RECORD REVIEWS

'THE TRUE FALSE IDENTITY'
T Bone Burnett (Sony)
Grade: A-
It's been 14 years since T Bone Burnett last released an album with his own name on it, but the tall Texan has hardly been idle, producing albums ranging from Elvis Costello and Cassandra Wilson to the mega-selling "O, Brother Where Art Thou?" soundtrack. On "The True False Identity," Burnett returns to the business of writing sly, mysterious, Dylanesque roots-rock rambles that look for a sliver of heart and soul in a cold, greedy world. And with the aid of able collaborators such as guitarist Marc Ribot, the music churns up an uneasy backdrop well suited to Burnett's philosophical peregrinations like "I Am Going on a Long Journey Never to Return" and attacks on the closed-minded such as "Blinded by the Darkness."
-- Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer
'THINGS GO BETTER WITH RJ AND AL'
Soul Position (Rhymesayers)
Grade: C
Newcomers to the mike can usually get away with dissing the hip-hop industry, explaining just how "real" they keep it and all that. DJ/producer Rjd2 and lyricist Blueprint, the extremely talented Columbus, Ohio, natives who make up Soul Position, never had to do such things. That's why "Things" gets off to a bad start.
The duo use the first real track "No Gimmicks" to explain what Soul Position never was. "No Slogans, no 20-inch rims rollin', no gold fronts ... " yadda yadda yadda. Why they wasted their skills on such reverse-pimping is a mystery.
Fortunately, things settle down later with Rjd2 proving he hasn't lost a step since collaborating with Cali rapper Aceyalone on the "Magnificent City" album earlier this year. The loops get crisper and Blueprint falls into more familiar and mischievous rhymes on songs like the excuse-ridden "Blame It on the Jager."
This group's third release is its third-best.
-- Rob Watson, Philadelphia Inquirer
'NEW USED CAR'
Sue Foley (Ruf)
Grade: B+
She's a long-tressed redhead and guitar firebrand who started out emulating her blues heroes before developing a compelling personal style. No, it's not Bonnie Raitt, it's Sue Foley, and her 10th album makes you wonder anew why the 38-year-old Canadian has never gotten as big as her older American counterpart.
Unlike Raitt, Foley writes her own material, and much of it possesses the vivid imagery and piercing emotional power of another singer who started in the blues, Lucinda Williams. "New Used Car" begins with the title song, which flips around and breathes new fire into the old auto-as-woman metaphor. She delivers that one and the rest of the numbers here -- soul-dripping blues-rockers, a slippery swamp-rocker, a solo acoustic excursion -- with a voice that remains as lethal as her guitar work, a supremely seductive blend of swagger and vulnerability.
-- Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer
'TWENTY FIVE'
Yellowjackets (Heads Up)
Grade: A-
The Yellowjackets live on the cusp where jazz and R & amp;B meet. Founded in 1981, the band is notable for being both popular and worthy of street cred.
This anniversary CD, recorded live at the New Morning nightclub in Paris, comes with a bonus DVD with 3 1/2 hours of live music plus several interviews.
The package gives a pleasant recap of the band's 25-year connection with fans. Mainstays Russell Ferrante on keyboards and electric bassist Jimmy Haslip have kept the mix highly melodic and focused on bright tunes and major keys.
Joined by tenor saxophonist Bob Mintzer in the early 1990s, the Yellowjackets found some fresh legs. The handsome lines of "Geraldine" on the DVD show Mintzer's lightness in blowing and his ability to sweeten a ballad. The drummer since 2000, Marcus Baylor, joined a Yellowjackets tradition that includes Peter Erskine, and keeps matters crackling.
This band is full of small victories -- they don't knock you out, and the emphasis on sweetness can get tiring -- yet they consistently make compelling music.
-- Karl Stark, Philadelphia Inquirer
'NOT FOR YOU'
Mower (Suburban Noize)
Grade: C+
Mower cuts through hardcore rock leaving an uneven, patternless trail.
In other words, it keeps things interesting.
The monster voice/monster chord freak show that constitutes most heavy rock is almost instantaneously tedious to just about anyone older than 15 as the energizing effect of metallic riffs and shrieks soon gives way to enervating sameness. But the San Diego-based Mower employs enough tricks to hold the interest of adults who have better things to do than shake their fists for 45 minutes to essentially the same song.
A third of the tracks on the group's "Not for You" clock in at less than two minutes, and another third measure between two and three minutes. And all of the cuts are serviceably distinct from each other -- from the full-throttle run of "Look Away" to the agitated turmoil of "Broken Hands," and from the Rob Zombie-like bellows of "General Admission" to the David Lee Roth-ish quasi croons of "U Turn."
It's hard to get bored with that.
What's more, Mower features two vocalists -- the growling Brian Sheerin and the shrieking Dominic Moscatello -- both of whom are as capable of singing as they are of sounding like videogame villains. Even better, they harmonize with enough layers of vocals to make them the Beach Boys of hardcore.
-- Chuck Campbell, Knoxville Sentinel