Record Reviews

Blondie

Album: “Pollinator”

Grade: B

Blondie updates their sound of recent years on “Pollinator” by returning to some familiar and successful foundations.

Joan Jett joins the band on opener “Doom or Destiny,” one of the few tracks written by Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein, but its thump sets the right tone.

“Long Time,” penned by Harry and Devonte Hynes (Blood Orange), is a “Heart of Glass” offshoot and mentions the Bowery, the home of club CBGB where Blondie was an early performer along with the Ramones, Patti Smith and Television, to name a few.

The nostalgia is justified, “running circles round a night that never ends.”

“Already Naked” also evokes classic Blondie vibrations circa 1979, while Dave Sitek from TV on the Radio contributes “Fun” whose Nile Rodgers-like guitar and disco chorus sounds ripe for a Scissor Sisters cover, should they return.

Closer “Fragments” starts and ends in a cloud of gloom but the band, propelled by drummer Clem Burke and Harry’s passionate vocals, pulls out the stops during a vigorous middle section.

At nearly seven minutes long, there’s plenty of time for the mood changes and it should be a highlight of their shows.

—Pablo Gorondi, Associated Press

Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’

Album: “TajMo”

Grade: B

The first collaboration by Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ – the trailblazer and his by-now experienced disciple – is an easy listen.

It’s as a blues album when “TajMo” sounds best, like Mo’s resonator guitar on Sleepy John Estes’ “Diving Duck Blues,” Billy Branch’s harmonica on opener “Don’t Leave Me Here” and the gruff vocal combination on “She Knows How to Rock Me.”

Mo’s songs often take the music in other directions. “Om Sweet Om” features exquisite guest vocalist Lizz Wright and a refrain with a sunny, James Taylor-like disposition, while “All Around the World” has Quentin Ware’s trumpet solo to accentuate its optimistic outlook, also anchored in pop sounds.

Mahal is a golden musical reservoir who also helped Mo’ (born Kevin Moore) get his first recording contract, while Mo’s roots as an acoustic bluesman are part of a musical identity where pop and other sounds also get their due.

“TajMo” is an apparent contradiction in terms, mostly uplifting blues. If there’s a follow-up – perhaps “Keb’Mahal”? – there are plenty of other bluesy moods left to explore.

—Pablo Gorondi, Associated Press