Michael Buble, “Crazy Love”
(Reprise)
Something odd happens on the second half of “Crazy Love,” Michael Buble’s follow-up to “Call Me Irresponsible.” After a buttery, smoothly produced take on the standard “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You,” Buble switches bands — from his own studio musicians to the real-deal Dap-Kings — for the analog-sounding “Baby (You’ve Got What it Takes),” a duet with Dap-Kings leader Sharon Jones.
It’s a mind-bending switch on the record, which resembles the former more than the latter. And it’s also a risk for Buble and his modern-day Sinatra schtick. Buble is better as a member of the Dap-Kings. That said, his many hard-core fans will find a lot to love in this collection, which includes bombastic, yet affable, takes on familiar songs (torch favorite “Cry Me a River” and the Eagles’ “Heartache Tonight”), not to mention a couple of critical stinkers (Billy Vera’s “At This Moment” and Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love”) that fans could surely latch on to. Ricardo Baca
Pearl Jam, “Backspacer”
(Monkeywrench)
The title of Pearl Jam’s ninth studio album is a clue to its character, as these 11 songs chuck any hint of experimentation for backward-looking, meat-and-potatoes rock.
Eddie Vedder’s wail still guides the slashing riffs and insidious melodies, and the band’s taut rhythm section is as lockstep as ever.
It helps that Pearl Jam called up longtime producer Brendan O’Brien (Stone Temple Pilots, Neil Young), who knows the band’s studio prowess better than anyone. O’Brien tends to overcompress the proceedings — see the pancaked “Got Some” and the addictive single “The Fixer” — but he also knows when to let Vedder pop in and out, balancing pummeling volume with occasional strings and piano notes.
The ballads feel dated and overearnest, particularly the feather- light “Just Breathe,” but even they have a rusty nobility that prevents them from embarrassing the band (save that for the wanky guitar solos). It’s clear Pearl Jam will never make another album as revelatory as “Ten,” but it’s still nice having them around when they’re releasing albums as energetic and satisfyingly solid as “Backspacer.” John Wenzel
Gossip, “Music for Men”
(Columbia)
A thick layer of studio gloss coats Gossip’s first album for Columbia, the high-stakes, Rick Rubin-produced “Music for Men.” And while golden-throated soul singer Beth Ditto thankfully hasn’t compromised her militant punk persona, you can hear her pop- and dance- rock melodies becoming more conventional.
Thick, rumbling bass notes and collapsed snare hits propel thumping opener “Dimestore Diamond” into “Heavy Cross,” the first hint that Gossip is still the raging party band you knew and loved on 2005’s “Standing in the Way of Control.”
The scattered missteps (the inane “Pop Goes the World”) aren’t enough to bring down the soaring anthems (“Men in Love”), proving that a tailored sound is nothing to fear when the band wears it well. John Wenzel
