‘Never Going Back’

‘Never Going Back’

Shemekia Copeland (Telarc)

Grade: A

Just shy of her 30th birthday, Shemekia Copeland is already long established as one of the best of contemporary blueswomen. With “Never Going Back,” the daughter of the late blues great Johnny Copeland continues to expand her approach, again showing an astute ability to steer clear of blues ruts.

Copeland flashes her take-no-guff fire on the self-empowerment anthems “Born a Penny” and “Rise Up.” Producer-guitarist Oliver Wood, however, frames Copeland in a sound that’s not quite straight-up blues or the Stax-like soul of her earlier albums. It’s closer to the sophisticated but earthy roots vibe of the excellent albums he has made with his bassist brother, Chris, as the Wood Brothers.

If the jazzy “Black Crow” finds Copeland going a little too soft, the organ-kissed sweetness of “Broken World,” the noirish atmospherics of “Never Going Back to Memphis,” and the hipsterish take on Percy Mayfield’s “River’s Invitation” show that Copeland can connect profoundly even when she’s not belting or playing the vulnerable balladeer.

—Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘Roll On’

J.J. Cale (Rounder)

Grade: B

After four decades, enigmatic J.J. Cale still resides in the shadowy underbelly of pop music, criminally anonymous outside of his Eric Clapton connection of “Cocaine” and “After Midnight.”

Cale, whose new solo album “Roll On” just hit stores, wrote both of those hits, and nudged Clapton’s style toward the understated realm that’s a pleasing counterpoint to his arena posturing.

Like most everything Cale does, “Roll On” also could be described as understated. These 12 songs are exceedingly delicate, with the guitars and voices barely above a whisper. Cale’s voice, still utterly nonchalant at 70, is barely pushed enough to be present in the mix.

The simplicity won’t appeal to everyone. The 3-chord blues progression in the opening “Who Knew?” doesn’t demand attention with flashy solos or even a particularly engaging tune. Its pleasures are concealed in an effortless groove, the gently shuffling brushes on a snare drum and a faint foundation of saxophones way, way in the background.

Mostly, “Roll On” chugs along like a steady blues train on songs such as “Oh Mary” and the title track. The latter features Clapton, who joined Cale for 2006’s “The Road to Escondido.”

—Jim Abbott, The Orlando Sentinel

‘Liza’s at the Palace: Broadway Show Cast Recording’

Liza Minelli (Hybrid/Sire)

Grade: A

Critics swoon at Van Morrison doing his classic “Astral Weeks” live in a recent album. It reconnects him with his muse, they say. Perhaps. But few live sessions sparkle with an artist’s brass and sass as does “Liza’s at the Palace,” a brashly triumphant document of Liza Minnelli’s autumn 2008 run at the Palace Theatre on Broadway.

The two-CD set is split between signature smashes and her salute to 1940s Broadway/nightclub doyenne Kay Thompson (Liza’s godmother). Minnelli goes for broke on belters such as “Maybe This Time” with delicious clarity. Sympathetic pianist Billy Stritch and a smallish orchestra allow her room to breathe. She saves the scenery-chewing for the soft, dramatic subtlety of “If You Hadn’t, But You Did” and the steady sorrow of “But the World Goes ’Round.”

Along with the recent “The Complete A&M Recordings,” which documents her late-’60s/pre-disco ’70s, “Palace” represents a mountainous high peak in a career with more valleys than the Dolls.

—A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘Dark Was the Night’

Various artists (Red Hot)

Grade: B

The double disc “Dark Was the Night” is the latest compilation put together by the Red Hot organization, which has been releasing AIDS awareness discs since 1990’s “Red Hot & Blue.” The brooding, acoustic-textured collection is curated by brothers Bryce and Aaron Dessner of the Brooklyn band The National. It takes its name from bluesman Blind Willie Johnson’s epic song of woe “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground,” which the Kronos Quartet covers in a suitably haunted version. The two star-studded CDs — indie luminaries on hand include Arcade Fire, Yeasayer, Beirut, Catpower, the Decemberists, and the New Pornographers — suffer from intermittent stretches of sleepiness (see Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner”s “Big Red Machine”). But there’s lots of loveliness here, too, from Jose Gonzalez and the Books’ “Cello Song” to Conor Oberst and Gillian Welch’s “Lua.” Clear standouts: Feist and Grizzly Bear’s delicately glitchy “Service Bell” and Sufjan Stevens’ graceful, winningly noisy, 10-minute-long cover of Castanets’ “You Are the Blood.” The project also gets design points for artwork that incorporates Gustave Dore illustrations originally drawn for Dante’s “Divine Comedy.”

—Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘This Gigantic Robot Kills’

MC Lars (Crappy)

Grade: C

Cartoonish “laptop rapper” MC Lars shows no signs of slowing down on his seventh album in 10 years, ever dripping with irony. He includes the previous singles “Hipster Girl” (whose title character sounds more like a Valley Girl) and the faux-self-conscious “White Kids Aren’t Hyphy,” and on “It’s Not Easy (Being Green)” he unconvincingly mocks the green movement and throws in a Jersey joke. Despite his insistent catchiness and passable rapping, MC Lars feels more like a musical comedian than a real performer. That said, it’s admirable how he can wrangle cameos from “Weird Al” Yankovic and members of the Donnas, Nerf Herder, Simple Plan and Aquabats. “True Player for Real” actually shows some affection for the genre he’s been plundering for so long.

—Doug Wallen, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘The Pains of Being Pure At Heart’

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Slumberland)

Grade: A

There’s a kind of perfection at work in “The Pains of Being Pure At Heart,” the self-titled debut of this young New York band. Its 10 compact songs perfectly echo the jangly, dreamy noise-pop endemic to the United Kingdom circa 1986 in bands such as My Bloody Valentine, the Wedding Present, and the Jesus & Mary Chain.

The sweet and catchy co-ed harmonies, washes of feedback, trebly guitars, and zippy drums distill the past, but they lose none of their joy or immediacy. Whether rumbling and distorted (”Hey Paul”), perky and glossy (”A Teenager in Love”), or breathless and exuberant (”Come Saturday”), each song sounds as independent, focused and attention-grabbing as a classic vinyl single.

Extra credit, too, for perfectly sweet subject matter, such as the sex-in-the-library vignette “Young Adult Friction.” “Don’t check me out,” goes the final refrain. I disagree.

—Steve Klinge, Philadelphia Inquirer