record reviews

July 17, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

JILL SCOTT

Album: “The Light of the Sun” (Blues Babe)

Grade: B

Jill Scott’s fourth album — her first to reach No. 1 on the Billboard album chart — puts her positivity to the test. And therein lies the power of “The Light of the Sun.” Recorded at The Studio in Philadelphia, it finds the North Philly native, now based in Los Angeles, dealing with adversity as she raises her son as a single parent, and shows her to be vulnerable in heretofore unheard ways. “I am so afraid for me,” she sings in “Hear My Call,” the piano-and-strings plaint that is at “Light’s” emotional core.

But don’t think for a second that Jilly from Philly is going to let the hard times get her down. Instead, “Light” is, for the most part, a hard-fought party record, as the ever-more-confident vocalist and rhymer goes old-school soul on “So In Love” with Anthony Hamilton, old school hip-hop with Doug E. Fresh on “All Cried Out Redux,” and, with the help of Philadelphia rapper Eve, cuts to the chase on the delightfully funkified “Shame” with a crucial question: “What you so scared of me for? I’m just a woman.”

— Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Album: “Red Hot + Rio 2” (E 1 Entertainment)

Grade: B+

The Red Hot Organization benefited HIV/AIDS charities with adventurous multi-artist tribute albums before the idea became fashionable. Cole Porter, Fela Kuti and the Beat Generation have been made Red Hot. So was Brazil’s bossa nova sound in the first smooth installment of “Red Hot + Rio.”

For “Rio 2,” the Red Hot crew ups its own ante and heads into the rougher wilds of Brazil for the psychedelic sonic whirl of Tropicalia and some of its best compositions, such as “Pistis Sophia,” done by its legendary writer, Rita Lee.

There are moments when alterna-acts such as oompah cabaret sensations Beirut and neo-soul vocalists Alice Smith + Aloe Blacc tackle favorites of the genre, such as Caetano Veloso’s “O Leaozinho” and “Baby,” respectively. Veloso himself can be heard throughout the set, paired with programmer Prefuse 73 and Red Hot veteran David Byrne on several tracks. On occasion the songs are newer — such as John Legend’s flavorful “Love I’ve Never Known.” “Rio 2” really zings when it pairs gringos (Beck, of Montreal, Devendra Banhart) with native Tropicalistas (Seu Jorge, Os Mutantes, and Maria Monte) for some vivid reimaginings. Mainly, Rio 2 does whatever it pleases — just like Tropicalia.

— A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer

CURREN$Y

Album: “Weekend at Burnie’s” (Warner)

Grade: C+

Curren$y sounds as Curren$y as ever, if you need to know how listenable the new “official mix tape” “Weekend at Burnie’s” is. But as subtly as last year’s two Pilot Talk albums distanced themselves from typical weed-obsessed G-funk, “Weekend at Burnie’s” is subtly typical. Curren$y’s endearing airplane obsession is betrayed on the opening “Jetsgo” by a bus, a Lamborghini, and a Ferrari (the line to be a co-host on “Car Talk” forms behind every other rapper, dude). The production, from Monsta Beatz and Mobb Deep’s Havoc, feels like an imitation of Pilot Talk’s Ski Beatz without the imagination or space to stretch out. Curren$y still wins crucial cute-points for bragging about playing “Black Ops” and anointing himself the “cuddle master” in bed. But there’s supposed to be cake with that icing.

— Dan Weiss, Philadelphia Inquirer

ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER

Album: “Last Summer” (Merge)

Grade: B

The Fiery Furnaces began their career with jaunty, singsong tunes on 2003’s “Gallowsbird’s Bark,” but Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger quickly revealed they had more experimental ambitions. The siblings’ numerous subsequent albums were often dense and challenging (and rewarding). “Last Summer,” Eleanor’s solo debut, goes back to where “Gallowsbird’s” left off, with compact, catchy and conventionally structured songs.

Comparatively. There’s still a lot of Fiery Furnaces quirkiness to “Last Summer,” and its keyboard-driven tunes often have a stream-of-consciousness rush to them, although buoyed by echoes of early ’60s pop, with occasional hand claps, talk- singing narrations, or wall-of-sound density. The songs are full of geographically specific references and internal dialogues, as if entries from a breathless travel journal. Those of us with a fondness for the Furnaces’ more accessible sides, especially Eleanor’s conversational, commanding voice, will be pleased.

— Steve Klinge, Philadelphia Inquirer

DAVID BROMBERG

Album: “Use Me” (Appleseed)

Grade: B

As a guitar virtuoso (and master of other stringed instruments), David Bromberg has drawn a who’s who of admirers over a career that began in the ’60s and has included work as both sideman and solo act. Bromberg calls on several of them for “Use Me.”

The album is a roots smorgasbord that showcases Bromberg’s impressive range: horn-laced R&B and rambling jug band with Levon Helm; blues with Keb’ Mo’; Crescent City funkiness with Dr. John; acoustic country-folk with Tim O’Brien; brisk honky-tonk with Vince Gill; and bluesy rock with Widespread Panic.

Bromberg doesn’t have a conventionally strong or attractive voice, but he does have an engagingly unaffected manner and knows how to get to the heart of a song. He delivers moving versions of a quintessential John Hiatt ballad, a poignant Los Lobos tale, and Brook Benton’s “It’s Just a Matter of Time,” with Linda Ronstadt. Underscoring the respect he has earned in the business, for the Bill Withers title song, Bromberg was able to get Philadelphia’s Butcher Brothers (Phil and Joe Nicolo) to produce a track together for the first time in years.

— Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer