while the first single, 'All You Did Was Save My Life,' provides some much-needed bite, "Burn Burn" is ultimately ballad-heavy and one-dimensional.

Overall, Sugar Ray sticks to what it does best: helping audiences realize that there's no better alternative to a California fun-in-the sun day at the beach.

Son Volt may be playing it too safe on American Central Dust, but the songs are still woven together with a feeling of comfort and familiarity.

Fish Outta Water may lack the demographic-tripping vibe that even a Jurassic 5 in turmoil could whip up, but it's a mostly winning debut that makes up in vocal prowess for what it lacks in hooks.

Aside from a few unique moments ("The Return," "Take Me Away"), there's not much new to report here.

'Social Development Dance' is an accurate representative of Back and Fourth as a whole--an introspective, guitar-driven effort that's worthy of praise, despite some minor missteps.

Nonsensical lyrics about butterflies and name-changing lovers on tracks like 'You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)' and 'Apollo And The Buffalo And Anna Anna Anna Oh!,' could serve as a distraction, but the songs are saved by beautifully frantic instrumentals.

Though a floundering economy, bombed-out GOP and a season or two of corporate bailouts have provided them with a fat barrel of fish to shoot, this rap-rock hybrid simmers instead of seethes, never quite mustering the blood-boiling rage of its principals' previous material.

While it's commendable for the trio to try to break out of its teen dream box, it's on songs like 'Before the Storm'--featuring Miley Cyrus--where the brothers prove they're still among the best at putting the fizz in pop culture.

Now in his 30s, he doesn't surf the beat so much as box with it, with both brutality and no small degree of grace. That a rapper of this much verbal gymnastic ability is still making Perez Hilton cracks is too bad, but the bigger problem is that Eminem's recipe of gore and gay jokes sounds like the past.

Outer South is a decently stocked serving of rambling, saloon-joint alt-country, but one that finds the freewheeling Oberst and band in need of a little focus.

On 'High Price,' where she takes her vocals to an opera-like pitch, and her collaboration with the-Dream, 'Lover's Things,' whose faint tenor would seem like an ideal match, Ciara seems to go almost unnoticed. Thankfully, 'Work,' featuring Missy Elliott, has Ciara showing fly-girl antics over a house-like, clap-laden production, and the breakup song 'Never Ever,' featuring Young Jeezy, which samples 'If You Don't Know Me by Now,' pick up the slack.

There are clunkers, like the half-there torch song "Life Is Hard." But the great thing about 67-year-old Dylan is that even when it's not working, it's working.

It's about average for albums from Prince proteges.

Sometimes it's good bizarre. Other times it's bad bizarre.

Thursday's Epitaph debut melds the band's hardcore influences with shoegaze and atmospheric elements, with mixed results.

The Americana is first-class, be it on crunchy, boozy romps with stinging solos or the slow-burning acoustic fare, but this batch of tunes proves far less memorable.

That overstuffed guest list doesn't necessarily work to the exclusive benefit of The Spirit of Apollo, as sometimes the clutter makes it hard to hear precisely what kind of music Zegon and Spiegel are trying to make here.

When the World Comes Down doesn't evince much growth, proffering more of the same hooky pop/rock centered around adolescent love and heartache.

As was the case with John Legend, who beamed into the club on his latest, the initial effect is jarring, even in its star's capable hands. But it also settles in nicely.

It's a shame that the end result, the first under the Queen name in 13 years, is not very memorable.

Dennen's tenuous vocals (and lyrics) are better suited to silly love songs than this sort of material, and though producer John Alagia knows how to make the guitars jingle and jangle and how to work up a soft, swimmy groove, Dennen needs a little more to rise out of the ever-growing multitude of sensitive guitar dudes.

The seemingly ageless Australian rock combo mostly employs its same tried-and-true formula on the audio side of the Black Ice equation.

Although he seems to have rediscovered his panache, the music supporting his narratives is still lacking the originality of his best work.

Most of The Block is a reasonable enough approximation of faceless club pop, complete with standard-issue guest stars (the Pussycat Dolls, Timbaland) and out-of-left-field rap bridges.

The set is somewhat of a shambolic affair, wherein kernels of good ideas get blown out, jumbled up or lost in execution.

The extremes offer up a portrait of a man far more complex than what we get from many of Banner's peers, and the inventive beats (by Banner, Cool & Dre, Akon and others) add vital life to his gruff flow. But you have to wonder if some of these tracks simply reflect the rapper's desire to be all things to all consumers.

The rest of Identified, though, panders to the preteen demo with stop-start pop that ranges from pleasant (the title track) to dull ("Amazed") to off-putting ("Hook It Up"). But for little girls, this is one nonstop singalong.

With expectations tempered for Forgiven, the sibling trio from Texas doesn't panic but rather retrenches, returning to the easy-grooving, harmony-laden Carlos Santana-meets-Stevie Ray Vaughan feel of its first album.

Party Intellectuals contains enough noise and/or dead space to ruin the flow of many an iPod shuffle, but experimental jazz or avant-garde fans should find enough here to sink their teeth into.

There are potent moments like the rise-and-fall ballad 'Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?' and the fierce 'Nothingtown,' but 'Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace' sounds more like a tentative step in the Offspring's new direction.

Nostradamus isn't likely to surprise you--this is softcore for the hardcore.

On the synthy, Darkchild-produced 'So Over You,' Ashanti croons about getting past a former relationship, while the Jermaine Dupri-mixed 'Good Good,' featuring elements of Michael Jackson's 'The Girl Is Mine,' finds her confidently belting about her abilities to please in bed.

Their technically adventurous playing occasionally gathers some spooky steam, but this is definitely a fans-only affair.

The band's first new set since 2002 is full of these well-intentioned attempts to recapture some of that '80s pyromania (or in the case of the absurdly large power ballad 'Love,' herculean '70s prog-rock balladry), but without producer Robert "Mutt" Lange, who left for the much more profitable world of country years ago, the results are solid if unspectacular.

Free Somehow, which marks the debut of new-ish guitarist Jimmy Herring, is no less of a tease, boasting three or four memorable songs (none mightier than 'Airplane') and the rest serviceable filler.

This song-by-song re-creation of Judy Garland's iconic 1961 Carnegie Hall performance, staged there by Rufus Wainwright in 2006, seems better-suited to a cabaret act.

Simon LeBon and company have a lot of baggage, and their latest effort doesn't match the neon-lit glory days of yesteryear.

It's defiant like a bad drunk, uncomfortably oversexed and more at home in a seedy after-hours club than a celebrity ultra-lounge.

There are a few instances where the songs manage to make the listener forget about the court appearances and remember Doherty's uniquely skewered way around a guitar line and lyric.

Cease falters when it dips into mediocre balladry ('Detlef Schrempf,' 'Marry Song'), and at a scant 35 minutes, the album at times hints at greatness but ultimately leaves you wanting more.

While superbly recorded and at times a hoot to crank (largely for the shameless rips of Kiss, Joan Jett and Def Leppard), Bitchin' is too light on hooks.

Though the album is good, for an artist of 50 Cent's caliber, it's not great.

This sophomore set likewise has moments of indelible pop bliss, but too often veers off track with unnecessarily long songs and dull arrangements.

There aren't enough original ideas here to know if Rooney can shine as a relevant, modern rock band.

It's still a mess, though an ambitious and grandiose one.

The project just doesn't offer as many gems as "King," which pushed T.I. to new commercial heights.

"The Mix-Up" is thematically sound and feels like a comprehensive piece instead of a self-indulgent scheme. [30 Jun 2007]

More hit than miss. [30 Jun 2007]

At its best, "Golden Pollen" is graceful, intricately planned and divinely produced.... On occasion though, the set can be downright boring. [23 Jun 2007]

There are only a couple of songs with enough impact to avoid boring people who catch the band on tour this summer. [9 Jun 2007]

Focusing more on catchy hooks and Fergie-style chants than lyrics helps disguise her vocal limitations. [9 Jun 2007]

It's a very sexually explicit R. Kelly who greets fans on this outing. [2 Jun 2007]

On first listen, it might seem too derivative, even dull, but Jeff Tweedy's intricate vocal melodies and Nels Cline's ferocious guitar work keep things interesting. [19 May 2007]

Linkin Park's ambitions are nearly palpable, but songs likely conceived as homages end up sounding too close to their sources. [26 May 2007]

Although the arrangements remain impressive, there are moments when it feels as though Dungen should stick with a quicker pace. [26 May 2007]

Aside from grand moments like "All Hands on Deck - Part 1: Raise the Sail" and the orchestral wall that builds on "The Sweetest Wave," you don't get the feeling that a continuous story binds the album together.

Even Björk's misses are more exciting than most of what we currently call hits. [12 May 2007]

Despite it being more rock-oriented than 2005's "The Beekeeper," this album isn't much of a sonic progression, and it takes a while for "Posse" to find its voice. [5 May 2007]

It's a pleasant enough, if uneven work. [14 Apr 2007]

"Life in Cartoon Motion" is like Scissor Sisters-lite: Retro disco with heavy doses of rollicking piano and funk. [31 Mar 2007]

There is a little too much tra-la-la-ing, but it's a pleasure to hear a new band having so much infectious fun. [24 Mar 2007]

The melodies aren't always there, and the restrained production makes for an occasionally nagging sense of meandering. [3 Mar 2007]

Mark's sound here is cohesive and unified, though a pervasive midtempo vibe and downer subject matter (it's mostly a breakup album) tend to blur together. [3 Mar 2007]

The set as a whole lacks variety and rarely shifts tempo. [24 Feb 2007]

Lerche seems headed in a promising musical direction, but not all the songs here pack the expected punch. [10 Feb 2007]

In each case, a brand-new track has been crafted, but some work better than others. [10 Feb 2007]

"The Good, the Bad and the Queen" seems to be waiting for a payoff that never materializes.

Overall, worth a spin or two, but one hopes there's a better stash left to sample. [16 Dec 2006]

Songs such as the Rodney Jerkins-produced "Make It Last Forever" and "Get Up"... are surefire club hits, although such ballads as "It's Over" tend to fall flat. [9 Dec 2006]

Snoop has found a happy balance between pop and hardcore. [25 Nov 2006]

Sweet and pretty. [25 Nov 2006]

Even though "Doctor's Advocate" has its failings, it's a prescription that comes recommended. [18 Nov 2006]

It doesn't all hit home, but at its best ("Heaven/ Where True Love Goes," "In the End," "Green Fields, Golden Sands"), this record is uplifting enough to satisfy even a 30-year thirst. [18 Nov 2006]

It is simply miserable, heavy, repetitive and cathartic. [18 Nov 2006]

[It] flashes with moments of greatness. [9 Dec 2006]

For most of "Saturday Night Wrist," Deftones contentedly let their instruments wander, inventing a meandering soundscape that broods in near darkness. [4 Nov 2006]

Things hover uneasily somewhere between wholesale reinvention and mere superstar vanity project. [28 Oct 2006]

"Born" loses its focus amid unabashed nods to Burt Bacharach and songs that are just not done yet, despite smart tempo changes and pretty melodies.

Enigk's vocals here are as translucent as ever.

The new set goes just far enough beyond the call of duty to warrant repeat listens.

"Play" is light-years more enterprising than Diddy's sample-happy history might suggest.

[It] works best when he's rapping alongside guests.

Yet for all the headphone-worthy sounds, the pace seldom rises above a back-porch feel and, at times, the stickers meant for customizing the cover seem like more fun than the music.

Volume and snappy nods to '70s arena rock cannot obscure empty angst and lazy rhymes.

More often than not, even Shadow's most extreme sonic detours hit home.

Aside from a few catchy club tracks, there is nothing all that exciting about Chingy's third album.

This record isn't for casual listening, so those checking out the Mars Volta for the first time should take it slow to prevent a sonic hangover.

It's still hard to tell if he's a bluesman in a soft-rocker's body or vice versa, and "Continuum" is the sound of him trying to figure it out too.

It often feels sluggish despite itself, and his lyrics show him riding against the same old Michigan wind with a voice that's grown haggard and curmudgeonly with time.

Once again, the results feel too spotty.

Taking no risks, "Nightcrawler" shows little growth and makes one wish for the morning after.

Despite having nowhere to go lyrically, he remains a remarkably potent presence.

Film-specific songs like "Make No Sense at All" and "Call the Law" fall flat out of context.

While not a completely lovable effort, "1968" extends Pajo's varied lineage.

What this channel lacks is true feeling and originality.

He talks about the fire he used to possess without rekindling those flames.

These songs simply don't stack up to their predecessors.