‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’

‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’

Mariah Carey (Def Jam)

Grade: A

“I should crack you right in your forehead,” Mariah Carey sings on the breakup tune “It’s a Wrap.”

The song, on her latest CD, “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel,” finds a hungover Carey kicking her lover to the curb with particularly harsh words.

“Another early morning, and you walk in like it’s nothing ... ain’t no doughnuts, ain’t no coffee,” she sings with attitude in her signature high-pitch tone. “Let me take a breath and regain my composure, told you one more time, if you [expletive] up, it’s over.”

But even though she’s spitting venom, Carey’s cooing on the doo-wop sounding song is so sensuous and sweet, even the song’s intended target will remain under her spell — as will her listeners.

“Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel” is an exceptional album that is about love — being in it, out of it, over it and trying to reach it. While the subjects are tried and true, they are never tired, thanks to Carey’s approach, which mixes a good dose of humor and wit with her multi-octave voice.

Carey produced and wrote the majority of the album with Christopher “Tricky” Stewart and Terius “The-Dream” Nash — and those hitmakers add their own touch to “Imperfect Angel” without overdoing it.

— Mesfin Fekadu, Associated Press

‘black gives way to blue’

Alice in Chains (Virgin/EMI)

Grade: B

Alice in Chains fans will never get over Layne Staley. To them, the iconic Seattle band died along with its enigmatic lead singer, who suffered a fatal drug overdose in 2002.

In many ways it’s true — Staley was irreplaceable — but the textured bluesy metal he created with guitarist Jerry Cantrell is intact on AIC’s first effort since his death, “Black Gives Way To Blue.”

Cantrell’s guitar playing is still a thing of beauty, utilizing stark acoustic guitar against hard riffs and cutting solos, and new member William DuVall, who plays guitar and shares vocals with Cantrell, thankfully never succumbs to the temptation of trying to mimic Staley.

Cantrell and DuVall attempt to answer any criticism on disc opener “All Secrets Known” with the chorus, “There’s no going back to the place we started from.”

On the heavy side are “Check My Brain,” the diverse “A Looking In View,” and midtempo cuts “Lessons Learned” and “Private Hell.” They also offer dark acoustic tracks in “Your Decision” and the eastern-flavored “When The Sun Rose Again.”

The disc is strong and reminiscent of the 1992 classic “Dirt” — but something is indeed missing. Staley’s tortured persona was a big part of Alice in Chains’ identity and, sadly, such a loss is something even a great band can’t recover from.

— John Kosik, Associated Press

‘brand new eyes’

Paramore (Fueled By Ramen/Atlantic)

Grade: B

Five pop-punks who went to platinum on a sinking ship (a misery business, you could say) in 2007 with actual MTV hits and actual word of mouth (on an indie, no less) have something to celebrate. That one began with “For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic.” This one’s less optimistic; the first single’s called “Ignorance” (“is your new best friend”). Hope it’s not about fame (“you treat me just like another stranger”) — that would undercut its melodic slash-and-burn, in this case somewhat flamenco-tinged. So far, the tracks they’ve released as singles very much outclass the ones they haven’t, particularly the Rock Band special “That’s What You Get.”

Hayley Willams isn’t a world-class front woman yet, not by a long shot. But she does elevate a cheapened and thin-spread genre with a Pat Benatar-sized clarity and gravity set to give her a huge hit ballad the day she’s ready to sing one. For now, she’s content to add some feminine muscle to her male sidemen’s work. New songs such as “Playing God,” “Feeling Sorry,” and “Where the Lines Overlap” substitute clever chords for personality and anthemic turns for old cliches. Then again, a serious Christian who entrusts a bonus track to the “Twilight” teen-vampire franchise has some chutzpah.

— Dan Weiss, Philadelphia Inquirer