Shelby Lynne (3.5 stars)
Suit Yourself
Shelby Lynne has spent the last 15 years perfecting the impeccably laid-back sound she projects on her ninth album, Suit Yourself. Starting as an unsuccessful cog in the Nashville machine, Lynne broke out with her Dusty Springfield-esque 2000 album, I Am Shelby Lynne, a mix of country, soul and roots-rock that wowed critics and won her a Best New Artist Grammy more than a decade into her career. With 2001's follow-up, Love, Shelby, Lynne ventured into slick pop territory with mixed results, only to retreat into low-fi acoustic country-folk on 2003's excellent Identity Crisis.
Suit Yourself puts a stop to Lynne's stylistic whiplash, at least for now, as it continues the home-demo sound of Identity Crisis. Produced, like Identity Crisis, by Lynne herself, Suit Yourself is full of ambient sounds, studio chatter and the occasional false start, giving it the impression of a glimpse into one particularly productive afternoon at Lynne's home studio. The sparse instrumentation that served Lynne so well on Identity Crisis is evident all over the album, but some of the songwriting feels a little slight at times.
The album's best moments are actually on the more fleshed-out songs, including the catchy opener, "Go With It," the exuberant, cheeky "You Don't Have a Heart" and a lovely, lilting cover of Tony Joe White's "Old Times Sake." Although it may seem blasphemous, a little more of Love, Shelby's slickness to go along with her acoustic melancholy might serve Lynne well on future efforts.
Common (3.5 stars)
Be
Common is his moniker, but this album is anything but. Known for his socially conscious rhymes and introspective lyrics, he does not disappoint with this effort. On Be, gone is the sound Common composed with Erykah Badu on Electric Circus, as he returns to his roots.
Common teamed up with fellow Windy City uber-producer Kanye West on eight of the 11 tracks, and West's musical touch is evident. From the album's onset, West puts down his own brand of neo-soul, Afro-funk in the beats and choruses. With a tighter feel than other Common outings, West is just the producer Common has needed.
Walking the line between mainstream and underground is Common's greatest challenge in songs like "Be," "Go" and "Testify," where there is more appeal to mild hip-hop fans. But when he strays from this format, as on "Faithful" and "Real People," things fall apart. Here, his flair for wordplay doesn't match the head-nodding tempo. And for all those missing the new season of Chappelle's Show, there is "Food," an impromptu live version with West from the show.
One of Common's best constructed albums, Be isn't groundbreaking by any stretch, but it is a positive sign that he is back to his old form.
Huey Lewis And the News (2.5 stars)
Live at 25
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"If This Is It," I Want a New Drug" and "The Power of Love." Dopey, fun and familiar Huey Lewis and the News deliver a sturdy set of reliable hits from their short reign as chart-toppers. Backed by horns that give the songs more of an R&B flavor than fans may remember from the studio versions, Live at 25 sounds like the souvenir of an adequate night out.
Bloodsimple (2 stars)
A Cruel World
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This metal quintet featuring two former members of Vision of Disorder delivers a completely generic debut. The first release on the Bully Goat imprint run by Mudvayne's Chad Grey follows a completely paint-by-numbers path, equal parts Mudvayne, Staind, Disturbed and any other mainstream metal band that's been popular in the last few years.