‘Black Ice’

‘Black Ice’

AC/DC (Columbia)

Grade: C

With apologies to the Stones and everyone else, if there’s a band that’s absolutely essential for the rock ’n’ roll time capsule, it’s AC/DC.

On “Black Ice,” the band’s first studio album in eight years, Malcolm and Angus Young deliver the primordial metal muscle and singer Brian Johnson still manages to find those high notes, although not without some effort. Best of all, the band doesn’t try to reinvent itself, the way Queen has kicked back with Paul Rodgers, for instance.

It’s not all good and, at 15 tracks, there’s way too much of it, but AC/DC still has a way with a killer riff.

That’s the case with the fiery opener, “Rock N’ Train,” built on a foundation of slashing guitar that isn’t far removed (if at all) from “You Shook Me All Night Long.” Johnson’s credible shrieking is bolstered by a catchy call-and-response chorus that adds meat to the already tasty hook.

“Black Ice” is most powerful in the front-end. The opener is followed by “Skies on Fire,” another tutorial in power chords with a monstrous, stately chorus. On “Big Jack,” the band resurrects another staple, a pounding, propulsive bass line by Cliff Williams. It’s not new, but that’s not bad.

If AC/DC and producer Brendan O’Brien could have restrained themselves to, say, 10 songs, instead of 15, then “Black Ice” might have been flawless. As it is, the album ultimately exposes the band’s flabby midsection in generic rockers such as “Wheels,” “Money Made” and “Rock N’ Roll Dream.” Even a winning formula has its limits.

— Jim Abbott, Orlando Sentinel

‘Funhouse’

Pink (LaFace)

Grade: x

After the recent breakup of her marriage, Pink returned to the music scene in typical, tough-girl fashion with the song “So What.” The irreverent, in-your-face rocker oozes with attitude as she shouts lines such as “So what! I’m still a rock star, I got my rock moves, and I don’t need you.”

But anyone who has listened to Pink over the years knows there’s more to her than her big voice or her familiar snarl, and with her new CD “Funhouse,” the singer explores broken relationships with a mixture of pain, frustration, bitterness and wistfulness, making for poignant collection of songs.

Pink reunites with Max Martin, who worked with her on the hit “Who Knew,” on several of the album’s strongest tracks, from the rambunctious “So What” to “I Don’t Believe You” to the uptempo but ultimately heartbreaking rocker “Please Don’t Leave Me.”

While Pink is certainly fun when she’s rowdy — “Bad Influence” is rollicking and “Funhouse’s” best line is unprintable — she’s at her best when she’s vulnerable, and her soaring, smoke-tinged voice wavers with emotion. On “Mean,” which has a dose of country twang that makes it perfect for a barroom serenade, she wonders how two lovers could grow to be so biting to each other. And on the last track, “Glitter In the Air,” she talks about the power of love to make you take a leap of faith. What makes the song so moving is that despite all of the heartache, she doesn’t appear gun-shy about taking the leap again.

— Nekesa Mumbi Moody, Associated Press

‘Evolver’

John Legend (Columbia)

Grade: A

Once again, soul singer John Legend delivers an extraordinary collection of songs with his third studio CD “Evolver.”

The set begins with “Good Morning,” an intro so smooth listeners may actually feel as though they’re calmly drifting away with the soft morning clouds.

The CD continues with the energy-charged “Green Light,” an infectious jam featuring the rapping skills of Andre 3000. Legend keeps the uptempo momentum going with “It’s Over,” a groovy breakup song that finds Legend kicking his ex to the curb, while Kanye West sings 16 bars and horns blast in the background.

Though “Evolver” is an exceptional record, the best tracks include “Quickly,” an impeccable duet with Brandy, as well as the best-friend love tune, “Cross the Line.”

Legend’s own recording artist, Estelle, blazes her British soul accent on the reggae-flavored “No Other Love” and the will.i.am-produced “I Love, You Love,” is a beautiful tribute to love.

Ne-Yo penned the suave “Take Me Away” and “Everybody Knows” is a cool melody highlighted by the acoustic guitar.

— Mesfin Fekadu, Associated Press

‘Speak Low’

Boz Scaggs (Decca)

Grade: B+

“Lido Shuffle” may be a dumb disco-era song, but anyone who remembers the 1976 hit knows Boz Scaggs can swing. And he can sing.

Both skills are on display on “Speak Low,” Scaggs’ second album of standards. It’s a bit of a leap from “Lido” to Hoagy Carmichael, but Scaggs succeeds where many pop singers of his generation have flopped.

One reason: Scaggs sings like a saxophone, his voice possessing a reedy lilt that gives even a ballad like “Invitation” an appealing pulse. He has the phrasing of a veteran jazzman and an expressive voice at both ends of the register.

And unlike many singers who make a late-career switch to standards, Scaggs chooses his material wisely. The 12-song set includes tunes by Carmichael, Duke Ellington, Kurt Weill and Rodgers and Hart, and they’re mostly in the category of you-know-it-when-you-hear it — somewhat familiar but open to a fresh interpretation.

The arrangements feature woodwinds, occasional strings and collaborator Gil Goldstein on piano and keyboards. But throughout the focus is on Scaggs, who wraps his voice around one glorious melody after another, sounding glad disco’s dead.

— Steven Wine, Associated Press

‘4:13 Dream’

The Cure (Geffen)

Grade: A

Robert Smith may be on the cusp of turning 50, but that hasn’t stopped The Cure from turning back the clock.

Smith, fronting a refreshing, stripped-down four-piece, returns with an aggressive approach on the band’s first disc in four years, “4:13 Dream.”

The raw feel doesn’t mean the youthful melancholy is any less potent — after all, this is The Cure — and Smith’s biting vocals on “4:13 Dream” are some of his finest in years.

Bassist Simon Gallup, who may be the most integral part to The Cure’s signature sound, propels “The Reasons Why” with a fantastic array of grooves while Smith wails, “I won’t try to bring you down about my suicide.”

Jason Cooper (drums) and Porl Thompson (keyboards, guitar) fill out The Cure’s tightest incarnation since 1989’s classic “Disintegration”.

The band offered four singles leading up to the disc’s release — the delightful jangle of “The Only One,” the kitschy “Freakshow,” a sweet “The Perfect Boy” and the layered doom of “Sleep When I’m Dead.”

“This. Here And Now. With You” is a slight, romantic pop ditty and “It’s Over” may be the toughest disc closer the band has ever recorded after a career filled with soft fades.

“The Hungry Ghost” tackles greed and avarice with plenty of punch, as does the mid-tempo grind of “The Scream.”

Through their many guises over nearly 30 years — from Goth rock to dense pop — Smith and The Cure offer a nice balance to all their personas on “4:13 Dream.”

— John Kosik, Associated Press

‘That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy’

Toby Keith (Show Dog)

Grade: B

Toby Keith has become the Susan Lucci of the CMAs, virtually ignored when it comes time to hand out the awards.

And, no, that doesn’t make him a bad guy, especially when he keeps putting out solid albums such as this one.

Whatever the reason, Keith has been more willing to venture outside the tiresome boundaries of country radio in recent years.

That tendency is apparent here on the horn-tinged soul of “Missing Me Some You” and the earthy “You Already Love Me,” with its shuffling beat and banjo.

And when the guy leans into a honky-tonk tune such as the title track, with its combination of pedal steel and electric guitars, it’s enough to forget about that “Angry American” song.

So even if “Creole Woman” leans too heavily on Southern-rock clich s and “God Love Her” sounds too much like everything else on country radio, “That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy” makes Keith look pretty good.

— Jim Abbott, Orlando Sentinel

‘cardinology’

Ryan Adams & the Cardinals

(Lost Highway)

Grade: C

Ryan Adams’ prodigious songwriting gift has yielded an ever-growing body of work that’s better viewed as a series of snapshots of his thoughts and feelings at a given moment than as definitive pronouncements on life as he sees it.

On “Cardinology,” under his contract for the tastemaking Lost Highway label, Adams and his band explore the many faces of loss — loss of love, of ideals, of life direction.

Despite his famously combative public persona, as an artist he often takes the high road, sending well wishes to those he’s left by the wayside (“Go Easy”), or, more impressive, to those who’ve done the same to him. Humility hasn’t always been Adams’ strong suit, which makes it so touching when he connects with it in “Let Us Down Easy.”

The songs are built largely on a potent interplay of ringing electric and steel guitars over lock-tight bass and drums, echoing the classic rock of the Allman Brothers at times, Crazy Horse at others, with occasional swings into the pulsing modern rock of Coldplay and U2.

If that makes it sound like Adams and company aren’t pushing musical boundaries this time, it’s true, but they’ve settled into a groove that works just fine for now.

— Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times

‘Day After Tomorrow’

Joan Baez (Razor & Tie)

Grade: B

The clarion purity of Joan Baez’s voice has weathered into something deeper and darker now that the legendary folksinger is 67. And she and producer Steve Earle have chosen material that is suitably deep and dark for “Day After Tomorrow,” her 24th studio album. Earle collaborates, providing three songs and often joining on harmony vocals and guitar. Patty Griffin, Elvis Costello, T-Bone Burnett, Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan and Thea Gilmore are among the other writers of these visions of political and spiritual crises.

Baez sounds wise and earthy rather than angelic, fronting a group of Nashville’s best acoustic musicians, including multi-instrumentalists Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott. But she is a fine enough musician to stand alone, and indeed she does, finding her way to the devastating heart of Waits’ war-torn lament “Day After Tomorrow,” accompanied only by her own guitar-picking.

— Steve Klinge, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘Call Me Crazy’

Lee Ann Womack (MCA Nashville)

Grade: B+

In 2005, Lee Ann Womack corrected her drift toward inconsequential country-pop with the terrific “There’s More Where That Came From.” That title proves to be prophetic in relation to the star’s new album.

“Call Me Crazy” opens with three killers: “Last Call” (“I bet you’re in a bar, because I’m always your last call”); “Either Way”; and “Solitary Thinkin”’ (“and lonesome drinkin”’). Womack again comes across as a real woman dealing with heartache, disappointment and regret against exquisitely crafted music that echoes classic country without sounding retro.

Plenty more highlights follow, including the devastating domestic drama “If These Walls Could Talk” and an elegant duet with George Strait, “Everything But Quits.” The only real misfire is “I Found It in You,” the kind of generic power ballad that throws the power and beauty of the rest of “Call Me Crazy” into even greater relief.

— Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer