Record reviews

BEYONC

Album: “4”

Grade: B

Beyonc has reached a point in her career where she is in control. She can do what she wants. However, “4” (Columbia) shows why that’s not necessarily a good idea.

It’s not that “4” is bad. It just seems haphazardly made. The odd “1+1” goes from soul ballad to Prince-ly guitar solo for no good reason. The overwrought “Rather Die Young” stretches to be a late ’70s soul jam and comes up short. Even worse is the self-important, Diane Warren-written ballad “I Was Here,” which features straight-up laughable lines like, “When I leave this world, I leave no regrets, leave something to remember so they won’t forget I was here.” And we’ve already seen how the edgy “Run the World [Girls]” has failed to connect in the way her other envelope-pushing hits like “Crazy in Love” or “Single Ladies” have.

Those mistakes overwhelm some good songs, including the current single, “Best I Never Had,” which covers the same ground as “Irreplaceable,” and the truly adventurous “Party,” an impressive old-school jam that Andre 3000 livens up and eventually steals from B. Even when she succeeds on a song, as she does on the Al Jarreau-ish “Love on Top,” it’s hard to understand what she was trying to prove.

Beyonc ’s “4” sounds like it was meant to be an album for her, which she’s certainly entitled to. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do much for everyone else.

— Glenn Gamboa, Newsday

Selena Gomez & the Scene

Album: “When the Sun Goes Down” (Hollywood Records)

Grade: C

There comes a point when a Disney or Nickelodeon star tries to make the transition to official recording artist. This is Selena Gomez’s moment. Musically speaking, Gomez is no Miley Cyrus or Vanessa Hudgens — that’s because she’s better. She’s got a decent voice, and showcased that on last year’s “A Year Without Rain,” a pop ballad that still sounds good.

There’s nothing as good as that on “When the Sun Goes Down,” Gomez’s third album with her band the Scene. “Who Says,” a song about self-worth, is the best track. It’s the lead single, but there aren’t any other songs like it. For the rest of the disc Gomez is typical, offering radio-friendly tunes about “dancing forever” and partying till “the sun goes down.” How original.

Gomez gets help from some heavyweights: She has writing credits from Britney Spears and Katy Perry, but those tunes sound like leftovers.

She’s better off collaborating with singers who have yet to reach diva stardom: Singer-songwriter Priscilla Renea co-wrote “Who Says,” and English singer Pixie Lott lends a hand on the enjoyable groove “We Own the Night.”

— Mesfin Fekadu, Associated Press

Billy Ray Cyrus

Album: “I’m American” (Buena Vista/Disney)

Grade: B

Billy Ray Cyrus seemed to lack musical inspiration on recent albums. His country albums took different directions, none of them creating a stir, and the veteran started a rock band that never took off.

So offering a patriotic album could come off as a desperate maneuver. But by featuring sensitive songs about soldiers and their families, “I’m American” serves up Cyrus’ best collection since before he became known as Miley’s dad.

The title song rocks with a 1970s stomp, but most of the album goes for a midtempo setting, subtly focusing attention on the drama in the lyrics. Cyrus consistently raises the flag for all the right reasons, from the opening “Runway Lights,” about a soldier yearning for what he misses at home, to “Nineteen,” about an all-star whose athletic talents gets him the most dangerous battlefield assignments.

The Kentucky native also revives “Some Gave All,” the title song from his 20-year-old debut album. He brings in Darryl Worley and two former soldiers, Jamey Johnson and Craig Morgan, giving extra weight to lyrics about the sacrifices the military make. The song holds up well today, deserving the fresh treatment.

— Michael McCall, Associated Press

Dolly Parton

Album: “Better Day” (Dolly Records/Warner Bros.)

Grade: D

Dolly Parton never has hesitated to gamble when following her heart. That’s why she’s reached such heights in her career, and it’s why occasional projects fail, sometimes in monumental fashion. “Better Day” isn’t monumental by any means, but it does highlight Parton’s periodic desire to make huge social statements.

“Better Day” finds one of music’s most dynamic personalities trying to inject some positivity in the world during these dire times. But she tries too hard for uplifting messages and grand musical arrangements. The music piles on choirs and crescendos, and the lyrics fall to platitudes and greeting-card generalities. It comes off as cheesy rather than meaty and substantial.

“These are wonderful times we are living in,” Parton sings on “In the Meantime.” While there can be plenty to savor about modern life, denying the strife weighing down the world seems too Pollyanna to have any meaning.

One of America’s most enduring artists can be excused for trying to use her songwriting to raise people up in an era of tension and tragedy. But unfortunately, “Better Day” lacks the common touch of Parton’s best work.

— Michael McCall, Associated Press

‘THE BOOK OF MORMON’

Album: Cast Recording (Ghostlight)

Grade: A

MUSIC FROM ‘SPIDER-MAN’: TURN OFF THE DARK

Album: Cast Recording (Interscope)

Grade: B

Two toasts of the Great White Way just released their cast recordings. Both productions come from upstart Broadway newcomers, each dangerous for different reasons.

“South Park’s” razor-sharp satirists Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with “Avenue Q” co-author Robert Lopez, wrote the music, book and lyrics for the Tony-winning “Mormon.” It lampoons organized religion and big Broadway shtick while showing love for those same musical forms and missionaries who blaze trails into uncharted lands. “Mormon” is engagingly lyrical, melodically contagious, and surprisingly not mean-spirited, even in songs such as “Hasa Diga Eebowai,” which curses the Almighty in Ugandan obscenities.

By now the destructive pitfalls of “Spider-Man’s” months of previews are the stuff of legend. Luckily, little of that mess translates to the show’s songs, penned by Bono and The Edge and produced by U2’s longtime collaborator Steve Lillywhite. Don’t expect “Achtung Baby.” The music is more atmospheric than melodic, and features stabs at snappy jazz and schmaltzy cabaret. The lyrics tell an origin story similar to “Spider-Man,” the celebrated first Spidey flick. Although in “Picture This,” the composers perform their usual angst-ridden brand of bruised rock, Reeve Carney, who sings the lead role of Spidey, takes command throughout and avoids doing a lame Bono impersonation.

— A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Album: “Rave on Buddy Holly” (Hear Music)

Grade: A

Music supervisor Randall Poster reeled in a whale of a lineup for “Rave on Buddy Holly,” an uncommonly good tribute album to the Lubbock, Texas, wonder who left behind a songbook of staggering quality when he died in a plane crash in 1959 at age 22. The Black Keys, Cee Lo Green, Patti Smith, John Doe, Justin Townes Earle, My Morning Jacket, Nick Lowe, Florence and the Machine — the list goes on. More to the point, pretty much every interpretation — from Fiona Apple and Jon Brion’s “Everyday” to Kid Rock’s “Well All Right” — tweaks the original arrangement just enough while retaining Holly’s essential innocence. The only real misstep is Paul McCartney’s take on “It’s So Easy,” which kicks up an impressive “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road”-style ruckus before losing focus on a strangely unhinged spoken interlude.

— Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer

TAKING BACK SUNDAY

Album: “Taking Back Sunday”

Grade: A

It’s a testament to Taking Back Sunday’s talent that the Long Island band can turn essentially a transition album into something that sounds this good. “Taking Back Sunday” (Warner Bros.) is filled with all sorts of styles — the hard-rocking “El Paso,” the pop-tastic “Faith [When I Let You Down],” the nod to their emo past “Best Places to Be a Mom,” a look at a potential R.E.M.-like future in “Sad Savior” and the touching ballad “Call Me in the Morning” — all handled well.

— Glenn Gamboa, Newsday