record reviews

June 27, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

MACY GRAY

Album: “The Sellout”

Grade: A+

Instead of chasing pop hits to reignite her career, Macy Gray decided to fill “The Sellout” (Concord) with music she liked. She probably won’t be alone in appreciating this collection of upbeat, up-tempo, soul-tinged pop numbers.

The first single, “Beauty in the World,” is a straight-up pop anthem — a foot-stomping, hand-clapping sing-along about blue skies and sweet music. “Kissed It” is a stadium-rocker, while “That Man” twists an Amy Winehouse retro-soul vibe around some clever lyrics. It’s all so well crafted that Gray should be converting “The Sellout” into sold-out shows in no time.

— Glenn Gamboa, Long Island Newsday

MILEY CYRUS

Album: “Can’t Be Tamed”

Grade: C+

The real issue with Miley Cyrus’ new “Can’t Be Tamed” (Hollywood) album isn’t how suggestively the 17-year-old is dancing or her midriff-baring, no-longer-a-girl pics. It’s how confused she sounds. When Cyrus is focused, as she is on the Ke$ha-riffic AutoTuned adventure “Permanent December” and the rebellious, if monotoned, Britney Spears-ish dance number “Robot,” she’s hard to resist. When she’s wandering through a karaoke-grade version of “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” or the loopy Jason DeRulo rip-off “Liberty Walk,” where Cyrus raps, she’s hard to take seriously. At this point, maybe she should still be tamed a little.

— Glenn Gamboa, Long Island Newsday

Robert Randolph and the Family Band

Album: “We Walk This Road”

Grade: A

Robert Randolph didn’t earn his well-deserved reputation through subtlety.

Schooled on the pedal steel guitar in the House of God Church, Randolph’s blazing virtuosity has been nothing short of breathtaking on his two previous studio efforts — 2003’s “Unclassified” and the 2006 follow-up “Colorblind.”

On The Family Band’s third release, “We Walk This Road” (Warner Bros.), Randolph pushes his instrument — referred to as Sacred Steel in the Pentecostal Church — to the background, showcasing an effective less-is-more approach.

Randolph’s style remains unclassifiable, mixing gospel, blues, country, rock and funk into an irresistible blend, and veteran producer T Bone Burnett gives Randolph’s guitar a haunting quality that perfectly suits the midtempo flow of the disc. Randolph’s leads never dominate but remain outstanding, and his vocals are heartfelt and melodic throughout.

Highlights include the moody “Back to the Wall,” the soulfully sweet “I Still Belong to Jesus,” an uplifting closer in “Salvation” and two fantastic covers that Randolph makes his own: Bob Dylan’s “Shot of Love” and John Lennon’s “I Don’t Want to be a Soldier.”

— John Kosik, Associated Press

Sia

Album: “We Are Born”

Grade: A

While many contemporary singers try desperately to create the next big party song, Sia — with little effort — easily wins with the infectious jam “Bring Night.”

That’s just one of the many gems on her fourth studio release, “We Are Born” (Jive/Monkey Puzzle). It’s the follow-up to 2008’s “Some People Have Real Problems,” a brilliantly crafted CD that was morose and downbeat.

But Sia switches it up on her latest effort — and change has never been better.

“Clap Your Hands,” with its killer hook, is addictive, as is the relationship anthem “The Fight,” which properly — and cheerfully — opens the disc.

Even when the 34-year-old’s not singing happy songs, like on “Stop Trying,” where she advises “We like you, this is a game already won,” the uptempo sound never fails.

She still leaves room for her touching ballads, too: The eerie-sounding “I’m In Here” and the exceptional “Be Good to Me” are both pleas to a lover. And there’s also a nicely done cover of Madonna’s “Oh Father.”

More than halfway past this year, “We Are Born” is surely one of the year’s brightest albums.

— Mesfin Fekadu, Associated Press

The Roots

Album: “How I Got Over”

Grade: A

Finally, the Roots album we’ve been waiting for. No offense to bandleader ?uestlove and emcee Black Thought — both will be remembered as among the greats — or any of the five CDs their fantastic rap band has released since the 1999 masterpiece “Things Fall Apart.” But in this era of impatience, those five albums had too many skippable songs.

That’s not the case with “How I Got Over” (Def Jam). It’s memorable as a whole, with a consistency that builds from track to track, the type of album where the songs hit harder in their intended sequence and context.

“How I Got Over” begins as a bleak, dystopian vision, full of disasters natural and self-inflicted. On “Dear God 2.0,” a haunting collaboration with Monsters of Folk, Black Thought is at his lyrical best: “Haters separate us like we Siamese/ technology turning the planet into zombies/everybody all in everybody’s dirty laundry/acid rain, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis/terrorists, crime sprees, assaults and robberies.” The Gulf oil spill will probably make the remix.

— Jesse Washington, Associated Press

The-Dream

Album: “Love King”

Grade: C

First, there was “Love Hate,” then there was “Love vs. Money,” and now with “Love King” (Island Def Jam), The-Dream proves he hasn’t lost his knack for catchy hooks and hypnotic bass lines. Like the album titles, the latest disc from the “Radio Killa” is an offshoot of The-Dream’s earlier work.

That means a generous use of auto-tune, and off-kilter, if not, downright awful lyrics.

“You can’t match a love like mine. It’s like trying to rob me with a BB-gun. But my love gets it poppin’ like the Taliban,” he sings on “Sex Intelligent.”

The-Dream hasn’t sunk to a new low; he’s never been known to make classics. Those who didn’t write him off several hit songs ago will likely have an ear out for his latest batch of songs, including “Sex Intelligent [Remix].”

The title track and second single, “Make Up Bag,” featuring T.I. could qualify as instant favorites. But “Yamaha” — which sounds like a spin on Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” — could be a tougher sell.

—Melanie Sims, Associated Press