‘Lucky Old Sun’

‘Lucky Old Sun’

Kenny Chesney (Bna Entertainment)

Grade: B

Jimmy Buffett’s influence on country music always seems like a fleeting novelty in the “5 O’Clock Somewhere” mold.

On “Lucky Old Sun,” however, Kenny Chesney surveys the view from the bow of his boat and transforms it into a stylish collection of songs that qualify as a step away from the boring country template.

Is it laid-back? Oh, yes! On songs such as “Way Down Here” and “Boats,” Chesney delivers with such moderate, adult-contemporary ease that it makes James Taylor look like he has ADD. Yet the songs are flavored with soft pleasantries, such as Spanish-style acoustic guitar, congas and a thread of harmonica, that make them easy to like.

When Chesney picks up the tempo for the reggae-flavored “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven,” he does it with good humor and an able assist from The Wailers.

Throughout “Lucky Old Sun,” Chesney makes the most of his resources. Singer-songwriter Mac McAnally, an underappreciated gem in Buffett’s touring entourage, lends the gentle harmonies to his own wistful ballad “Down the Road.”

And when Willie Nelson croons along on the closing title track, it’s a finale as quiet and lovely as sunset on the bay.

—Jim Abbott, Orlando Sentinel

‘Damn Right Rebel Proud’

Hank Williams III (Sidewalk Records)

Grade: B

Hank Williams III would have you believe he’s just another redneck, hiding out in east Tennessee with a pistol, a case of beer and a bad attitude.

He may be, but he’s an artist, too.

A natural-born storyteller — like his father, his grandfather and presumably every ornery member of the cantankerous line — Williams not only carries on the family tradition, he builds on it on his latest album with the kind of lyrical virtuosity the original Hank used to transform country music. His subject matter just happens to be a little different.

But “Damn Right Rebel Proud” isn’t all whiskey, weed and wild women as Hank III would have us believe. Sure, there’s plenty of that stuff. But his “Damn Right Rebel Proud” shows you can’t dismiss him as a wannabe redneck who knows his audience.

On “3 Shades of Black,” he sings: “Depression misery and hellacious fun ... We’re a certain breed and we don’t like you/Some are junkies, some are freaks and some are everyday ghouls.” “Wild and Free” is a slow piece spiked with a mocking steel guitar and plenty of venom about “Livin’ hard, wild and free.” “Me & My Friends” takes the traditional down-and-out country song and pushes it into a zone of truthfulness your buttoned-down Nashville songwriter wouldn’t venture with its acerbic opening line: “I’m all messed up and drivin’ around town.”

—Chris Talbott, Associated Press

‘Back to Now’

Labelle (Verve Forecast)

Grade: C

“Lady Marmalade,” Labelle’s 1974 ode to a New Orleans hooker, has remained such a presence in pop culture, most recently as a 2001 remake by Christina Aguilera, Mya, Lil’ Kim and Pink, it’s hard to believe the trio disbanded all the way back in 1976.

The aptly titled reunion disc “Back to Now,” the trio’s first album together in 32 years, plays like a Labelle sampler: edgy space-age funk. Rock. R&B ballads with Patti LaBelle’s piercing vocals. Camp, via an unearthed 1970 vault recording of Cole Porter’s “Miss Otis Regrets” to close the CD.

Nona Hendryx once again composes much of the material, and her “System,” originally intended for a 1977 Labelle album that never came to be, represents the edgier, funk sound they pioneered. Lenny Kravitz produces three fine ballad-oriented tracks, including the infectious highlight, “Candlelight,” but surprisingly his contributions avoid the classic rock sound of his own albums. Instead, producer Kenneth Gamble, of the Philly soul team Gamble & Huff, handles the aggressive rocker “The Truth Will Set You Free.”

There isn’t an undeniable, instant hit here like “Lady Marmalade” but “Back to Now” is a timeless and welcome visit with three true originals.

—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald

‘Call Me Crazy’

Lee Ann Womack (MCA Nashville)

Grade: D

Country singer Lee Ann Womack has had a hard time coming up with an album to follow her award-winning 2005 traditional CD “There’s More Where That Came From.” Last year, an entire album was recorded, and some advance copies made it to critic’s desks, but its single bombed with radio, and her label put her in the studio to start over.

“Call Me Crazy” is the result and it, too, is a disappointing misfire. The first single, the melancholic lament, “Last Call,” is a tuneful slice of country heaven sung with a perfect vocal ache, but it has failed to score with radio. The rest of this slowly paced album is a collection of by-the-numbers ballads. It makes for a dull listen and is coldly remote, too.

“Call Me Crazy” is especially unsettling when you take that title seriously and note the free-spirited cover photo of Womack’s legs spilling out of a retro ’60s egg-shaped bachelor-pad chair. Her album could have used more of that crazy spirit.

—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald