Cee Lo Green, The Lady Killer”(Elektra)
Singer and rapper Cee Lo Green leaves hip-hop entirely behind on “The Lady Killer,” a bid for straight-up pop stardom, profanely fueled by the impossibly infectious, 18-million-hits- and-counting YouTube smash whose name cannot be printed in this newspaper. That song, included unexpurgated on “The Lady Killer,” can now be heard in buzz-killing form on the radio as “Forget You,” and it’s the best thing about Green’s third solo album, which does not attempt to genre-hop nearly as much as past endeavors such as Gnarls Barkley’s 2006 breakout, “St. Elsewhere.” (Gnarls Barkley is a collaboration between Green and DJ/producer Danger Mouse.) Instead, the gloriously raspy vocalist goes for a James-Bond-as- Soul-Man persona that is largely ebullient throughout, employing a Michael Jackson groove in “Bright Lights, Bigger City” and taking a horror- movie turn in “Bodies.” Charming stuff that’s never as naughtily enjoyable as the lead single. But then, how could it be? Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer
Rihanna, “Loud” (Island Def Jam)
It’s been five years since Rihanna released her debut CD — and now she’s putting out her fifth album. But Rihanna isn’t typically an album’s artist. Her first two discs, “Music of the Sun” and “A Girl Like Me,” had hits that dominated the dance floor, but to call them well-rounded albums would be a bit of an overstatement.
She’s back on track with “Loud,” an 11-track set that is top-notch from its opener, the jamming fetish-revealer “S&M,” to the closing number, the sequel to the riveting abuse tale “Love the Way You Lie,” where Eminem this time takes a back seat to Rihanna’s emotional roller coaster ride.
And what’s in between is equally fulfilling — or better. “Cheers (Drink to That),” which samples Avril Lavigne’s “I’m With You,” is a certified frat-party anthem that already sounds like a monster hit. And collaborations with Drake and Nicki Minaj on “What’s My Name?” and “Raining Men,” respectively, are enjoyable uptempo jams.
Rihanna knows how to sing a song about leaving a man: She did it beautifully on the pop tune “Take a Bow” and does it again on the exceptional “Fading.”
But on the reggae track “Man Down,” the 22-year-old is truly at her best. It’s a compelling song about Rihanna shooting her lover in public and calling her mother to detail the news. “Run, bum, bum, run, bum, bum,” a terrified Rihanna says in her homeland accent — while singing falsetto breakdowns — over a fire-alarm beat. Mesfin Fekadu, The Associated Press
Keith Urban, “Get Closer”(Capitol)
Keith Urban boils his sixth studio album down to the essentials of what fans expect from him. Of the eight songs, six explore relationships in relentlessly upbeat, guitar-driven arrangements; the two ballads address commitment and the joys of a strong, ongoing bond, as his love songs often do.
The new songs don’t delineate from the star-making course Urban has followed for the last decade.
But the new material does, concisely and consistently, prove why that formula works so well for him.
(Besides the discounted eight-song album, a deluxe version sold at Target stores adds three new studio cuts and four live concert favorites.)
The album’s first hit, “Put You in a Song,” sets the positive tone for his country rockers, all built on catchy riffs and propulsive rhythms that lean on Urban’s identifiable sound of modern looped beats, earthy banjo notes and plenty of slashing electric guitar. Other rockers, especially “You Gonna Fly” and “Long Hot Summer,” find fresh ways to capture cheerful snapshots of relationships in their formative phase.
That may sound rote, but Urban manages to keep his work engaging without straying beyond his comfort zone.
Michael McCall, The Associated Press
The Floacist, “The Floacist Presents Floetic Soul” (Shanachie)
It takes a brave woman to release a smartly wordy, quiet soul-hop album on an independent label, what with November’s major-label glut of loud superstar product from Kanye, Rihanna and Cee Lo.
But Natalie “The Floacist” Stewart is a slam-champ poet, rapper, and singer renowned for her sharply lyrical work with neo-soul’s sweetest-sounding duo, Floetry. They collaborated with toughs like the Roots and Mos Def. The Floacist can hold her own.
Using the principle of “poetic delivery with musical intent” that she’s used in past settings, the Floacist’s halting flow gives a quivering fluidity to each line she sings and speaks. There’s a jump, a wiggle and a giggle to her voice, whether toying with carnal passions (“Need You”) or entreating karmic force (“Alright Then”) through the gauze of soul-jazz ambience.
Sensuality for the Floacist may come with firm commitment on her flighty Fender Rhodes-filled ballad “Forever” with Musiq Soulchild. Yet she sounds equally committed to facing down fear, as in the militaristic groove of “The Stand.” A.D. Amorosi, The Philadelphia Inquirer
