‘ULTIMATE VICTORY’

‘ULTIMATE VICTORY’

Chamillionaire (Universal)

Grade: C

If you’re a rapper whose name isn’t Kanye West or 50 Cent, you’re better off not releasing an album this month. But Chamillionaire has defied heavy odds before. After the storm of exposure that swept through his hometown of Houston in 2005 — introducing the world to Mike Jones, Slim Thug and Paul Wall and casting a favorable light on veterans such as Scarface and UGK — Chamillionaire sneaked out his debut, “The Sound of Revenge,” late in the year. The album might have gone overlooked were it not for the omnipresent single “Ridin’,” a tale of racial profiling that picked up a Grammy back in February.

“Ultimate Victory” doesn’t stray from the formula of “Ridin”’ — too many of the songs fall back on the same bouncy cadence and rhythmic stutter. Chamillionaire has a patient, almost strategic flow, as if he’s waiting to see what kinds of twists and fake-outs a beat has up its sleeve before making a move of his own. He’s also profanity-free (even the curse words of his guests — Slick Rick, Devin the Dude and Lil Wayne among them — are muted). Such higher roads, however, don’t always offer better alternatives; in “Industry Groupie,” a perfectly good Europe sample — “The Final Countdown” — is wasted on the warnings of stripper-dating.

But beyond the empty talk of money, sex and fame are several nods to Chamillionaire’s art form of choice. These include the lead single “Hip Hop Police,” which name-drops, among others, Wu-Tang and Death Row, artifacts of an era gone but clearly not forgotten. Let the other guys concern themselves with ruling rap. Chamillionaire’s content to merely celebrate it.

—Michael Pollock, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘ALL THE LOST SOULS’

James Blunt (Custard/Atlantic)

Grade: C+

For anyone who’s beautiful and knows it’s true despite the bother of a guy with a high voice repeatedly singing so, this second Blunt album is yours.

Like the attraction of a new automobile’s smell, “Lost Souls” has all the hallmarks of a sophomore effort: bigger and shinier but the clutch still sticks exactly like it did on the last car.

Our generation’s one-man Bee Gees maintains the earnest, focused emotionalism and laconically lilting vocals of his debut. There are flickering acoustic guitars (“Same Mistake”) and heavy-hearted melodies. The open adenoidal flutter of his voice and the tender mercy of his lyrics affect the mortally wounding “I’ll Take Everything” and the playful nostalgia of “1973.” Blunt wishes for sobriety on the latter so as to see more clearly through the rain — that’s too much clarity. Cliches start popping up like dandelions. But there are enough kicky pianos, chirpy harmonies, dancing guitars and keen ’70s Brit-pop references (“Give Me Some Love”) to make this middle-of-the-roadster drive harder and faster.

—A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘DRASTIC FANTASTIC’

KT Tunstall (Relentless)

Grade: B

KT Tunstall may have “The Devil Wears Prada” and “American Idol” to thank for her overnight success. When two Tunstall gems — “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” and “Suddenly I See” — were featured on the movie and reality TV show, the Scottish singer-songwriter met a much wider audience. Her 2006 debut, “Eye to the Telescope,” was a hit.

Tunstall’s smoky vocals and introspective folk-pop are again front and center on her sophomore disc “Drastic Fantastic.” Her lyrics are no less soulful: “Hold on to what you’ve been given lately/ Hold on ‘cause the world will turn if you’re ready or not,” she sings over plucky guitar and hand claps on “Hold On,” the album’s energetic first single.

That warning suggests Tunstall may worry that she’ll follow other songstresses — Lisa Loeb, anyone? — into the graveyard of one-disc wonders. That won’t happen, though, as long as she keeps writing lovely tracks such as “Hopeless,” a deceptively uplifting song that screams “Grey’s Anatomy” closing montage. In a good way.

Tunstall continues her message of female empowerment on this album. She defiantly tells off a loser guy in “I Don’t Want You Now,” which has a punk-rock vibe. She avoids the temptation of plastic surgery in “Saving My Face,” even though she would “give everything just for a taste.”

Her nimble wordplay shines on the uptempo character study, “Funnyman,” about a self-destructive friend who can’t seem to follow through on his lofty plans. “You’re so honest and true/ I don’t want to feel sorry for you,” she says.

Tunstall, a soul-searcher, makes melancholy musings sound invigorating — never depressing.

—Erin Carlson, Associated Press

‘KILL TO GET CRIMSON’

Mark Knopfler (Warner Bros.)

Grade: C

The man who brought us Sultans of Swing has become the Wizard of Waltzes. Half of the 12 songs on Mark Knopfler’s “Kill To Get Crimson” are in 3/4 or 6/8 time, a sure sign he really doesn’t want his MTV — or air time anywhere.

Knopfler even sings about waltzing. And polkas. When flutes break out on the second cut, there’s cause for alarm.

But while the album’s hardly geared for the masses, and seriously laid-back, at least a couple of tunes will remind longtime fans of Knopfler’s Dire Straits days. And he remains a fine songwriter, exploring sins and confessions, hangings and coffins, painting and poetry through all sorts of quirky characters.

The folksy arrangements inspire some of Knopfler’s finest singing. Too bad one of the best guitarists of his generation declines to cut loose with any Sultans-style solos, but it’s hard to let ’er rip to a 3/4 beat.

—Steven Wine, Associated Press

‘90 MILLAS’

Gloria Estefan (Burgundy Records)

Grade: C

With “90 Millas,” Gloria Estefan returns to her Latin and Cuban roots, but she doesn’t seem to know where they are anymore. This CD is not bad — it’s far too expertly done — but it’s mechanical and uninspired, and all its illustrious guest stars, from Santana to Arturo Sandoval, can’t bring it to life.

The songs are co-written by Gloria, with husband/producer Emilio Estefan, and Miami producing/songwriting team Ricardo and Alberto Gaitan and several other contributors. They feel carefully constructed — a rocking guitar solo for Santana here, a percussion break for conga star Giovanni Hidalgo there — but there’s no flow, no sense that something inspired them. Most of the guest artists, who also include flautist/Fania All-Stars founder Johnny Pacheco, saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera, bassist Israel “Cachao” Lopez, salsa pianist Papo Lucca, percussionist Candido Camero and trumpet player Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros, play briefly on just one track. The music often seems to quote other songs by Gloria or other traditional Cuban music. But instead of providing a link to tradition, it just seems like they couldn’t come up with anything fresh.

That’s also true lyrically. Despite the title, most of the songs have little to do with Cuba. Instead they’re standard love-lost boleros, with some flowery cliche country-“son” sentiments thrown in. “A Bailar” (“Let’s Dance”), with Gloria declaring she’s experienced and confident enough to go her own way, is a rare exception. “Esperando (Cuando Cuba Sea Libre)” (“Waiting When Cuba Is Free”), which you’d imagine would be the most passionate, is a melody-free track proclaiming a big party when the Revolution tanks. Profound.

The weakest link is Gloria’s singing, which is weirdly tight for someone who’s sung dance music her whole career, with no swing, no rhythmic energy and surprisingly little emotion. Every time a song starts to cook, her voice holds it back, and the music never takes off. Compared to salsa singer La India, who duets with Gloria on the title track, background singer Cheito Quinonez on “Morenita,” or even her own performance on “Mi Tierra,” which covered similar thematic and musical ground, Gloria’s voice sounds limp. “Esta Fiesta No Va’Acabar” (“This Party Isn’t Going to End”), promises one song. Here, it never even starts.

—Jordan Levin, The Miami Herald

‘PROOF OF YOUTH’

The Go! Team (SubPop)

Grade: B

The band from Brighton, England, follows up the low-fi sample-savvy wizardry of 2005’s “Thunder, Lightning, Strike” with another infectiously upbeat conflagration that marries marching-band mayhem to a frenetically paced old-school rap aesthetic. The six-person collective fronted by chief cheerleader Ninja and masterminded by pop culture obsessive Ian Parton makes music that sounds like it’s coming out of an AM transistor radio. The Go! Team manages the unconventional trick of making a bass-less party record, even when it brings Public Enemy’s Chuck D into the fray for a formidable cameo on “Flashlight Fight.” Just as much fun the second time around.

—Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘DUETS’

Reba McEntire (MCA Nashville)

Grade: A

As a country singer who’s achieved success on television, on Broadway and as an author, Reba McEntire has arguably achieved the broadest-based success of any Nashville artist of her generation. So, naturally, an album pairing her with other singers would cover as wide a territory as the many mountains she’s scaled.

With “Duets,” the big-voiced Oklahoma redhead does just that. Besides the expected country partners — Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill and Rascal Flatts among them — McEntire joins forces with everyone from pop stars Justin Timberlake and Kelly Clarkson to classic rocker Don Henley to veteran singer-songwriter Carole King.

To her credit, McEntire challenges herself by pairing with several strong female voices, and the settings only prove how exquisitely expressive and powerful her voice can be. She brings in Kelly Clarkson for a lush, countrified remake of “Because of You,” trades verses with LeAnn Rimes on the emotional tour-de-force “When You Love Someone Like That,” then matches up perfectly with Trisha Yearwood on the moody “She Can’t Save Him,” the latter about a lover realizing she can’t make her partner stop destroying himself unless he recognizes his problem.

Still, the best moments are more subtle, as when Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn waltzes with her through the twangy “Does the Wind Still Blow in Oklahoma?” and when yet another Okie, Vince Gill, brings out McEntire’s tender side on “These Broken Hearts.”

—Michael McCall, Associated Press

‘BIG LOVE IN A SMALL TOWN’

Sarah Johns (BNA)

Grade: A-

As musical kiss-offs go, it’s a memorable one. On “The One in the Middle,” the first single from this boldly vibrant debut, Johns shows her disdain for her ex with a raised digit — and it’s not her ring finger.

It’s a rocking slice of country twang, full of take-no-guff attitude, and so is much of the rest of Big Love in a Small Town. The Kentucky native cowrote all the songs, and her influences obviously run to Dolly and Loretta, not Faith or Shania, though the set is not lacking in commercial sparkle.

Johns can be pretty tough — “If you could hold your woman like you hold your whiskey, I’d still be in your arms.” But she can also laugh at herself (“He Hates Me”), and the ballads “Baby My Heart” and “Touch Me” show a tender side that reveals touching insecurities. It all adds up to an honest, flesh-and-blood portrait of a real woman, and a very entertaining one.

—Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer