JJ Cale - Roll On

Rounder

Keeping his hands in the music business for over 50 years now, Cale's consistent work and somewhat-regular out put proves his gift for sound. Similar to early Paul Simon in melody usage, Roll On is one stand-alone track after another: each having its own quality and consciousness separate from the rest. This is an album of singles, with no chance of releasing each to make it to the top of the Blues charts. Heavy usage of guitar rhythm, and blues-y pop song construction, Roll On holds true to the most important game in music: writing songs that are good before anything else.

Spyro Gyra - Down The Wire

Heads Up/Concord

Jazz with endless amounts of slap-bass. You know exactly what this sounds like already. Porno-groove, with lots of funk moments and horn melodies. I couldn't think of dancing to something like this, but I'm sure people can. Not the most inventive record ever, but it has accomplished all it set out to do.

Rick Ross - Deeper Than Rap

Maybach/Slip N' Slide/Island Def Jam/UMG

Deeper Than Rap's nothing original for sure, but who cares? Rick Ross can, despite a laundry list of embarrassing controversies (over being a prison guard, over refusing to pay child support, and over wearing Louis Vuitton glasses that aren't quite the real thing) can deliver a hip-hop album worthy of recognition.

Solid beats, solid production, and a slew of cameo's that look more like a Grammy afterparty (T-Pain, Lil Wayne, Nas, on and on), and the album is still nothing without Ross's style of aggressive yet relatively intelligent delivery.

The Tractors - Trade Union

Koch/E1

Upbeat big-band country from The Tractors. That doesn't really describe it as well as opening track "Up Jumped the Boogie". Yes, that's the kind of big-band I'm talking about.

A little gimmicky at times, but nothing to be overly annoyed by, Trade Union reeks of good times and good friends. The most negative this album gets is crying over a broken heart, but the rest of the Trade Union resides with dancing and high fives.

Polly Scattergood - "Self-Titled

Mute

This is the sounds of pure terror. Unabashedly honest and unbelievably scary, Polly Scattergood performs pop music. That's right: pop music. Her formula links drawn out songs and what becomes drone-y structures to create track after track of songs about jealousy, anger, inadequacy, and other damaging human emotions that usually make for the best inspiration.

Music ranges from quiet Vega-esq pop, and upwards to almost Kate Bush styled outlandish indie rock. Moments of Jamboree are fairly evident (if that proves anything in terms of this albums scary-factor), but realistically, no one will sleep any better without it. Highly recommended.

Quest For Fire - Self-Titled

Rubric/Tee Pee

Fuzzed out stoner-garage rock. Yes, that is a genre, and that is this band. Think a lo-fi Queens of the Stone Age with a big hard-on for Sleep and no love of sobriety.

Album art proves all: a watercolor of a woman, spewing vomit all over herself, which appears to be in the midst of a supernova or some other space-esq backdrop. Yes, this is tripped out, noisy, and a bit on the mentally unstable side, but who cares? This is what rock is about.

Goo Goo Dolls - Vol. 2 CD/DVD SET

Warner Bros.

Carrying the image of a one hit wonder, Goo Goo Dolls have taken much more than their allocated 15 minutes. Vol. 2 proves this, ignoring their overgrown count of singles, focusing this collection entirely on non-singles and odds and ends.

The DVD is overloaded with music videos and other interesting tid-bits. My personal favorite off this? The demo version of "Iris", featuring electric drums, synthesized strings, and better production than the City of Angles version.

Procol Harum - In Concert With The Danish National Concert Orchestra & Choir

Eagle Rock

While considered prog or psychedelic, this album is neither. In Concert With... stems more from the edges of jazz and pop rather than rock and drugs. Think a better version of Metallica's S&M. Huge orchestral sounds marks this CD from the rest, leaving Brooker to ground the work within the band. Anyone familiar with Procol Harum will certainly pick this out as the real solidifying force of the group, and In Concert With... certainly doesn't faultier there. Great for long time fans.

***Shelton's Single of the Week: "Whiter Shade of Pale,"***

The Dream - Love vs. Money

Radio Killa/The Island Def Jam

R&B up and comer The Dream's luckily using his vocoder in stride, and using the over-done tricks of today sparingly. Dancible? Check, but mixed amongst some more interesting songs. Posturing? Sure, but only so much to give him a persona; not enough to make him look like a tool. Using repetitive, obnoxious beats into the ground? A bit, for sure, but he's got it miles better than the rest. His voice is, if nothing else, surprising: high pitch, almost feminine, but bleeds into the realm of mid-late era Michael Jackson stature.

LHASA - Self-Titled

Audiogram/Nettwerk/Canada

Beautiful, solemn pop music from LHASA. The album holds a soft-spot for the old ballads of early rock and roll, giving the unique, dreamy tone that has been lost throughout the genre's adolescence. All voices on this album can be amounted to angelic, virtually sounds from heaven. A bit slow, so be wary, but if you take the time with it, sit down, and really listen, LHASA's self-titled album feels like a waking dream.

James Taylor - Covers

Hear/Concord

Heavyweight James Taylor has released Covers, which was a great idea of his. Cover albums are always hit or miss, but when you hit it right, there is nothing better. Obviously Taylor couldn't fail, so his collection of Smokey Robinson, Leonard Cohen and Buddy Holly covers finally get to experience their proper recognition.

Mostly piano and acoustic guitar driven, Taylor works the songs with his own style, holding back only enough to let the original version shine through the cracks. Taylor at his best.

***Shelton's Single of the Week: "Seminole Wind,"***

Various Artists - Appalachia: Music From Home

Will Work For Music/Lonsome

Appalachia, a portion of the US that is still a massive mystery to most that live outside its borders, has produced some of the most influencial and inspiring music in American history. Somewhere between bluegrass and folk, the old-timey style is perfected beyond understanding.

Appalachia: Music From Home, without trying, may have dammed all bluegrass musicians not from the area. This album blows everything I have heard out of the water: pure songs with an honest nature, headset on writing great music. Everything in comparison just seems dull and self-involved. Ballads, banjos, and the fresh feel of mountain living: if any of this appeals to you, you need this.

Woody Guthrie - Struggle

Smithsonian Folkways

Guthrie, Guthrie, Guthrie. The best folk artist of all time's pinnacle of accomplishments. Struggle induces the revolutionary fervor that lost its luster over time, killing the real hope of revolutionary change within the genre that has been commandeered by liberals and right wingers. Some of his best songs, including "Union Burying Ground" and "Pretty Boy Floyd" makes this record essential for any music listener. Ever.

***Shelton's Single of the Week: "1913 Massacre,"***

Metric - Fantasies

Last Gang/Metric

Metric are infectious. Gothish new-wave in a perfect package, Fantasies, fronted by the beautiful Emily Haines of Broken Social Scene fame, perpetuates the band in ways that no other could. She carries melodies as the perfect New Wave fashion should, but still working with the model of contemporary pop music to create hooks accessible to na•ve 14 year olds and 20-something hipsters.

Despite all the unnecessary hype around this band, and the massive cheesy-ness to this genre, Fantasies will catch you off guard, and trust me, it feels great.

Scotty Barnhart - Say It Plain

Unity/Dig

Solid grooves from Barnhart. Trumpet master, Scotty has crafted his style of flowing and vaguely masterbatory jazz from the greats: Charles, Coltrane, and the like. Interesting, through and through. The other players of the album certainly hold their weight, occasionally taking their 15 minutes, then smoothly drifting back to the accompaniment.

Keith Urban - Self-Titled

Capitol Nashville/EMI

Almost twenty years in the works, Keith Urban's approach to stadium country is as follows: dissect the genre, adjust the pieces, and make the formula for the most solid rock and country album possible. Ripping solos, massive hooks, and 48 minutes of heart-broken crooning, Keith Urban is what all country stars are shooting for.

Chester French - Love the Future

Star Trak/Interscope

Chester French is a two piece collaboration of D.A. Wallach and Maxwell Drummy. On one hand, they are doing something original: big band set up (credits read at least 25 performers), with contemporary pop sensibilities. Tracks are incredibly catchy, and isn't something you are going to hear at your local coffee shop performing to the five regulars who haven't left yet.

The other hand, unfortunately, is this just sounds like Britney Spears, but less good. "Toxic", while one of my favorite Spears singles, is the framework for the entire record, but minus the edge that makes the song as catchy as it is. This band has potential, yes, but the arrow is a bit off mark still.

Various Artists - India

Putumayo

A compilation of music originating in India. This one is something to watch for: tones, structures, and melodies that American ears rarely, if ever, have heard.

The music of India serves as a gateway to a whole different world of sounds: instruments go unnamed in the liner notes, leaving listeners searching for their origins; artists names who live in relative obscurity in the states, but have just the following that bands in the US seem to; and with a recipe for Zarda Pulao in the back, how could this go wrong?

Mat Kearney - City of Black & White

Aware/Columbia/Sony

Singer/songwriter folk for the MTV crowd. Kearney, a Eugene local, creates texture and emotions through the layers of guitars and synths. Sadder songs, yes, but who cares?

This music is jam-packed with emotions, following Kearney's near Mayer-esq vocal melodies. Heavy production, which I don't care much for, but for those who can't get enough Jason Mraz, you are in for a treat.

The Crystal Method - Divided By Night

Tiny E/INgrooves/Fontana

This is a big disappointment. Crystal Method, until this point have been one of the most impressive electronic acts out there, texturizing dance hits with dark soundscapes and pretty melodies layered behind unidentifiable noise.

Divided By Night is a dumbed down version of all previous releases: melodies are bland, tracks are less noisy, and most of the songs sound virtually the same. This is disappointing to the point where I am actually questioning if this is an authentic release, or a copyright infringement.

Steve Martin - The Crow

Share/Rounder

Comedian Steve Martin is a musician. Who'd have thought? Not only that: he's really, really good. Great country songs on banjo, with fairly minimal accompaniment, The Crow serves as Martin's first taste of being the spotlight of a music release.

Yes, this is great. His banjo playing is phenomenal, and his voice is...well, a huge surprise. If you've seen The Jerk enough times, it's pretty hard to imagine Martin having a great voice. But he does, and flaunts it all over The Crow. While his comedies were great in the 80's and 90's, Martin has finally found his calling in the new century.