record reviews

Bruno Mars

Album: “Unorthodox Jukebox” (Atlantic Records)

Grade: B

Bruno Mars likes to mix it up. Almost every song on his second album dabbles in a different genre

The 27-year-old singer-songwriter- producer shows growing sophistication, musically and lyrically, on “Unorthodox Jukebox,” a retro-pop collection of 10 tracks with elements of rock, funk, country and reggae. There’s even a heartbreaking piano ballad.

Mars hinted at his versatility on his 2010 debut, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans,” a set of love songs that yielded the hit singles “Grenade” and “Just the Way You Are,” which won a Grammy Award.

He draws from a broader range of musical influences here, recalling Michael Jackson, Parliament and even The Police. And there’s still love, but also lots of sex.

He channels Prince on “Gorilla,” all prowess and desire. “You got your legs up in the sky,” Mars sings. “You know what I like. You’re a dirty little lover.”

He proclaims “your sex takes me to paradise” on the ‘80s-tinged single “Locked Out of Heaven.” And on the island-style reggae tune “Show Me,” he urges his lover: “You say you’re a woman who knows what she likes, then show me.”

But a man cannot live on sex alone.

The heartfelt “If I Knew” is reminiscent of a gently country “Teen Angel,” and Mars is at his best on the bare piano ballad “When I Was Your Man.”

“My pride, my ego, my needs and my selfish ways caused a good, strong woman like you to walk out my life,” he sings, full of regret. “Now I’ll never get to clean up the mess I made, and it haunts me every time I close my eyes.”

—Sandy Cohen, Associated Press

Green Day

Album: “Uno,” “Dos” and “Tre” (Reprise Records)

Grade: not graded

As record sales continue to wane, one has to wonder the logic behind separately releasing a trilogy of albums over the course of three months. Maybe when you’re a punk band coming off a pair of hugely successful concept albums turned into a Broadway smash, you do things a little differently. Still, it’s an unusual way to release your ninth, tenth and eleventh studio albums.

“Tre,” the final installment of the trilogy, out this week, is a bit more diverse than the others, with a slightly mellower and more mature sound that embraces a variety of styles. Imagine 1997’s “Nimrod,” but with more songs like “Good Riddance [Time of Your Life].” Look no further than the opening and closing tracks to sum it up. There’s the country blues-inspired “Brutal Love” to start, and the piano ballad “The Forgotten” to end.

While a common thread runs through the trilogy, each record is distinctly different.

The first, “Uno,” returns the band to its pre-“American Idiot” sound with a dozen rocking songs that are melodic and highly energetic. The songs are also more mature, with themes like married men on the brink of infidelity. Standout tracks on this riffy guitar assault include “Fell For You” and “Oh Love.”

“Dos” attempts to capture the no-frills sound of a garage rock band but feels like a drop-off after “Uno.” Some of the tracks work well, namely “Stray Heart” and “Lady Cobra,” but others don’t fire on all cylinders.

Overall, this installment of the trilogy shows another direction of the band’s evolution.

—John Carucci, Associated Press

‘Nashville’

Album: “The Music Of Nashville: Original Soundtrack” (Big Machine)

Grade: C

Among the characteristics the network TV drama “Nashville” gets right about its namesake city is the music. Guided by musical director T Bone Burnett, the new series presents a passable and often entertaining facsimile of country radio hits as well as samples of the less commercial side of the city’s music scene.

The hourlong evening soap features vocals by several of its main characters. The most convincing work comes from an upstart acoustic duo played by Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio, best represented on the album by “If I Didn’t Know Better,” and a rising starlet portrayed with convincing fierceness by Hayden Panettiere, who has received radio airplay for her pop-country dance tune “Telescope.”

Actors Connie Britton and Charles Esten, as a veteran country star and her longtime guitarist, don’t have the vocal chops of the top singers in Music City. But they perform well enough onstage (especially on the ballad “No One Will Ever Love You”) while displaying their dramatic talents when the microphones are off.

The biggest musical disappointment is the shaggy rocker Jonathan Jackson, who lacks the charisma of the others. On the soundtrack, he fails to sharpen the edge of “Twist of Barbwire,” an Elvis Costello composition.

Still, most of the recordings on the “Nashville” soundtrack rate with what Music City regularly produces — thereby achieving the show’s goal.

—Michael McCall, Associated Press

The Game

Album: “Jesus Piece” (Interscope Records)

Grade: B

The Game returns with a heavy dose of guest appearances on his fifth offering, including Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Jamie Foxx and 2 Chainz. But like his last album, “The R.E.D. Album,” he isn’t outshined by any of the features on “Jesus Piece.”

With his hoarse delivery, Game’s words are full of bravado, his topics are concise and his rhymes are easy to digest on these well-produced tracks. That’s certainly evident on “Pray,” featuring J. Cole and JMSN, where the Game tells a compelling story about being a “guardian angel” for a woman struggling with drug abuse.

On “Can’t Get Right,” featuring K. Roosevelt, Game is in confession mode. He raps about his struggles to avoid the fast life and envisions through a nightmare that his mentor, Dr. Dre, was shot as a gospel choir sings background.

Game is able to mesh his brash raps while talking about his trials of spiritual growth — especially on “Heaven’s Arms” and “See No Evil,” with Kendrick Lamar and Tank.

But the album takes a wrong turn on “Hallelujah,” where Game opens the song praising God with the use of profanity, rapping about the struggle to overcome his worldly desires during church services. Some have said the song is offensive, but don’t let this particular track overshadow the rest of this quality album.

—Jonathan Landrum Jr., Associated Press