Review: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' 'The Live Anthology'

It's invigorating to see musical veterans make the most of new opportunities. Earlier this year Neil Young issued the "Archives, Vol. I," a massive box set that utilized Blu-ray technology to give fans comprehensive access to 10 discs' worth of Young's early material.

Tom Petty, another classic rocker, has assembled an impressive collection of his live work with his band the Heartbreakers that's similar in spirit to Young's remarkable anthology if not quite as expansive.

At its simplest, "The Live Anthology" is a four-CD set featuring 48 live tracks that span the Florida rocker's career from 1978 through 2007. That version is a bargain, listing for $24.98 and available for less than $20 at Amazon.com and elsewhere. Where things get fun, though, is in the expanded versions that tap into the heightened aural quality of the Blu-ray disc format and the possibilities of the Web.

A box set being offered as a retail exclusive at Best Buy and on Petty’s official fan club site -- listing for $149.98 but discounted to just under $100 -- fleshes out the basic box with a 14-track fifth CD and one audio-only Blu-ray disc. The Blu-ray disc is said to be the first of its kind using only the audio capability of the high-end audio-visual system and includes all 62 tracks in high-resolution stereo and 5.1 surround sound.

The bigger box also has two DVDs, one with a never-released documentary on the group's 1995 "Wildflowers" tour by director Martyn Atkins, the other containing audio and video from the band's 1978 New Year's Eve show at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. There's also an LP of an "Official Live 'Leg" bootleg album. 

Album review: Susan Boyle's 'I Dreamed a Dream'

Since she first raised her arms in what now seems like a blessing on the talent show "Britain's Got Talent," revealing herself as the new queen of pop's Island of Misfit Toys, Susan Boyle has come to mean several things to her fans: hope, the triumph of the ordinary, the reality-television embodiment of the Euro-American Dream. As a singer, though, she offers something else: relief.

Boyle's clear but warm tone and stolid phrasing turns everything it touches into a more songful version of New Age music. It's relaxing to listen to those drawn-out syllables, gradually building toward a gentle, wavelike climax. Boyle possesses neither an impulse to swing nor an ounce of the blues; whether she's covering the Monkees, the Rolling Stones or Madonna, Boyle sings like she's in a place of worship, surrounded by white walls and soft light, cooking up some chicken soup for the soul.

Her unearthly calm and gently piercing timbre are her best qualities. It's what makes her version of the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" so touching. Instead of Mick Jagger's moaning, slightly derisive take on heartache, hers is truly resigned, the sound of someone who really understands and accepts life's limitations.

Album review: Lady Gaga's 'The Fame Monster'

Lady Gaga lives by the credo of "Go big or go home" -- that goes for her wardrobe, her choruses and her sexual innuendo. So it makes sense that in an age of skimpy cash-grab reissues, Gaga would buck the system with "The Fame Monster," a deluxe version of her 2008 debut that comes equipped with eight new tracks. The New York dance-pop diva is even selling the extra tunes as a standalone EP to avoid ripping off early adopters; by major-label standards, that's more value than you shake a disco stick at.

In her music videos and live shows over the past year, Gaga has worked hard to demonstrate her creative ambition and stylistic range, and that project continues on "The Fame Monster," which includes the turbocharged Euro-soul of lead single "Bad Romance," the bubbly, ABBA-style pop of "Alejandro" and "Speechless," and a sweeping glam-rock number seemingly modeled after David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" phase.

Album review: Rihanna's 'Rated R'

Judging by the arc of her still-young career, Rihanna is not what you'd call a "girl's girl." She began her professional ascent when, at 15, she dumped the gal pals in her vocal trio and moved to the U.S. to be closer to her male producer. Her mentor is hip-hop father figure Jay-Z; her main association with another female artist was with his longtime companion, Beyoncé, when rumors (later disproved) of a tryst between the younger singer and the mogul set the two up as rivals.

Her image evokes a style of female empowerment that predates and still stands outside of feminism: the lone female warrior who summons strength and endures danger to make progress in a man's world.

So it's ironic that, of all young female pop stars, it was Rihanna who became the subject of a classic feminist concern after an assault at the hand of her then-boyfriend, Chris Brown. At first she seemed unwilling (or unable) to embrace the role of advocate that's often assumed by prominent survivors of domestic violence, but apparently her sense of responsibility toward young women is what motivated her to finally leave Brown.

"Rated R," the album that will forever be viewed as Rihanna's statement on Brown's attack and her recovery, bears that burden of responsibility, but in a way that has little to do with conventional expressions of female liberation. Unlike Beyonce, who has an all-female band, or Christina Aguilera, who's often collaborated with the songwriter Linda Perry, or even Britney Spears, who's made a big show of being Madonna's inheritor, Rihanna still prefers working with men.

Aside from two songwriters who seem less than primary (one, Ester Dean, actually had a recent hit collaborating with Brown), the tracks here come from male producers and co-songwriters.

As much as it's a personal statement from Rihanna, "Rated R" also reflects how several of pop's male major players -- including Ne-Yo, Justin Timberlake, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, will.i.am -- responded to her accounts of what happened between her and Brown, and how she's moved on from the incident. (She's said in interviews that talking about it with her collaborators helped her work through the experience and turn it into art.) 

Album review: Adam Lambert's 'For Your Entertainment'

The 'Idol' runner-up goes for it all in his major label debut, with the help of the Hollywood pop A-list. The results are mixed, but never a bummer.

To point out Adam Lambert’s boutique addiction is to reinforce a gay stereotype, but Lambert himself enjoys playing around with preconceived notions, and that includes proudly showing that there's depth and self-awareness beyond those stereotypes. Lambert's other clear goal as a newly minted pop star is to celebrate all aspects of the word "play": pleasure, performance, flirtation, virtuosity, masquerade. That's what he does on this quickly assembled yet purposeful major label debut.

"For Your Entertainment" is a polished affair, but stylistically, it shows Lambert running loose like a kid in a Comme des Garçons store. With the Hollywood pop A-list at his disposal, he chose to go for it all: The only names missing from his list of collaborators are those firmly in the R&B camp (wouldn't it be great if he worked with fellow drama club type Ne-Yo?) The results on "FYE" are inevitably mixed, but never a bummer; Lambert's deft enough to avoid getting stuck in any one of the tropes he explores.

On many tracks, Lambert stretches himself by putting on the style of his more seasoned collaborators. He's pleading and soulful on the Pink co-write, sneering on the song Rivers Cuomo tossed his way, moody when it comes to parsing Muse and appropriately silly on the neo-glam crusher penned for him by Justin Hawkins, formerly of the English band the Darkness. Versatility is Lambert's strategy here, one he might consider changing in the future -- when the material's second-rate, it sinks him a bit. 

Album review: John Mayer's 'Battle Studies'

On the high-contrast black-and-white cover photo of John Mayer's latest studio album, the singer, songwriter and guitarist's hands are pulling at the collar of a thick winter coat. It seems as though he's trying to brace against the onset of frosty conditions; the overall effect is fairly Morrissey-esque.

That's no coincidence -- in themes and tone, Mayer shows a lot in common with the great romantic fatalist of '80s Brit pop: He's "Perfectly Lonely" in the song with that title, and he opens the collection with "Heartbreak Warfare," about the ways we hurt the ones we ostensibly love.

Musically he's exploring the moody territory of acts such as Coldplay and Snow Patrol; at the same time, he displays his debt to guitar heroes including David Gilmour, Eric Clapton and George Harrison.

For the most part, he expresses himself more eloquently through his guitar than his lyrics in the 10 of 11 songs he wrote. (Intriguingly, his version of Robert Johnson's blues classic "Crossroads" puts Clapton's signature blues-rock riff through effects processing that leaves it sounding like a keyboard.)

Why he decided to ape Dave Mathews in "Who Says," his ode to the benefits of escapism during down times, is anybody's guess, but it's set to a lovely country-rock shuffle. "Assassin" stretches the metaphor of a stealth killer too far, while "War of My Life" sets foot on U2's turf -- without the soul-deep passion of the Irish rockers. That deficit leaves many of the songs strangely uninvolving, despite the beauty of his melodies and empathetic production he and drummer Steve Jordan have given them.

The lesson of "Battle Studies"? If you're heading to war or in to love, better to take no prisoners.

-- Randy Lewis

John Mayer
"Battle Studies"
Columbia
Two and a half stars (Out of four)

Album review: Kris Allen's debut

Kris Allen finished in first place on the most recent season of "American Idol," but did he really win? If this fresh-faced Arkansan had been cut from the show a few weeks earlier than he was, it's easy to imagine his post-"Idol" debut delighting his loyal fans, many of whom would've been perfectly happy with -- horror of horrors -- an entire album of Fray covers.

Instead, in an incident that might someday inspire a probing investigative report on VH1, Allen somehow earned more votes than Adam Lambert, the single most compelling contestant in "Idol's" eight-season history. So now Allen's album arrives freighted with expectations, very few of which it's in a position to meet.

Coming from an unknown singer-songwriter type, "Kris Allen" might get over on its earnest charm; as the major-label bow from one of America's highest-profile pop stars, it's a snooze and a half.

Not surprisingly, given the caliber of songwriters and producers the "Idol" franchise attracts, there are highlights: "Before We Come Undone" rides a zippy electro-rock groove by Greg Kurstin of the Bird and the Bee, while the Mike Elizondo-helmed "Can't Stay Away" throbs like a not-bad Maroon 5 outtake. Allen co-wrote "Alright With Me" with Joe King of the Fray, and, believe it or not, it's actually the liveliest thing here, an up-tempo acoustic shuffle with a sort of low-cal "Hey Ya!" vibe.

Most of the material, though, tends toward a flavorless pop-rock sound that doesn't even do much to flatter Allen's appealingly rumpled vocals. Maybe next time he'll adopt a pseudonym?

-- Mikael Wood

Kris Allen
"Kris Allen"
19/Jive
One and a half stars (Out of four)

Album review: Kid Sister's 'Ultraviolet'

Chicago's hip-hop newcomer Kid Sister likes to talk up her girl-next-door appeal in interviews. While it's a safe bet that your neighbor isn't pals with Kanye West -- his DJ A-trak is Kid Sister's go-to producer -- "Ultraviolet" is brimming with the artist's down-to-earth candidness.

A two-time veteran of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Kid Sister's long-awaited debut is, first and foremost, an upbeat and futuristic club record. It also showcases her Midwestern work ethic and sense of humor. Over the ambient, Tangerine Dream-sampling "Let Me Bang," she's doing her laundry before hitting the dance floor, where she declares that she likes "to do it nice and slow." But don't get any ideas. "By that I mean my flow," she clarifies.

Influenced by the fast beats and electronic soul of Chicago house music, "Ultraviolet" owns a roll-up-your-sleeves form of empowerment, where respect is earned rather than awarded on sex appeal. The zippy effects on "Pro Nails" capture the anticipation of a deserved night out, and on the snappy "Step" she's laughing at her drink-buying suitors, wondering, "How far anybody really made it with a sex up on the beach?"

With Southern soul rapper Cee-Lo at her side on "Daydreaming," she escapes into a psychedelic, synthesized orchestra. "I want to let you know the meaning of forever," she formidably sings. By that point, it's hard to imagine anyone telling her no.

-- Todd Martens

Kid Sister
Ultraviolet
Downtown Music
Three and a half stars (Out of four)

Album review: OneRepublic's 'Waking Up'

A muscular, Timbaland-shaped shadow loomed over the unlikely success of OneRepublic's debut album "Dreaming Out Loud." His inescapable remix of the band's single, "Apologize," vaulted the group to multi-platinum sales and took frontman Ryan Tedder into the upper ranks of songwriting pens-for-hire in pop for Leona Lewis, Rihanna, Beyoncé and many others.

Much of that record and Tedder's outside writing were a weak broth of dorm-room-canoodling ballads and R&B with very little rhythm or blues. Fortunately, on OneRepublic's second album "Waking Up," they've internalized a lot of the things that made Timbaland such a compelling producer -- that good sounds are paramount, songs should move in odd directions and many different ideas can constitute a hook.

That's not to say "Waking Up" sounds anything like Aaliyah or Missy Elliott. But the filtered dubstep drum loops and the Afro-pop marimba of "Missing Persons 1 & 2" have a real playfulness missing from the ceaseless Cinemascope of Tedder's older efforts. "Marchin' On" takes a backing vocal hook and writes a whole song around it, earning the bigness of its flags-and-fighting imagery. Even the overreaching piano musings like "All This Time" have a solo-McCartney goofy sweetness about them.

The band needs to stop mistaking the cello as an inherently "meaningful" instrument -- it's too often deployed for maximum syrupiness. But Timbaland should be proud; OneRepublic is using his old tricks even better than he is lately.

-- August Brown

OneRepublic
"Waking Up"
Mosley Music/Interscope
Three stars (Out of four)

Album review: Rakim's 'The Seventh Seal'

It's been a long decade since Rakim's last album, a period in which the New York native's hometown lost its role as hip-hop's locus to the South, the Midwest and the decentralizing tendencies of the Internet. It's been an even lengthier 23 years since his debut 12" single with Eric B. revolutionized rap with its complex rhyming patterns, authoritative baritone, funky break-beats and indomitable cool.

The apotheosis of rap's first Golden Age, Rakim spent the lion's share of the 2000s mired in label purgatory at Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records. Sadly, the fruits of their collaboration remain unheard, with Rakim unwisely discarding the Dre beats in favor of a cast of mostly unknowns. Indeed, the "Seventh Seal" is undone by its boilerplate production -- rote drum patterns, predictable piano lines and antiseptic studio technique.

The rappers who have stayed artistically vital despite advancing age (Ghostface Killah, Scarface, Slick Rick) are champion storytellers who continue to burnish their craft. Rakim remains frustratingly opaque, with the brunt of his songs dedicated to rapping about rapping. The 41-year-old attempts to channel the ferocity of his Reagan-era rhymes while balancing a spiritual side ("Man Above") and romantic disposition ("You & I," "Psychic Love," "Still in Love.")

Of course, there are few better formalists than Rakim, and when the music matches the master ("Holy Are U," "How to Emcee") the album reaches the rarefied heights of long ago. Unfortunately, all too often the God sounds like a mere mortal.

-- Jeff Weiss

Rakim
"The Seventh Seal"
Ra Records/Tuscan Villa/SMC Recordings
Two and a half stars (Out of four)