'FREEDOM ROAD'

'FREEDOM ROAD'
John Mellencamp (Universal Republic Records)
Grade: B+
"Our Country," John Mellencamp's hit that's currently running in a television commercial for Chevy Trucks, sounds like a hallmark card to America -- on the anthemic choruses, at least. But the middle stanzas question whether his country lives up to its democratic ideals.
In that sense, the song adroitly represents the heartland rocker's 19th studio album, "Freedom Road," which celebrates the American dream while pointing out darkening clouds on its political and social landscape.
"Jim Crow," a duet with Joan Baez, deals with modern bigotry, while "Heaven Is a Lonely Place" pricks religious narrow-mindedness. The title song, one of eight featuring harmonies by vocal quartet Little Big Town, suggests that with liberty comes responsibility and the potential for abuse. The angriest cut refers to President Bush in its title, "Rodeo Clown," and describes America as "an arrogant nation" with "blood on her face."
As usual, Mellencamp wraps his commentary in moody heartland rock, played with spare intensity by his longtime band and given plenty of bite by the twin guitars of Andy York and Mike Wanchic. Like classic Mellencamp tunes "Pink Houses" and "Rain on the Scarecrow," "Freedom Road" thrusts a rocking fist in the air while putting Americans on alert about problems bedeviling their nation.
--Michael McCall, Associated Press
'BLOOD STAINED LOVE STORY'
Saliva (Island)
Grade: C
Kudos to all the artsy metal bands, but there's something undeniably rewarding about a straight-ahead, unpretentious hard-rock band bulldozing its way through songs.
Nothing about Saliva's new "Blood Stained Love Story" is ingenious or even imaginative, and yet the Memphis band's unfinessed confidence is just as effective as most studio trickery might be.
Songs are solid, if familiar, and skillfully executed.
Lead singer Josey Scott is a carnival barker on opener "Ladies and Gentleman," a heavy-but-smooth fusion of electric thrash and vocal harmonies, and it's only the high-voltage of the catchy subsequent cut "Broken Sunday" that separates the track from pure pop.
Buffeted by dual guitarists Wayne Swinny and Jon Montoya (the latter replaces Chris D'abaldo, who quit the band last year), Scott grapples with generic issues ("Why can't I be normal like everyone else?" he wonders on the mid-tempo "Going Under," and on the chugging "Twister," he complains, "Why am I here?/Lots of answers, but nothing's clear").
He also makes the cheesy claim, "I don't know how to love you, but I can't walk away" on the chunky-beat-backed "Never Gonna Change," though that track and the warmly reverberating "Here With You" both add a certain charm to the lowly power ballad, thanks to Scott's seeming sincerity.
"Blood Stained Love Story" never really wows, and Saliva goes a bit flat when Scott, normally a fine singer, ventures into spitting out lines in near-rap style on "King of the Stereo" and "One More Chance."
What's more, the band's unwavering Everyman shtick is hokey -- and if they're so ordinary, why would anyone want to hear them? The rowdy, Rob-Zombie-like electricity of "Black Sheep" attempts to provide an answer as the vocalist snarls the declaration, "I'm the black sheep of the family!"
Yeah, that's mundane, too. But it's satisfying to hear Scott growl.
--Chuck Campbell, Scripps Howard
'VISITATIONS'
Clinic (Domino)
Grade: A-
Clinic prescribes another dose of unnerving clamor with its fourth release, "Visitations" -- a follow-up to 2004's acclaimed "Winchester Cathedral," which in turn followed 2002's "Walking With Thee," a Grammy nominee for Best Alternative Music Album.
If press releases are to be believed, "Visitations" is more upbeat than previous projects from Clinic, though it's anyone's guess what vocalist Ade Blackburn is actually singing with his clinched-teeth, indecipherable delivery. But whatever it is, it's mesmerizing and buffeted by waves of buzzing guitars.
The crafty quartet from Liverpool is both emphatic and distinct, two characteristics that make the band worth a listen to rock fans with a sense of adventure. Plus Clinic's experiments are well balanced as the group stays within a range that affords them continuity without over-restricting their creativity. Group members play standard rock instruments while also branching out -- the bassist also plays flute, for instance, the guitarist also plays clarinet, and the singer plays autoharp.
In an anxious flurry on "Visitations," Clinic careens through the bizarre hoedown "Family," gallops through the punk blowout "Tusk" and shifts through the Middle Eastern meditation "Animal/Human" that veers into freeform funk. More sedate tracks find the band moseying through the mellow (if uneventful) vibe of "Paradise" and dashing out a twisted fireside-suitable, acoustic-based ditty, "Jigsaw Man."
However, "Visitations"' signature sound -- offered on enough tracks to make it a bit redundant -- is an aural hallucination tethered to bracing electricity, pulse-racing rhythms and Blackburn's incoherent ramblings.
Aesthetically, it's kind of unpleasant. But on a primal level, it's magnetic.
--Chuck Campbell, Scripps Howard
'I LOVE YOU'
Diana Ross (Manhattan)
Grade: D
It's no small thing for an aging artist to maintain her dignity in today's ever-more puerile pop-music world. That's reason enough to salute the comeback of Miss Ross after a seven-year absence. It's timely, coinciding with the film release of "Dreamgirls," the Broadway-show-turned-movie inspired by Ross' Motown career with the Supremes. It's also timeless, in a sense: At age 62, this diva wisely knows there's no competing with Beyonce.
If only she would have picked a collaborator a little less schlock-inspired than Steve Tyrell, the guy who brought you the endless volumes of Rod Stewart taking vocal sandpaper to the Great American Songbook. It's hard to imagine trying to make it through this sleepily arranged program of pop standards and would-be standards if you're under 55. And it's doubtful any senior citizens who attempt it will stay awake,.
In fairness, there are a few attractive moments. Age has deepened Ross' vocals, which shine on lower-key gems like Marvin Gaye's smoldering "I Want You" and the Burt Bacharach/Hal David "The Look of Love," sung as if it had been written for Ross instead of Dusty Springfield.
But if it's romantic classics you're after, you could do a lot better this Valentine's Day.
--Dan LeRoy, Hartford Courant
'THESE FOUR WALLS'
Shawn Colvin (Nonesuch)
Grade: B
Shawn Colvin became a household name with her 1996 breakthrough "A Few Small Repairs," but even that trip to the mainstream did not rob her of the edgy, rebellious character woven into her music throughout her career. She is reliably scrappy on the bristling, folky pop of "These Four Walls," and swirls compelling comfort into her unrest as she contemplates her current state from a variety of fresh angles.
Colvin's breathy voice is sweet on "Fill Me Up," but is sufficiently grounded to hold together the contemplative content. Her songs are as savvy as they are tuneful, from the hearty, smooth throb of "Let It Slide" to the frank longing of the wistful "Venetian Blue."
Colvin wrestles with reflective discomfort on the twangy electric bob of "Tuff Kid," and is introspective without surrendering to nostalgia on the title track. Her expert management of tone and texture makes such disparate pursuits as a rhythmic cover of Paul Westerberg's "Even Here We Are" and an earthy, impassioned take on the Bee Gees tune "Words" fit under a single umbrella, and she makes their messages her own.
--Thomas Kintner, Hartford Courant