‘Hard Candy’

‘Hard Candy’

Madonna (Warner Bros.)

Grade: B

Madonna may be a 49-year-old working mom pushing 50, but she still loves her dance floor, her catsuits and her pop hooks.

She’s also an expert chameleon, co-opting current musical tastes for her own pleasure. In the case of “Hard Candy,” her final studio album for Warner Bros. following a landmark deal with concert promoter Live Nation, Madonna aims high, enlisting two of music’s heavyweight producers — Timbaland and the Neptunes.

The album jumps off the disco of 2005’s “Confession on a Dancefloor” with thunderous, uptempo club grinds but also some surprisingly dark moments. The Neptunes — the production duo of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo — add retro-synth beats while Timbaland punches up the power R&B, along with Justin Timberlake and Nate (Danja) Hills.

Madonna co-wrote and co-produced the album’s 12 tracks, which swerve from the psychedelic-horn blitz of the Timbaland-produced hit “4 Minutes” to the swooping drama of “Voices.”

The album’s sound is not original: After all, the Neptunes and Timbaland are arguably the most ubiquitous hitmakers in the business, and have done the urban dance pop treatment for the likes of Gwen Stefani and Nelly Furtado (Chad Hugo and Timbaland are even on the new Ashlee Simpson record — enough said). But while the tunes are not edgy, they still make your booty shake.

“My sugar is raw/ Sticky and sweet,” Madonna intones on the Neptunes-produced intro “Candy Shop,” fusing heavy beats with “Like A Virgin” coy sex appeal and a later falsetto reminiscent of Britney Spears.

“4 Minutes,” one of the album’s best tunes, explodes with Timbaland’s repetition of “fricke-fricke-four minutes!” as Madonna and Timberlake exchange shout-outs. Their voices, oozed through thick production, complement each other nicely (although their sexual repartee can feel a bit forced).

On “Confessions on a Dancefloor,” Madonna delved into her religious beliefs with a song about Kabbalah; on 2003’s “American Life,” she jumped into political commentary. Here, she steers clear of family, religion and politics, sticking to mainstream fodder: sex, dancing, relationships.

—Solvej Schou, Associated Press

‘Good To Be Bad’

Whitesnake (SPV)

Grade: A

It’s only April, but Whitesnake has laid down the marker for the best hard rock record of the year; anyone wanting the crown will have to top this excellent effort, the band’s first new studio album in 11 years.

The masters of melodic metal, led by frontman David Coverdale, have brought back old-school power rock — heavy enough to satisfy the headbanger within, but catchy enough to embed the song in your brain.

The band’s ever-changing lineup now sports the twin guitar attack of Doug Aldrich (Dio) and Reb Beech (Alice Cooper, Dokken, Winger), and both play with speed, ferocity and melody. From the opening riffs of “Best Years” to the title track and the fast-paced rocker “Got What You Need,” the pair perfectly complement Coverdale’s wails.

The best track is “Lay Down Your Love,” the closest thing to a metal mash-up of Whitesnake classics “Slow And Easy” and “Still of The Night.” The latter track is particularly evident here, from the bump-and boogie riff that shimmies, then pauses for Coverdale’s vocals, to the subdued, mid-tonal middle.

Other appropriations include the ballad “All I Want, All I Need,” which evokes the power ballad “Is This Love?” Close your eyes, and you’ll soon imagine Tawny Kitean and her little white dress from the memorable 1987 video. And the catchy “All For Love” cops the main riff from the Kansas classic “Carry On Wayward Son.”

“’Til The End Of Time” closes the album on a note reminiscent of mid-’70s acoustic Led Zeppelin, and even finishes with a “Kashmir” riff.

All in all, this is proof that even though long in the tooth, Whitesnake still has fangs.

—Wayne Parry, Associated Press

‘bittersweet world’

Ashlee Simpson (Geffen)

Grade: C+

Yes, everyone wants to know whether Ashlee Simpson and her fiance, Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, are expecting their first child. But after listening to Simpson’s new “Bittersweet World” (Geffen) album, what should concern them is that she may actually have no idea what year it is.

Hint No. 1: It’s not 1983. The album’s first single, the Timbaland-produced “Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)” has Simpson channeling Missing Persons’ Dale Bozzio’s quirkiness over a beat that approximates Madonna’s “Burning Up.” She follows that with “Boys,” which is sorta like that time Cyndi Lauper turned “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” into a reggae song, only, you know, horrible. “Hot Stuff” is even worse.

Hint No. 2: It’s not 1995. With its jittery guitar and vocals, “Ragdoll” could have been built for No Doubt’s “Tragic Kingdom” breakthrough only to be rejected as, well, so bad that not even The Police-styled “yo’s” can save it. On the title track, Simpson merges No Doubt with that faux-flapper style Christina Aguilera tried on her last album, but that doesn’t help either.

Hint No. 3: It’s not 1998. Sure, there was a time when a good, catchy power-pop-tinged number such as “No Time for Tears” would be strong enough to sell a whole album, despite the rest of it being packed with misguided filler. But those days -- the heyday of her big sis, Jessica -- are long gone. Even the passable Pinkish pop of the current single “Little Miss Obsessive,” with backing vocals from Plain White T’s Tom Higgenson, isn’t enough to keep “Bittersweet World” from going sour.

Forget the toasters and bedsheets and various other wedding and/or baby shower gifts. What Simpson really needs is a calendar. And maybe a radio.

—Glenn Gamboa, Newsday

‘Prayer of a Common Man’

Phil Vassar (Universal South)

Grade: B

The title of Phil Vassar’s fourth album implies a change of direction for this country piano player known for upbeat, good-time tunes. “Prayer of a Common Man” lives up to its title, adopting a more solemn tone than anything Vassar’s previously done.

Vassar’s undergone plenty of change in the four years since his last album. He and his songwriter wife, Julie Wood Vassar, filed for divorce, and he left Arista Records for a new label home, Universal South. He’s changed his sound, too, pushing the piano into the background while emphasizing guitars and string sections.

He sets the tone right at the start, using dramatic orchestration to set up lyrics blasting corporate “fat cats” and heralding working-man struggles in the opening “This Is My Life.” Two songs — “Around Here Somewhere” and “I Would” — both testify about how it’s hard to turn around a failing relationship. Even the album’s first hit, “Love Is a Beautiful Thing,” has a reflective nature.

Vassar doesn’t turn away completely from celebratory songs: “Why Don’t Ya” is an old-school Tennessee rocker done as a duet with Los Lonely Boys. But, this time out, fun is only a diversion for Vassar. With “Prayer of a Common Man,” he reaches for something more ambitious.

—Michael McCall, Associated Press

‘The Black Swan’

Story of the Year (Epitaph Records)

Grade: C+

The biggest problem with the screamo scene is how similar everyone sounds. Story of the Year set themselves apart from the pack with only moderate success on their third full-length, “The Black Swan.”

SOTY hovers somewhere between emotive radio rock and muscular metal — and one wishes they would stick with their heavier inclinations because that’s where they sound best.

Disc opener “Choose Your Fate,” “Tell Me (P.A.C.)” and “Welcome to Our New War” kick hard enough to grab your attention with driving riffs, and catchy lead single “Wake Up” will probably be a hit with the MTV crowd. But most of the other tracks sink under the weight of bland repetition.

For all the well-intentioned anti-war and let-love-rule sentiment in the lyrics, there’s just no getting around the recycled riffs and bland radio choruses that give most of the disc a redundant feel — nothing truly stands out.

While this is a well-produced and listenable record from a tight band, if someone tells you it’s another group — let’s just say Hoobastank for argument’s sake — you might not know the difference.

—John Kosik, Associated Press