‘Before the Frost ...’

‘Before the Frost ...’

The Black Crowes (Silver Arrow/Megaforce) Grade: B

Mainstream rock acts such as veteran Atlanta outfit the Black Crowes typically find better fortune on the road than on the sales charts. So it’s no surprise that in the last decade, brothers Chris and Rich Robinson have focused more on the live experience — both in performance and releasing recordings of various concerts — than sequestering themselves away in a studio honing new material.

They get the best of both worlds on this set of new songs recorded earlier this year in Woodstock live, for the most part, in front of a hand-selected audience.

Using the home studio built by the Band’s drummer, Levon Helm, apparently inspired them to branch further than they characteristically have into the various tributaries of American roots music. Those explorations feed into the Southern rock that remains at the center of the Black Crowes’ sound.

“Good Morning Captain,” the leadoff track, taps the same kind of big-footprint backbeat and raucous interplay that Helm and his cohorts did so well. The Robinsons — who are joined by the band’s original drummer, Steve Gorman, plus guitarist Luther Dickinson, bassist Sven Pipien and keyboardist Adam MacDougall with guest assistance from multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell — move through a range of classic-rock reference points: Creedence-like swamp-rock, Tom Petty-ish Americana, Motown-style psychedelia and, in “Make Glad,” an experiment in Southern prog-funk.

— Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times

‘Rebelution’

Pitbull (J Records)

Grade: B

If you’ve been out of the rap game longer than, oh, about 10 minutes, the next thing you do is invariably called a comeback. This is where Miami-based Pitbull posits himself, out to prove he is still a hitmaker with his latest album “Rebelution.”

Hits are measured in a multitude of ways, but suffice it to say this is a strong return to form for Mr. 305. It’s rap-infused dance music, with Pitbull’s signature bilingual (Spanish and English) blend of lyrics.

“Shut It Down [featuring Akon]” and “I Know You Want Me [Calle Ocho]” are guaranteed floor fillers. Heavy beats, sexy hooks and Pitbull’s snappy rap approach are a winning formula.

“R.I.P. are Big and Pac/ That he’s not but damn he’s hot,” Pitbull raps about Pitbull, on “I Know You Want Me,” serving notice not to bury his career just yet.

There’s no “Toma” here, his electrifying 2004 hit. But what is on “Rebelution” is solid, perfectly produced and should keep Pitbull tracks growling on the dance floor for years to come.

— Ron Harris, Associated Press

‘Ready’

Trey Songz (Songbook/Atlantic)

Grade: B

After making his name singing the hooks for rappers ranging from LL Cool J and The Game to Young Jeezy and Rick Ross, Trey Songz’s third album, “Ready” (Songbook/ Atlantic), shows his smooth R&B vocals can hold the spotlight all on their own. The single “I Need a Girl” displays a more flexible delivery than usual, somewhere between Usher and Justin Timberlake. That said, it’s still his collabos that will get the most attention, the future smash “Successful” with Drake and the clunky ode to text-love “LOL :-)” with Gucci Mane and Soulja Boy Tell ’Em.

— Glenn Gamboa, Long Island Newsday

‘Watch Me Fall’

Jay Reatard (Matador Records)

Grade: A

Memphis garage-rocker and home-recording expert Jay Reatard (no, it doesn’t rhyme with leotard) has made some exhilarating songs these last few years, gathered on a full-length debut (2006’s “Blood Visions”) and a pair of Matador singles collections. The energy’s the thing — Reatard marries the razor sharpness of punk with the manic thrill of glam — and his latest, “Watch Me Fall,” doesn’t lack for speed. Here, though, he’s more tuneful, and he seems to be writing with a sense of seriousness that borders, at times, on hopeful. Maybe it’s the polished production talking: Gone are the super-saturated guitars and drums and, unfortunately, some of the immediacy of Reatard’s earlier work. But the wonderfully unexpected mix of pop (“Hang Them All”), twee (“Wounded”) and tension (“Nothing Now”) leaves room for guessing what Reatard might do next, and the addictive moments (“It Ain’t Gonna Save Me”) are exciting right now.

— Michael Pollock, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘The Chair in the Doorway’

Living Colour (Megaforce)

Grade: B

At first glance, the last ’80s act you’d want to reunite is Living Colour. Though appreciated for its frenetic force and tear-down of rock’s lily-white color barrier, the black quartet was ultimately so much less than the sum of its parts.

Nimble-fingered guitarist Vernon Reid rarely got the opportunity to execute the avant-metal freak-outs he played for Defunkt and Ronald Shannon Jackson, progenitors of the jazzy punk-funk sound at which Reid excelled. Living Colour’s rhythm section could nail every curve Reid threw, but fascinatingly melodic pitches were rare. Corey Glover had powerful lungs and a poignant sense of sociopolitical lyricism, but came across as ham-fisted.

Breaking up in 1995 only to reunite in 2001 — did it matter? It does if you consider how truly vivid, diverse and barbed its new album is.

Capitalizing on well-rounded musicianship, Reid & Co. finally find the luster that was sorely missing from their catalog. Though they’ve toyed with blues previously, nothing was as holy and rolling as the sacred steel of “Bless Those.” And while the bonus of staunchly soulful song (“Behind the Sun”) makes “Chair” memorable, the blissful metal and Glover’s surprisingly approachable sermonizing on “DecaDance” and “Burning Bridges” make Living Colour sound effortless. Finally.

— A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer