Albums of the week
Michael Jackson
“Xscape”
★½
It’s worth remembering that, during the last 30 years of his life, Michael Jackson only released six full albums. That emphasis on quality control has been spoiled by this compilation, which unearths a number of Jacko’s old demos and gives them a modern spit-polish. The originals (which date from 1983 to 1999 and are included on the deluxe set) are passable at best, but even with the likes of Norwegian producing team Stargate and Timbaland on hand to “contemporize” Jackson’s forgotten sketches, “A Place With No Name” resembles a third-rate version of “Leave Me Alone,” and the hectic hip-hop beats added to “Slave To the Rhythm” feel like clumsy and cynical attempts to hawk something that was never intended to see the light of day. The really sad thing is that there’s probably a lot more of these knockoffs to come.
The Black Keys
“Turn Blue”
★★½
The Black Keys’ last album, 2011’s “El Camino,” saw them projecting their blues-rock to the back of the world’s arenas. But the follow-up finds them looking inward. Musically, “Turn Blue” is filled with hazy soul which is often ambitious, but doesn’t offer many of the usual riff-based thrills that the Ohio duo are famed for. The real intrigue, however, lies in singer Dan Auerbach’s lyrics. The singer’s 2013 divorce hangs heavy in the lush, psychedelic opener “Weight of Love,” and during “In Our Prime,” he ruefully recalls “the house it burned, but nothing there was mine” — seemingly a reference to a real blaze which Auerbach claimed was an attempt by his ex-wife to commit suicide. Little wonder the Black Keys turned blue.
Downloads of the Week
Dolly Parton
“Lay Your Hands on Me”
★★★½
The Queen of Country pays a flying visit to Dirty Jersey on her new album, “Blue Smoke,” through this cover of Bon Jovi’s 1988 poodle-rocking classic — and it’s as absurdly brilliant as it sounds. Parton even puts a religious spin on the lyrics, giving the impression that she wants to get a little freaky with the Lord, but the awkwardness makes her version even more riveting.
Blondie Feat. Beth Ditto
“A Rose By Any Name”
★★½
Forty years since forming, the New York mainstays have chosen to dabble in dance music for their latest album, “Ghosts Of Download.” It’s a mixed outcome, but this catchy synth-pop earworm finds Debbie Harry’s robotic vocal entwining with a soulful cameo from Gossip singer Beth Ditto to memorable effect. Blondie’s attempt to stay contemporary is laudable, and a good song never goes out of fashion.
Joseph Arthur
“Pale Blue Eyes”
★★★
Lou Reed’s reputation as a curmudgeonly type is not necessarily shared by Joseph Arthur. The two were friends in Reed’s latter years, and that relationship has prompted Arthur to release an acoustic album of Reed covers, the highlight of which is this piano-led version of the Velvet Underground track “Pale Blue Eyes.” It’s beautifully bare, but Arthur’s personal grief provides the real emotional pull.
Tori Amos
“Giant’s Rolling Pin”
★★
The singer’s latest album is brilliantly titled “Unrepentant Geraldines,” so it’s no surprise to find her in a lyrically defiant mood throughout. But the way Amos melds together a nursery-rhyme style arrangement with politically charged references to the NSA and FBI is bizarre, even by her eccentric standards. Still confusingly entertaining after all these years.