This time around her songs are more pleasurable for seeming less deeply felt. [5 May 2005, p.72]

Corinne Bailey Rae is as pop-wise as it is overly gentle and one to grow on.

There are lyrical uh-oh moments ("Schizophrenic Playboy"), but Roses reminds us that note-hammering Brits from Adele to Florence owe Dolly a small debt.

Sonically, the record is up-to-the-minute; in spirit it's a throwback to the adult-oriented R&B of Anita Baker, Toni Braxton and Whitney Houston. Hudson's a one-woman revival, with a voice so forceful it can roll back time.

To the credit of the Go-Go's, they don't forfeit any California sparkle with this slick and listenable reunion effort.

A beguiling, infuriating mess. [26 Jan 2006, p.55]

The transitions from fluttery Brazilian rhythms to R.E.M.-ish jangle can be jarring, but Haih is much better than it ought to be.

This album might not propel them to a higher level of fame than they've already reached; while it's solid front to back, there's nothing remotely as unstoppable as 2013's "Versace" or 2014's "Fight Night."

Has a mixed-bag feel.

On the frisky and more limber Act 1. ... Working with an assortment of collaborators, including producer and songwriter Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, members of the soul-revivalist band the Dap-Kings, and nimble modern producers like Tone and Some Randoms, Legend sets his smooth, elastic voice to the most seductive and slinkiest grooves of his career. ... On Act 2, Legend succumbs to his usual supper-club decorum.

Evil Friends has a more colorful, toylike sound than 2011’s In the Mountain in the Cloud--an asset to pop-oriented tracks like “Creep in a T-Shirt” and “Purple Yellow Red and Blue” but a stumbling block to heavier ones like “Waves” and “Holy Roller (Hallelujah),” which come off like riots attempted from inside a snow globe.

Less blatantly melodic, peppy and cloying than their three albums on scene-making label Jade Tree.

For the most part, this is the balance of power and intimacy Cornell has always wanted his solo music to have.

Morrison’s latest is further proof that he’s still one of the most moving, unrivaled singers of his generation, but it’s hard not to wonder what would happen if he embraced his inner-mystic songwriting voice once more.

Here We Stand keeps up its predecessor's swagger, but the album's debts to glam and Brit-rock forbears (there's some Bowie and Clash here, too) give you a vague sense you've heard these songs before.

Jason Derulo jumps into every track with equal enthusiasm, his reassuring voice adapting easily to each new setting and providing continuity across the LP.

Unfortunately, most of the songs... are simply retreads of past works, with only the occasional fresh perception.

While Carlos Santana's guitar shines – Ernie Isley's, too – 76-year-old Ron is the lodestar, donning a falsetto smoking jacket for the Eddie Kendricks proto-disco "Body Talk."

Andy Stott cooks down the abstract beauty of his 2012 LP Luxury Problems to a new minimalism.

You’ll notice when the guitars escalate on 'You’re Too Hot,' when Harry sotto-voces her sexpot act on 'Dirty and Deep.' But you’ll really notice when a long diminuendo fourteen tracks in proves a bridge to the last three songs.

Future mostly sounds like a bunch of so-so Smashing Pumpkins songs, stripped of everything except Corgan's adenoidal vocals, and then set to a chorus of synths and electronic drumbeats.

It’s fair to say Louis can break free as well. That doesn’t happen enough on Walls.

The trio continues to build a career on the concept of a female take of "Licensed to Ill" ('The Three Amigas' is a near replica of 'Paul Revere'), but three albums in, the shtick wears thin.

The music, sadly, can be just as tough to follow.

Some sleepy stuff hurts his cause, but his best songs... combine vivid, polished tracks with solid tunes that pack a sneaky emotional weight.

Alive as You Are makes it a very different band, but not a worse one. The arrangements, as always, are totally immersive.

The 26-year-old goes all-in with the hipsters, swathing herself in melancholy synths. It's an awkward pivot.

He essays a few fashionably global-sounding electro-club tracks, including an Auto-Tuned one with T-Pain and Akon, and at least four numbers where he swipes guys' girlfriends. Keri Hilson and Kelly Rowland help him stretch out; Plies, Yo Gotti and T.I. add muscle