RECORD REVIEWS

April 10, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Robbie Robertson

Album: “How to Become Clairvoyant” (429 Records)

Grade: A

Robbie Robertson returns after a break of more than a decade between solo albums with the triumphant “How to Become Clairvoyant,” a reflective and moving collaboration with Eric Clapton.

Robertson, the lead songwriter and guitarist for The Band before leaving the group in 1976, has been far from prolific in his solo career. “Clairvoyant” is just his fifth solo release since 1987, but it’s worth the wait.

While his two most recent solo records explored his Mohawk ancestry, “Clairvoyant” delves into his musical past.

“Straight Down the Line” starts the record off with a kick as Robertson, in his whispery growl of a voice, tells the story of advice he got from an old blues man years ago on the chitlin’ circuit. “When the Night Was Young,” the perfect follow and perhaps the record’s best track, reflects on Robertson’s youthful idealism.

Robertson was urged on to make the record by Clapton, who co-wrote three of the songs and performs on seven including the haunting duet “Fear of Falling.” Robertson also gets help from Steve Winwood, Tom Morello, Robert Randolph and Trent Reznor.

While it’s a group effort, “Clairvoyant” is most certainly Robertson’s record.

— Scott Bauer, Associated Press

WIZ KHALIFA

Album: “Rolling Papers” (Atlantic)

Grade: B

The only thing Wiz Khalifa loves more than smoking weed, spending money and pulling birds is his hometown, Pittsburgh. Or so his music says.

The 23-year-old is a veritable college of knowledge when it comes to dope, ladies and the “Black and Yellow,” the title of his dippy recent hit, flashily produced by Stargate and dedicated to the Steelers.

For his first Atlantic CD, the wise and affable lyricist with the coolly dramatic flow snaps and raps on these subjects, as he did on previous CDs and famed mix tapes. What makes “Rolling Papers” different or better than those projects? Practice. And little more, which is fine. Like a less slippery Snoop Dogg, Khalifa mines the nooks and crannies of marijuana (“Roll Up”) like a pearl diver. Hip-hop’s competitive nature and newfound successes get their daring due throughout. Still, “Papers”’ best track, the cutting “Rooftops,” finds Wiz battling another of rap’s best new MCs, Curren$y. It’s lonely at the top. Nice of Wiz to bring a friend.

— A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer

INXS

Album: “Original Sin” (Atco Records)

Grade: C

In life, we rarely get a do-over. In music, it’s more common, but not always for the better.

INXS’ new album “Original Sin” sees the Australian rockers revisit songs they wrote in their 1980s-’90s heyday and re-record them with a roster of guest vocalists, including Ben Harper, Rob Thomas and Nikka Costa.

The project is billed as a tribute to the band’s core songwriting tandem, keyboardist Andrew Farriss and lead singer Michael Hutchence, who died in 1997.

But the reworked songs mostly fail to wring something new and interesting out of the familiar.

“Original Sin” isn’t the first time INXS has brought in different voices to fill the musical void left by Hutchence’s passing.

In years past, the group turned to Terence Trent D’Arby and Jon Stevens to front the band for live shows. And in 2005, it went on a TV reality program to find a permanent singer, landing one-time Elvis impersonator J.D. Fortune.

INXS recorded the album “Switch” with Fortune and took to the road to promote it, moves that suggested the band was finally at a point where it would be focusing on recording new material again.

Instead, six years later, INXS serves up reworked versions of some of its best-known tracks of yesteryear, including “Don’t Change,” “Never Tear Us Apart” and “New Sensation.”

Some of the changes pleasantly surprise, like the string arrangement and percussion changeup on the excellent “Never Tear Us Apart.” Or on “Kick,” which gets a thorough modern pop ballad makeover with the aid of vocals from Costa. The arrangement blurs nearly all traces of the song’s origins, yet stands on its own.

Still, the musical overhaul doesn’t always work, as in the tropical dance-remix approach to the song “Original Sin,” which includes a Spanish-language rap. Or the retooling of “Mystify” into a spacey ballad with bluesy guitar splashes from John Mayer and vocals by French singer Loane — in French.

With a couple of notable exceptions, the tracks on “Original Sin” mainly foster new appreciation for the original recordings.

— Alex Veiga, Associated Press

SNOOP DOGG

Album: “Doggumentary” (Priority/EMI)

Grade: B

Will anyone else release an album this year that features Willie Nelson, E-40, Gorillaz, and forgotten Cali rapper Kokane? Unlikely — and it certainly won’t match what Snoop Dogg does on “Doggumentary,” his 11th solo album.

Taking a cue from 2009’s hit “I Wanna Rock,” Snoop relies on familiar, feel-good melodies to remind us he’s still here, producing his bounciest, breeziest material ever. (“Boom” samples Yazoo’s synth-pop hit “Situation” to great effect.) Part ode to L.A., part legacy tribute, Doggumentary fills the weed and pimp quotas through a lot of guest spots, but it evolves Snoop’s agenda, too.

There’s space-age reggae in “Sumthin’ Like This Night,” a collaboration with Gorillaz, and a taste of mortality on “Eyez Closed.” The dog is showing his gray, but he still has a few tricks left.

— Michael Pollock, Philadelphia Inquirer

Anna Wilson & Friends

Album: “Countrypolitan Duets” (Transfer)

Grade: B

No matter how far contemporary country music wanders from its traditional roots, its leading stars almost always cherish a chance to sing an old-time country standard. Anna Wilson, a popular jazz-influenced vocalist based in Nashville, offers a new twist on that classic theme: She and several Nashville stars, and a few legendary figures, team up for jazzed-up takes on well-known tunes.

Wilson’s “Countrypolitan Duets” highlights tasteful, lounge-style arrangements, lush with strings, tinkling piano keys, brushed drums, and the occasional brassy, Ray Charles-style finger-snapper.

The members of Lady Antebellum provide harmonies on a swinging “Walkin’ After Midnight”; a B3-organ and fat-note guitar set a smoky atmosphere for Keith Urban’s duet on “Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues”; and Kenny Rogers trades verses on a playful version of “For The Good Times,” which slides from a piano-and-guitar ballad to a strings-and-brass show stopper.

Wilson has a full-toned, honeyed voice reminiscent of a 1950s pop-jazz singer like Rosemary Clooney, and she toys with tempo and phrasing like the superb pros of yesteryear.

Nothing here is as challenging as Cassandra Wilson’s artful deconstructions of classic American songs; but for those who miss Bing, Frank and Ella and the debonair way they could swing a well-written composition, Wilson has gift-wrapped a Southern-styled present for you.

— Michael McCall, Associated Press

THE RAVEONETTES

Album: “Raven in the Grave”

Grade: B

With a growing number of indie rockers like the Dum Dum Girls and Crystal Stilts following their lead, The Raveonettes take a left turn on “Raven in the Grave” (Vice).

Instead of the Jesus and Mary Chain-influenced noise-pop from their previous four albums, this time out Sharin Foo’s sweet vocals no longer need to cut through the droning guitars of Sune Rose Wagner. They’re actually generally propped up by pillowy synths and poppier guitar riffs.

Maybe the biggest surprise is “Forget That You’re Young,” which owes more to Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” than anything on “Psychocandy.” Foo’s pretty vocals drive the song essentially unimpeded, as the duo asks “Can I fall awake now?”

That doesn’t mean The Raveonettes have abandoned their love of the melodic simplicity of The Ronettes — the inspiration for their name — but the Wall of Sound is down for most of “Raven in the Grave.” It’s replaced on “Recharge & Reload” with a backdrop that’s somewhere between Smashing Pumpkins circa “1979” and New Order around “Low Life.” On “Ignite,” Wagner and Foo’s vocals channel ’90s shoegazers while the music sounds straight out of the Echo and the Bunnymen catalog.

“Raven in the Grave” is quite a departure for The Raveonettes, who had been honing their insular sound for years. But the fresh air of new influences seems to have done them good.

— Glenn Gamboa, Long Island Newsday