‘the block’

‘the block’

New Kids on the Block (Interscope)

Grade: B-

They’re far from new, no longer boys, but New Kids on the Block have definitely been around the block since making girls scream with joy in the late ’80s and early ’90s before breaking up in 1994.

Baby-faced Joey McIntyre gained fans on TV’s “Dancing with the Stars” in 2005. Mark Wahlberg’s older brother Donnie has sustained a successful acting career. Four out of the five guys, all pushing 40, have kids.

“The Block,” the pop-R&B’s group’s reunion album, comes 20 years after 1988’s “Hangin’ Tough” went multiplatinum. The guys, including Danny Wood and brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, look handsomely rugged now, a sure draw for old-time female fans, now in their mid-20s to 30s.

Songs such as “2 In the Morning” and “Summertime” have an undeniable retro groove: “I think about you in the summertime, and all the good times we had, baby,” the guys reminisce in unison on “Summertime,” an upbeat, head-bopping tune. “2 In The Morning” makes a questionably cheesy reference to TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” but is the kind of late-night R&B soul made for couples in need of some soothing.

The album’s myriad producers and writers, including Bryan-Michael Cox, Emmanuel Kiriakou, RedOne, Fernando and Nazaree, layer on the sleekness. NKOTB are back, boys to men.

“Click Click Click,” a breathy slow jam riding on handclaps and vocal trills, takes a page from the Justin Timberlake handbook. Timberlake’s former boy band *NSync may have climbed the mountain NKOTB built, but the reunited quintet now looks to the anointed Timberlake for guidance.

There are throwaway songs (i.e. the lyrically clich “Sexify My Love” and “Twisted”), and appearances by Ne-Yo and Akon don’t necessarily boost NKOTB’s cred. But “Full Service,” while run through the synth ringer, effectively features NKOTB forefathers New Edition crooning along to a bouncy rhythm.

— Solvej Schou, Associated Press

‘the recession’

Young Jeezy (Def Jam)

Grade: C+

Young Jeezy cooks up a familiar prescription to the grind on his third album, “The Recession.” Chronicling the ambitions of a hustler in even more dire times, his position remains the same: He’s not about word play, he’s about “bird play” — slinging cocaine.

Young details his situation above the operatic sway of “Crazy World”: “All I got to my name is two bricks and one felony/ You going back to jail/ That’s what my conscience keep telling me.” Behind the boards, producer Midnight Black melds marching brass with popping machine-gun percussion, propelling Jeezy’s blunt-charred voice.

The ballad-esque “Don’t You Know” is another dedication to the corner with customers coming “back like Frisbees” and smoke fumes getting him all dizzy. “The Vacation” leads with this icy intro: “You see me standing there/ Like a chandelier/ gangsta of the year/ sippin’ Belvedere” as a spectral synth hovers around snapping snares laid down by the production team the Inkredibles.

“Circulate” shifts the attention out of the hood and toward the terminal state of the U.S. economy. Producer Don Cannon’s treatment of Billy Paul’s “Let The Dollar Circulate” approaches Just Blaze territory.

“By The Way” starts off with a children’s chorus before Jeezy depicts victims of gunplay as having “chests like doughnuts.” In other spots he specifies the stress of a dealer’s life in his signature style.

Of the two high-profile guests, Kanye one-ups Nas’ imagining of Obama’s grill on a new form of currency, by earnestly singing about losing his mom.

Beatwise, producer Shawty Redd’s swirling horror-show organ and pogo-stick drum skip on “Who Dat” is a definite a high point, and the miniature orchestra behind DJ Squeeky’s “Welcome Back” revs like a cinematic chase scene.

For all Jeezy’s turf talk it must be said that he can feel his way around a hook, and his narcotic phraseology has never been more succinct. Aside from the title, not much has changed two albums removed from his Herculean debut: He’s still offering lectures on what motivates a thug.

— Jake O’Connell, Associated Press

‘proVISIONS’

Giant Sand (YepRoc)

Grade: A

Howe Gelb recorded the latest Giant Sand album in Denmark with Danes on bass, drums and guitar. Europop this is not, however. In his flat near-whisper, Gelb’s still serving up the same quirky, compelling tunes that have allowed the Arizona-based Giant Sand (which at this point is a one-man band in Gelb) to retain a small but loyal following for more than 20 years.

This batch of 13 tunes ranks among Gelb’s best. Topics range from refrigerated freight and complicated mornings to sex and war, with wordplay reminiscent of those great early Elvis Costello albums. While the arrangements tend to be sparse, there’s plenty of musical variety and creativity. Gelb has fun with rootsy country on “Can Do,” pairs psychedelia with a Latin riff on “Muck Machine” and showcases guitar squall on the instrumental “World’s End State Park.”

With “proVISIONS,” Giant Sand has become Denmark’s best band.

— Steven Wine, Associated Press

‘revealed’

Deitrick Haddon (Zomba)

Grade: A

Any performer looking for an evergreen career has got to have some variety. While Deitrick Haddon’s storytelling, vocal stylings and simple rhyming lyrics remain the same from hit to hit, he continually finds new musical styles with which to frame his flexible tenor and make it shine.

When he launched his solo career in 2002 with the single “A Sinner’s Prayer” off of the “Lost and Found” album, comparisons with Michael Jackson were inevitable with his high, gritty, longing voice and falsetto whoops. Then, on the social-commentary ballad “Heaven Knows” from 2006’s “7 Days” album, Haddon seemed to be channeling a bit of Sam Cooke, using his trademark riffs.

Haddon switches styles again on “Revealed,” showing the world he has the artistry to keep audiences listening for many more albums to come. In a total departure from the heavy gospel-soul and R&B crooning of “7 Days,” “Revealed” launches headfirst into gospel-pop from the first track, and Haddon sounds right at home. The complete album sounds like an hour’s worth of a Top 40 radio show with some electronica and house thrown in for good measure.

And it rocks.

There are crunching guitars on head-banger cuts like the stellar, stadium-rocking “Ungrateful.” And the hook-driven urban jam “Love Him Like I Do” with Ruben Studdard and Mary Mary has plenty of bounce to the ounce. There are a number of tracks that will have you pressing repeat. One is “Lord I Need Your Help,” which starts off with a bit of acoustic piano and a delicate wordless refrain, then opens wide into a lush string-driven anthem. Another, “Don’t Take Your Spirit Away,” employs a staccato snare, matching guitar line and melodic bass line to build to a powerful emotional conclusion.

— Aimee Maude Sims, Associated Press