeger, whose social activism in the 1960s put him on stage with the likes of Bob Dylan and others to speak out against racial injustice and other issues.
And like Seeger and Dylan, Springsteen is well-known for his role as a social activist, opposing President Bush in the 2004 elections for bringing the country to war in Iraq. He has also been an advocate for union workers and food banks in his home state of New Jersey.
You can hear that history in his voice on "John Henry," a story about hardworking man fearful they'll be replaced by machines. And again on "My Oklahoma Home," which was written by a Dust Bowl refugee who organized for the Southern Tenant Farmers Union and recorded first by Seeger in 1963.
In the end, the album's songs are about simpler times that can easily be associated with Springsteen, who made growing up on the Jersey shore as romantic as rural America once was.
-- Ryan Lenz, Associated Press
'IV'
Godsmack (Republic)
Grade: C
Godsmack, those guitar crunching boys from Boston, have returned on "IV" with an album that muddies the lines of what has always distinguished metal music.
Fast-paced rhythms and chest-shaking drums are staples of the genre. But, wait, is that a harmonica grinding away behind the guitar on "Shine Down"? Yes, it is.
The album, by the band's own admission, is an attempt to break from the mold and do something different for modern metal akin to their earlier acoustic attempts.
It is bold, and some of its guitar solos are striking. But overall, the album is hard pressed to sound innovative and perhaps hamstrung by earlier successes.
"IV" even has a song titled "Voodoo Too," which sounds remarkably similar to "Voodoo" from Godsmack's 1998 self-titled release -- the intro has a chorus identical to the original.
The foray into acoustic music on Godsmack's 2003 "Faceless" is revisited on "Hollow," a morose melody that struggles to prop up lyrics that want to collapse in their own self-pity.
The album is not devoid of refreshing moments, though. "No Rest For The Wicked" is a reminder of what metal can be, with synched up drums and rhythm guitar.
It's too bad "IV" doesn't offer more of it.
-- Ryan Lenz, Associated Press
'AROUND''SONGS AND OTHER THINGS'
Tom Verlaine (Thrill Jockey)
Grades: A (for both)
Two, count 'em, two new releases from the reclusive leader of mid-'70s New York punk band Television are cause for celebration, especially considering these are Verlaine's first musical statements in close to 15 years. What a pleasure it is to once again hear his distinctive guitar work, which employs both long, fluid melody lines and stinging, angular ones. Verlaine's yelping vocals and offbeat lyrics never did and never will place him in the Top 40, but are part and parcel of what makes him such a cherished original.
"Around" is made up of all instrumentals, with sympathetic but minimal accompaniment from bassist Patrick A. Derivaz and Television drummer Billy Ficca on several tracks. Even better are the explorations that feature only Verlaine, including "Mountain," "The O of Adore" and "Flame," meditative but breathtaking at the same time.
"Songs and Other Things" has Verlaine both on guitar and vocals, along with a backup cast that includes Television's bassist Fred Smith (not the late-MC5er) and Patti Smith's drummer Jay Dee Daugherty. "All Weirded out" and "From Her Fingers" are garage-rock with a PhD, and the emotional high point found on "The Day " crosses punk rock with a touch of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir."
-- Martin Bandyke