Billboard CD Reviews: George Strait, Jordin Sparks

Here are the Billboard CD reviews.

ARTIST: GEORGE STRAIT

ALBUM: TWANG (MCA Nashville)

NEW YORK (Billboard) - George Strait put out his first album, "Strait Country," in 1981. After 28 years, you'd think it would be tough coming up with new twists to captivate audiences. But apparently not for King George, whose latest album, "Twang," is among the finest collections of songs he's released. Recorded at Jimmy Buffett's Shrimp Boat Studios in Key West, Fla., the new set has a few surprises, including a track recorded entirely in Spanish. Vicente Fernandez's mariachi hit "El Rey" includes horns, which is a first on a Strait record for co-producer Tony Brown, who has worked with the country artist since 1992. Other rare moments on "Twang" include three songs co-written by Strait, who hasn't released a song he's penned since his debut. The first single, "Living for the Night," was co-written by Strait; his son, Bubba; and longtime contributor Dean Dillon. Strait and his son also collaborated on "Out of Sight Out of Mind." The song "Arkansas Dave" -- written solely by Bubba -- has a "Tennessee Flat Top Box" groove that would make Johnny Cash proud.

ARTIST: JORDIN SPARKS

ALBUM: BATTLEFIELD (Jive Records)

On her 2007 self-titled debut, sixth-season "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks compared love to permanent body art and her entire supply of oxygen. Lyrical themes get a bit murkier on her appropriately titled sophomore effort, "Battlefield." "You better go and get your armor," Sparks sings on the title track of the 12-song set, where similarly dark sentiments prevail throughout. "No Parade" is a radio-friendly ballad on which Sparks doesn't lament a relationship's breakup, just that it's so uninteresting. She triumphantly purges those feelings on the rock-influenced "Let It Rain," which carries a religious subtext, as does "Faith," one of four tracks that Sparks co-wrote. "Battlefield" takes an uptempo turn on "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)," with its dance-worthy chorus provided by '80s freestyle queen Shannon. Dr. Luke and T-Pain lend their touch to "Watch You Go," on which Sparks proves she can straddle pop and R&B and evoke the synergy between joy and pain.

ARTIST: BEASTIE BOYS

ALBUM: ILL COMMUNICATION (REMASTERED) (Capitol Records)

Originally released in 1994, the Beastie Boys' fourth studio album served up musical tastes ranging from hip-hop and punk to psychedelic jamming. All those elements coalesced perfectly on the album's hit single, "Sabotage." And in terms of the round robin rhyming, a signature style of the New York group, the Beastie Boys have yet to top the impossibly funky highlights of the disc, including "Sure Shot," "Root Down" and "Get It Together" (featuring rapper Q-Tip). Digitally remastered to provide a warmer and fresher sound, these tracks lock all their elements seamlessly, giving rise to the group's most mature and satisfying album. A bonus disc contains mostly odds and sods, save a remix of "Root Down" and live versions of "Heart Attack Man" and "The Maestro," on which the listener can hear the Beasties' adrenaline pulsing through their veins.

ARTIST: YACHT

ALBUM: SEE MYSTERY LIGHTS (DFA Records)

Everything about the Portland, Ore.-based electronic duo YACHT is unconventional, from the band's obsession with triangles to its oddly alluring homemade music videos. YACHT's eccentricities are on full display on "See Mystery Lights," the follow-up to the band's understated 2007 debut. Its first release on DFA finds YACHT masterminds Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans gleefully tweaking the standards of electro-pop, adding R&B flavor to "I'm in Love With a Ripper" and groovy gospel to "Ring the Bell." Like labelmates LCD Soundsystem and the Juan Maclean, YACHT also strives to create memorable choruses, best achieved on the bouncy hook of the summer jam "Psychic City (Voodoo City)." The pair's cryptic lyrics can get lost in the shuffle at times, but Bechtolt and Evans offer enough interesting musical ideas to keep the listener engaged. "See Mystery Lights" is a refreshing exploration of electronic music that allows its freak flag to fly.

ARTIST: BEYOND THE PALE

ALBUM: POSTCARDS (Linus Entertainment)

Perhaps the most captivating aspect of Toronto-based Beyond the Pale's new album, "Postcards," is the group's ability to blend Jewish klezmer music with a variety of Eastern European folk music. For the 16-song set, Beyond the Pale co-founder/mandolin player Eric Stein teamed with clarinetist Martin van de Ven and Serbian musicians Alekasandar Gajic (violin), Milos Popovic (accordion) and Bogdan Djukic (percussion). Gajic's "Back to the Beginning," which was written during a bombing raid in Belgrade, Serbia, is progressive and Balkan. "Meditation" has a dark, bittersweet quality that's well known to Serbian brass bands, but the song is an arrangement of a Hasidic nigun (wordless melody). Stein's "Split Decision" may owe as much to David Grisman as to Eastern Europe. And "Magura," with its loping bassline over mandolin and fiddle, is reminiscent of Texas swing, polka and klezmer.

ARTIST: JOHN PATITUCCI

ALBUM: REMEMBRANCE (Concord Jazz)

Jazz bassist John Patitucci enlisted a number of the genre's musicians for his 13th (and arguably best) album, "Remembrance," including spirited drummer Brian Blade and saxophonist Joe Lovano, improviser extraordinaire. The album pays homage to Patitucci's musical heroes, from jazz titans like trumpeter Freddie Hubbard to such classical icons as composer Olivier Messiaen. "Blues for Freddie" is a bouncing sendoff to Hubbard, while "Messiaen's Gumbo" sets the composer's musical ideas to a New Orleans groove. Highlights on the set -- where the musician displays rhythmic authority on acoustic and electric bass -- include Lovano dancing with the tenor sax on "Sonny Side" while Blade instigates the beat. The album closes with two gems: the slow-tempo blues cut "Play Ball" and the sublime title track, on which Patitucci pays tribute to influential saxophonist Michael Brecker (who died from leukemia in 2007) with an emotional delivery on two overdubbed six-string basses.

ARTIST: MAGNOLIA ELECTRIC CO.

ALBUM: JOSEPHINE (Secretly Canadian)

Given Magnolia Electric Co. singer/guitarist Jason Molina's prolific presence in country-rock during the past decade, "Josephine," his first proper album in three years, feels like the end of a long drought. Backed by a fine team of multi-instrumentalists, Molina delivers a harrowing set of songs with short running times and minimalist arrangements. "Map of the Falling Sky" is a slow, defeated rocker with jagged guitar strumming; "The Rock of Ages" is a hymn-like ode to secluded love that hinges on a twinkling piano riff. Molina's steely voice remains front and center while he keeps guitar solos and gaudy percussion to a minimum. The lean approach keeps the band focused on the spare tone it wants to capture. "Josephine" may not be as instantly lovable as Molina's lighter fare, but his vocal tenacity and restrained songwriting reward repeated listens and signify a welcome return.

ARTIST: SHAILA DURCAL

ALBUM: CORAZON RANCHERO (EMI Televisa Music)

Pop-mariachi artist Shaila Durcal will forever be associated with her late mother, the legendary singer Rocio Durcal. Rather than resist comparisons, the younger Durcal has crafted "Corazon Ranchero," a beautifully produced album of cover songs made famous by such singer-songwriters as Marco Antonio Solis and Vicente Fernandez. Durcal selected tracks that weren't made famous by her mother, and if her goal was to forge her own artistic identity, then it's evidenced that she can do so. A bonus pop version of Solis' "Tu Carcel" pairs Durcal's smooth vocals with a pop-country backline. It's a song that would surely impress Shania Twain.