RECORD REVIEWS

June 19, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

MADELEINE PEYROUX

Album: “Standing on the Rooftop” (Emarcy/Decca)

Grade: B+

“Standing on the Rooftop” has two big advantages over Madeleine Peyroux’s last couple of albums. First, her songwriting skills come closer than ever to equaling her considerable interpretive talents; second, she has drafted guitarist Marc Ribot, with whom she worked on her 1996 debut, “Dreamland,” to provide unexpected twists to the spacious, atmospheric arrangements.

Peyroux can be jaunty on “Don’t Pick a Fight with a Poet,” sassy on “The Kind You Can’t Afford,” and introspective on “Ophelia,” while maintaining her jazzy, light, but smoldering touch.

— Steve Klinge, Philadelphia Inquirer

THE FEELIES

Album: “Here Before” (Bar None)

Grade: B

“Is it too late to do it again / or should we wait another ten?” sings Glenn Mercer to open “Here Before,” the first Feelies album in a decade, and the Haledon, N.J., quintet picks up right where it left off. The Feelies began their career with two classics, 1980’s perpetually twitchy “Crazy Rhythms” and 1986’s placidly strummy “The Good Earth,” before settling somewhere in between for 1988’s “Only Life” and 1991’s “Time for a Witness.” Now we have “Here Before.”

It’s great to hear the interplay between Bill Million’s rapid acoustic strumming and Mercer’s judicious electric leads on “Later On” and “Should Be Gone”; it’s just like old times, when the Feelies rivaled R.E.M., at least among the cognoscenti. While some of Mercer’s garage-psych songs never quite jell — “Time Is Right” careens but doesn’t take off — “Here Before” is a worthy addition to an undervalued legacy.

— Steve Klinge, Philadelphia Inquirer

THURSTON MOORE

Album: “Demolished Thoughts” (Matador)

Grade: B+

Thurston Moore, cocreator of Sonic Youth, has two faces when it comes to solo albums: atonal noise and reflective mood music. That double mind-set certainly figures large in his work with the Youth. But in his solo work, it’s even more pronounced. “Demolished Thoughts” is soft, psychedelic chamber-folk — delicate, potent, subtle pastoral music both miles away from Youth but not so distant you couldn’t imagine it on a Sonic Youth album such as “Washing Machine.”

On “Thoughts,” Moore has brought in producer Beck, an artist with his own brand of mellowed-out, folksy complexity (think “Sea Change”). Moore and Beck come up with tremulous electronic textures that waft through the shimmering strings of “Blood Never Lies” and “Illuminine” and the dark drone of “Mina Loy.”

Violinist Samara Lubelski and Philadelphia harpist Mary Lattimore provide the strings. Along with the ruminative “Benediction” and Moore’s Fahey-like plucking throughout, “Demolished Thought’s” finest moments include the crinkly tone poem “Circulation” and the verbal riffs on the New York he loves on “Orchard Street.” The whole thing is so lustrous and comfortable you feel as if you’re intruding on something private.

— A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer

ELVIN BISHOP

Album: “Raisin’ Hell Revue” (Delta Groove)

Grade: B

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Album: “Legendary Rhythm and Blues Revue” (Alligator)

Grade: B

These two multiartist live albums serve as a great advertisement for the floating party that is the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise.

Elvin Bishop’s “Raisin’ Hell Revue,” recorded entirely at sea, finds the pioneering blues-rocker in his element, generating a good time with a bunch of musically accomplished friends. The irrepressible singer-guitarist starts out with the zydeco/Bo Diddley thump of “Callin’ All Cows,” gets serious with the raw-blues social commentary of “What the Hell Is Goin’ On?,” and pays tribute to Albert Collins with some good-humored personal reminiscences and the late bluesman’s “Dyin’ Flu.”

Bishop shares the spotlight with Finis Tasby, who steps nimbly through a jazzy take on Percy Mayfield’s “River’s Invitation.” And John Nemeth, one of the best of the young soul-blues vocalists, easily steps into the Mickey Thomas role for a topflight take on Bishop’s lone hit, “Fooled Around and Fell in Love.”

Tommy Castro, who has developed into an absolutely commanding soul-blues triple threat (singer, guitar player, writer), is the host and main attraction on “Legendary Rhythm and Blues Revue,” recorded partly at sea and partly on a tour inspired by the cruise. Castro’s killer contributions include his own “Wakeup Call” and “Painkiller” and Dylan’s “Gotta Serve Somebody.”

— Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer