‘CHROME DREAMS II’

‘CHROME DREAMS II’

Neil Young (Warner Bros.)

Grade: B

Neil Young maintains his mercurial ways with “Chrome Dreams II,” a sequel to a 1970s album that doesn’t exist — or at least was never released, though it was the original home of “Powderfinger” and “Like a Hurricane.” Nothing here is quite that masterfully majestic, though both “Ordinary People,” which was originally recorded for 1988’s horn-happy “This Note’s For You” (thus the Lee Iacocca reference) and the brand-new into-the-mystic jam “Hidden Path” stretch to more than 14 minutes. But Young hasn’t gone entirely epic in scale — the set also mixes in gently becalmed love songs like “Beautiful Bluebird,” goofy garage-rock workouts like “Dirty Old Man,” and sweet children’s chorus singalongs such as “The Way.” More thoughtfully conceived than last year’s political salvo, “Living With War,” “CD II” gathers together the many faces of Neil in one inspired, inscrutable and inconsistent place.

— Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘RAISING SAND’

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (Rounder)

Grade: B

Midway through “Raising Sand,” Robert Plant starts moanin’ and groanin’ as if he were reaching the climax of a Led Zeppelin set. Alison Krauss somehow manages to stifle a laugh.

Plant has long been musically adventurous, but this is a strange pairing. There’s the 23-year age difference, for starters, and the genre gap between Krauss’ bluegrass and the bluesy rock that made Plant famous. They sing neither on “Raising Sand.” Instead there’s rockabilly and ’60s-style pop and country and stuff tough to categorize, which contributes to the record’s charm. Producer T Bone Burnett’s sparse but eclectic arrangements make every note count, and the material is well chosen, with songs from Doc Watson, Tom Waits and Sam Phillips among the highlights.

Aside from a couple of Led Zep-style outbursts, Plant is on his best behavior vocally, and he blends beautifully with Krauss’ incomparable soprano. The two singers generate considerable chemistry — enough to leave their audience wanting more. This is not strictly a duet record, alas, with Plant and Krauss each taking solo turns less interesting than the songs they sing together.

— Steven Wine, Associated Press

‘CARNIVAL RIDE’

Carrie Underwood (Arista)

Grade: A

Most contemporary female country singers start out on the traditional side, then grow increasingly pop as they become more successful. Carrie Underwood reverses that trend on her second album, “Carnival Ride.”

After the six-million-selling “Some Hearts,” where the “American Idol” champ sparked arguments about whether she was country or pop, her second album goes out of its way to prove she’s as down home as any of her Nashville peers.

On songs like “All-American Girl” and “Crazy Dreams,” Underwood presents a rootsier, more organic sound that highlights her middle-American, girl-next-door personality. Moreover, her second album shows growth in how Underwood brandishes her powerful voice. Showing more sensitivity in her range and in interpreting lyrics, the 24-year-old Oklahoman sings with a control that makes her uplifting voice even more effective.

Underwood co-writes four of her new tunes, although working with Nashville pros, it’s hard to detect how big of a role she plays in crafting the lyrics or melodies. The songs range from the album’s first hit, “So Small,” a song with as direct a religious message as her previous album’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” to the one-night-stand tale of “Last Name.”

Overall, “Carnival Ride” is a strong sophomore effort, with Underwood flashing a surer sense of who she is and where she belongs. However she defines herself, though, the world is wide open for her from here.

— Michael McCall, Associated Press

‘CHASE THIS LIGHT’

Jimmy Eat World (Interscope)

Grade: C-

Mesa, Ariz., quartet Jimmy Eat World has always been a reluctant standard-bearer for the “emo” brand of alternative rock. With “Chase This Light,” its first full-length album in three years, the band stages a passive-aggressive rebellion against the tag. Musically, Jimmy Eat World’s recipe is simple and effective: Start with persistent, locomotive drum beats, add layer upon layer of throbbing guitar riffs and top it off with howling vocal harmonies. On each track, power chords urgently build toward a satisfying crescendo, without lapsing into soft rock.

Usually, the band’s collective songwriting process suffuses this mix with complex themes and reasonably profound, impassioned observations. But “Chase This Light” is like the sensitive guy who tries to act tough by getting a tattoo and turning up his amp. Although the effort is earnest, it’s difficult to tell one emotion from another — from the romantic optimism of the title track to the frustrated pessimism of “Feeling Lucky,” everything rocks, but nothing resonates. By taking the emo out of the group’s formula, Jimmy Eat World has reduced itself to (at best) hollow alt-rock or (at worst) shallow alt-punk. “Chase This Light” only proves that because the band is going to be categorized anyway, it ought to do what it does best.

— Jason Hammersla, Hartford Courant

‘DWIGHT SINGS BUCK’

Dwight Yoakam (New West)

Grade: A

Dwight Yoakam has carried Buck Owens in his artistic DNA since his first album more than 20 years ago. He’s let it rise to the surface before, most clearly when Yoakam revived the legend’s hit “Streets of Bakersfield” and pulled Owens out of retirement to duet on the song.

After Owens’ death at age 76 in March 2006, Yoakam began planning a tribute to his friend. “Dwight Sings Buck” probes the spot where Owens’ influence melts into Yoakam’s distinctive style. Rather than stick to faithful revivals of Owens classics “Under Your Spell Again,” “Act Naturally” and “My Heart Skips a Beat,” Yoakam gives them a twist — sometimes playful, sometimes mournful — that brings them alive.

Yoakam emphasizes Owens’ distinguishing traits: crisp yet inventive rhythms, a fat Telecaster twang and slurring, spiky vocals. Just as Owens turned heartbreak and self-loathing into party anthems, Yoakam inhabits these chestnuts with fresh, colorful personality. He also wisely goes beyond the most frequently covered Owens songs to dig up less-revived gems like “Only You” and “Down on the Corner of Love.”

In the end, Yoakam tips his Stetson to his idol by acknowledging his artful way of showing people how to laugh through their tears.

— Michael McCall, Associated Press