‘real animal’

‘real animal’

Alejandro Escovedo

(Back Porch/Manhattan)

Grade: A

Many rockers glorify one aspect of their personalities, be it sexuality, anger, cockiness, or mysteriousness. But Alejandro Escovedo has spent the last two decades stripping away artifice in order to expose raw emotions and personal truths.

The veteran singer-songwriter has never rocked rawer or truer than on “Real Animal,” which boils down his influences — Lou Reed, John Cale, Iggy Pop, Mott the Hoople — into a visceral statement about where he came from and who he became.

Escovedo still utilizes strings behind power chords as well as any rocker. But “Real Animal” emphasizes glam-rock swagger more than his recent works. Perhaps it’s because these songs mine his youthful beginnings: “Nuns Song” is about his first punk band in San Francisco, and “Chelsea Hotel ’78” is about the infamous Manhattan flophouse where Escovedo resided when Sid Vicious was arrested there for the murder of girlfriend Nancy Spungen.

Ecovedo’s roots in Los Angeles and Texas come through too, especially in “Hollywood Hills” and “Chip n’ Tony,” the latter about his partners in the band Rank and File. But the songs skip decades too: “Golden Bear” deals with his recent health battle with hepatitis C.

A listener needn’t know Esco-vedo’s story to enjoy his message.

— Mike McCall, Associated Press

‘last days at the lodge’

Amos Lee (Blue Note)

Grade: B

Since he broke nationally with his self-titled 2005 debut, Philadelphia native Amos Lee has faced a steady stream of Norah Jones comparisons. He insists he’s not merely a male version of that blockbuster songstress, but until now, he hasn’t moved far away from the easily palatable folk-pop with a jazz tinge that she popularized earlier this decade. And his third album strays only slightly from the usual mellow approach.

“Last Days at the Lounge,” a Don Was-produced set, finds him emphasizing his soul bent in a string of twanging pleas for love and justice (really, he’s more like a Tracy Chapman than a Norah Jones). At heart, Lee is still a folky. His sensitive material rests on acoustic strumming, and he tackles universal political themes ambitiously. On “Jails and Bombs,” he rails on Washington war policy, though his musings aren’t particularly insightful. Opening for stalwarts like Bob Dylan and Paul Simon is quite an education for a young troubadour, but Lee relies too heavily on obvious rhyme schemes (“explanation,” “preservation,” “nation”) to even think about sharing a class with those giants.

Lee shines most brightly when he sticks to more intimate subjects. The divorce song “It Started to Rain” is a nice slow burn with subtle biblical references and soft organ accompaniment. When his voice wobbles through soul-rasp on the chorus, it’s clear that matters of the heart are what really get Lee going.

— Cristina Black, Associated Press

‘saints of los angeles’

Motley Crue (Motley Records)

Grade: B+

There may be no band better equipped to tackle the ’80s with feel-good nostalgia than Motley Crue.

With “Saints of Los Angeles,” the glam-metal elders happily careen back through time, to an age when rock stars were rock stars, tattoos were actually menacing, and you could write songs about groupies without everyone looking for the ironic joke.

It’s the first album in eight years under the Crue banner, and the first since ’97 with the full original lineup. This is a grown-up group now — guitarist Mick Mars is three years shy of 60 — but “Saints” is a fun album that’s seriously young at heart.

After enduring the ’90s unsure of its place in a changing music world — releasing such ill-fitting work as “Generation Swine” — the band sounds comfortable again in its roots. That should be welcome news for fans: “Saints” is the best Crue record since 1989’s “Dr. Feelgood,” the quartet’s last shot of glory before alterna-rock crashed the party.

High-propulsion cuts like “Face Down in the Dirt” and “Chicks Trouble” are vintage sleaze-rock, with Vince Neil’s sneering vocals and Tommy Lee’s rowdy drums taking their familiar lead roles. Even the production is engineered like an ’80s artifact, shined with ample reverb and high-end tones.

— Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press

‘With a Buzz in Our Ears, We Play Endlessly’

Sigur Ros (XL Recordings)

Grade: A

The jumpy, multilayered percussion that starts the new album from Sigur Ros is the first sign that we’re in for something different from the Icelandic wonders. With a lengthy native title that translates to “With a Buzz in Our Ears, We Play Endlessly,” the new album promptly picks up where 2005’s “Takk” left off, pushing the band into its most accessible, even mainstream quarters yet.

Since its emergence a decade ago, the cryptic quartet has specialized in hypnotic arrangements that unfold into gorgeous soundscapes. This fifth album both loosens and tightens the approach: Where Sigur Ros wove grand sonic tapestries, it now presents genuine performances. There’s a relaxed, organic feel to much of the playing, tucked into traditional song formats with edges more clearly defined.

The adventurous instrumentation, otherworldly vocals and 8-minute epics are still here, but songs such as “Inni Mer ...” and “Vid Spilum Endalaust” find Sigur Ros adopting genuine hooks, while simple piano lines and acoustic guitars are pushed forward in the mix. “Illgresi” is as straightforward a ballad as the band has yet recorded.

The album is available for streaming at www.sigurros.com.

— Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press

‘a good day’

Priscilla Ahn (Blue Note)

Grade: C

The enchanting musical performance on their TV screens earlier this month apparently sent “Tonight Show” viewers scrambling to learn more — enough to launch the little-known name Priscilla Ahn to the top of Google’s daily search rankings.

Ahn is a Georgia-born, Pennsylvania-bred singer-songwriter whose sweet-natured acoustic pop caught the attention of Blue Note Records, the jazz institution that turned Norah Jones into a superstar.

“Dream” — the ethereal, wistful ballad that mesmerized late-night viewers — is the first single from her resulting album, “A Good Day.” It’s also, alas, the only true gem on an album suffused with the sort of earthy, breathy pop that’s become a staple for shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy.”

The 24-year-old occasionally changes the pace, putting a spring in the step of “I Don’t Think So” and making a lighthearted waltz of “Astronaut.” But it’s a hushed vibe that dominates, with Ahn’s crystalline voice and elastic melodies the prime attractions on an otherwise underwhelming set of songs.

— Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press

‘One of the Boys’

Katy Perry (Capitol)

Grade: C

Katy Perry’s decidedly politically incorrect first single, “Ur So Gay,” not only got Madonna to declare it her favorite song. It also raised high hopes that the former contemporary Christian singer turned snark queen might, indeed, be the American answer to Lily Allen — which she’s being marketed as. “I hope you hang yourself with your H&M scarf,” she purrs at an ex-boyfriend, of whom she declares “Ur so gay/And you don’t even like boys.” Unfortunately, the fun stops there.

Boys’ witless second single, “I Kissed a Girl,” does an excellent job of pandering to horny Maxim readers, while not nearly measuring up to Jill Sobule’s cute and coy 1995 hit of the same name. (Don’t worry guys, she’s not crossing over to the other side for good: “I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it,” she sings in the it-was-all-just-a-dream video.) And it goes downhill from there, with a steady flow of collaborations with corporate producer-songwriters, starting with Alanis Morissette enabler Glen Ballard and including Desmond Child, Dr. Luke, Butch Walker, Max Martin and Dave Stewart. From the mean “If You Can Afford Me” to the unimaginative “Mannequin,” Perry, who was first touted as a “Next Big Thing” in Blender in 2004, takes every possible precaution, and in so doing sucks the joy out of this impersonal package that’s pretty much a lock to make her a big star.

— Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘All I Intended to Be’

Emmylou Harris (Nonesuch)

Grade: B

Emmylou Harris reinvented herself with 1995’s “Wrecking Ball,” moving to something more atmospheric and haunting than the traditional country genres she had explored for the previous 25 years. “All I Intended to Be” reunites Harris with Brian Ahern, the producer of many of her early albums, and features appearances from some of her old friends: Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Buddy Miller, members of bluegrass’ Seldom Scene. It’s not exactly a return to her roots — it’s too somber and stately — but it nods in that direction with an emphasis on acoustic guitar, mandolin and steel.

Harris’ voice is, of course, impeccable on these 13 songs, five of which she wrote or co-wrote.

— Steve Klinge, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘Perfectly Clear’

Jewel (Valory)

Grade: D

Country music is the last refuge of singing scoundrels. Folk career hit a dead end, Jewel? Drift on down to Nashville, where the pickings are easy. But even the most indiscriminate country fan isn’t going to go for this piffle. Jewel still has that annoying quavery voice. Pouring on her thickest hickory-smoked accent on “Love is a Garden” only makes it sound more artificial. She does a fair Emmylou Harris imitation on “Loved By You,” but the closest she comes to country is the Charlie Rich feel of “Anyone But You.” And you can thank the song’s co-writer Wynn Varble for that.

Producer John Rich heaps on the requisite instrumental ingredients: banjo, mandolin, steel guitar, fiddle, dulcimer and honky-tonk piano. But that still don’t make it country.

— David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘City That Care Forgot’

Dr. John (429 Records)

Grade: B

As one of New Orleans’ leading musical ambassadors, Dr. John has always embodied both the mystical and the merry aspects of the Big Easy spirit. Now the aging Night Tripper is revealing another side — he is incensed about the state of his beloved city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and he pours it all out in the impassioned, politically charged music that makes up one of his best albums.

Dr. John (aka Mac Rebennack) looks all around the still-hurting city and sees greed and neglect, conspiracy and even murder. “You know me, I can’t let that slide,” he declares on “Dream Warrior.” With his crack three-man band augmented by horns and strings and such guests as Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson and Terence Blanchard, the good Doctor wisely couches his anger and contempt, as well as his empathy and sorrow, in the kind of irresistibly funky R B that has made his city such an indelible cultural landmark.

— Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer