‘Battlefield’

‘Battlefield’

Jordin Sparks (19 Recordings)

Grade: C

Challenged to name all eight “American Idol” winners, people tend to stumble over Jordin Sparks, the Arizona teen who won in 2007. Her second album will no doubt be successful, but it won’t do much to establish her identity.

“Battlefield” is studded with brilliantly crafted, radio-ready selections, pluperfect pop tunes propelled by turbo-percussion.

The epitome of this approach is the title track, a rousing anthem by OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder. About the furthest Sparks gets from her comfort zone is the techno vibe of “S.O.S. [Let the Music Play],” which lifts its verse from the 1983 dance hit by Shannon.

Almost all the songs on this collection are smartly produced, with glossy surfaces and vivid arrangements. But in these settings, Sparks, despite an acrobatic and robust voice, (hear her roar on “Let It Rain”) tends to get lost in the shuffle.

Still, Sparks proves herself formidable on the battlefield.

— David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘Horehound’

The Dead Weather (Third Man)

Grade: B

At first glance, Jack White’s latest side project, the Dead Weather, seems like a pointless enterprise. A blues-rock quartet in the obverse image of the White Stripes, the DW lets pasty-faced Jack sit behind the drum kit and pretend to be Meg, while pasty-faced Allison Mosshart of the Brit duo the Kills gets in front of the mike and pretends to be Jack. Kinda cool, but if Jack is playing drums that means Dean Fertitao is playing guitar, and though he’s no slouch, he’s also no Jack White.

Over the course of “Horehound,” the method to White’s madness reveals itself. Sure, “Hang You From the Heavens” is disappointingly desultory, and the closing “Will There Be Enough Water,” sung by White, seems all too willing to slowly settle back into the primordial blues-rock swamp. But there’s plenty of slamming, sludgy fireworks elsewhere, from a savage, obscure Dylan cover (“New Pony”), a PJ Harvey nod from Mosshart (“60 Foot Tall”), and a ripping, Oedipal duet (“Treat Me Like Your Mother”).

Not nearly so thrillingly dynamic as the White Stripes, but a detour worth taking.

— Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘127 Rose Avenue’

Hank Williams Jr. (Curb)

Grade: B

“Another sad-eyed boy with his guitar, cutting his teeth on the blues,” Hank Williams Jr. sings on the title song of “127 Rose Avenue.” Who’s that sad-eyed boy? Hank Sr., of course. Bocephus never grows tired of invoking his father, the country music immortal.

On this set, the inspiration serves him well. In addition to the strongly evocative title number, he also delivers “Last Driftin’ Cowboy,” about steel guitarist Don Helms, the final surviving member of Hank Sr.’s band, who died in 2008, and a deep-blues version of his father’s “Long Gone Lonesome Blues.”

Those aren’t the only instances when Hank Jr. confounds his image as an obnoxious redneck cartoon. “Mighty Oak Trees” and “Forged by Fire” are stirring tributes to the power of friendship, “All the Roads” is a sprightly bluegrass charmer featuring the Grascals, and “Red, White and Pink-Slip Blues” is a recession lament sung more in resignation than anger. This being Hank Jr., though, his less appealing side is bound to surface, and it does with the dim-witted Southern rocker “High Maintenance Woman” and the reactionary “Sounds Like Justice.”

— Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘Here With Me’

Holly Williams (Mercury Nashville)

Grade: B

Like her father, Hank Williams Jr., Holly Williams sometimes is overtly autobiographical. That’s certainly the case on the loving tribute “Mama.” (When she sang the song on “The Tonight Show” in June, her mother, one of Hank Jr.’s exes, provided harmony.) She even references Hank Sr. in “Without Jesus Here With Me.” Throughout the album, however, a big step up from 2004’s “The Ones We Never Knew,” the 27-year-old Williams establishes an identity apart from those of her grandfather, father, and half-brother, Hank III.

Williams’ singer-songwriter approach is colored as much by pop and folk as country, but the glitz-free arrangements suit her husky voice and intimate, often introspective songs. “A Love I Think Will Last,” an engagingly upbeat duet with Chris Janson, is a sunny anomaly in a set that focuses more on life’s darker moments, which Williams explores with grace and honesty.

— Nick Cristiano, Associated Press