Willie Nelson
The Great Divide (Lost Highway)
As he gets older, Willie Nelson gets stylistically restless. The country icon's last two releases were a volume of children's songs and a long-overdue blues project. Accordingly, the best tracks on his latest CD - a Santana-esque crossover with a host of pop tunes - show the bandana'd one perfecting a range of styles. An unlikely cover of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" has merit, as does an even more odd collaboration, "Last Stand in Open Country" with Kid Rock. While most artists fear aging, Nelson proves wiser on the piercing "This Face," plainly stating, "I have this honesty that grows with time." Honesty in direct proportion to risk is a beautiful thing.
Nine Inch Nails
And All That Could Have Been (Nothing)
Considering how sculpted and studio-manipulated Nine Inch Nails' music is, you wouldn't think their songs work well live. But evidence to the contrary abounds on this impressive concert collection, which is also available on DVD and VHS. It not only sears through such classic industrial rants as "Head Like a Hole" and "Wish," but also manages to keep the layered, haunting beauty of songs like "Hurt" and "Closer" intact.
Rory Block
I'm Every Woman (Rounder)
After a four-year recording hiatus, Block returns with an offering that fuses her well-known blues stylings with R&B and soul. Her intensity, which has characterized her take on country blues, is again evident: A passionate rendition of "Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down" is a serious dose of righteousness, as is the electrified groove of "I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home." Block touches traditional gospel and gets into straight-up old school on "Ain't Nothin' Like the Real Thing," and covers the tune "Pretty Polly" with Kelly Joe Phelps. The capper - a rousing version of Hudie Ledbetter's "Rock Island Line" with Paul Rishell and Annie Raines.
Louie Austen
Only Tonight (Kitty-Yo)
A midlife crisis inspired lounge-act veteran Louie Austen to discover techno; that search has culminated in Only Tonight, one of his most intriguing recent stylistic synergies. The sixtysomething Vienna native croons Rat Pack-influenced vocals about love and loss over sweet-as-bourbon house tracks, and even duets with potty mouth Peaches on the bizarre "Grab My Shaft!" Jarring juxtapositions do crop up, but Austen's grace smooths the edges like so many martinis.
Fila Brazillia
Jump Leads (Twenty-Three)
Since 1991, Steve Cobby and Dave McSherry - in their quest to "eliminate mediocrity" - have infused conventional, nonmusical elements into their quirky dance music. On Jump Leads, the duo is up to its usual antics, slapping playful song titles such as "The Green Green Grass of Homegrown" and "Motown Coppers" onto unwieldy grooves that could fuel a fun house. One glitch: The addition of singer Steve Edwards on several tracks lends a distracting polish.
And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
Source Tags & Codes (Interscope)
This Austin act is appropriately named: The band is known more for destroying its instruments onstage than for its talent. With this major-label debut, though, listeners will discover that the group ravages genres as violently as it does its guitars. Songs like "Heart in the Hand of the Matter" make torture beautiful, as an orchestra of effects tumbles over lyrics about a passing storm, while "Source Tags & Codes" is a milder sonic gale, including strings and vocal harmonies in its lush fold. For such an abrasive band, Trail of Dead is immensely gifted, shaping its volatile emotions into complex songs.
Brendan Benson
Lapalco (Star Time International)
Imagine if Bobby Brady's voice hadn't cracked and burned during that TV talent show. After winning, he would have bought Mom and Dad that silver platter, grown up to front Guided by Voices, and injected a little of his bubblegum virtuosity into the DIY vein. He'd probably have sounded a whole lot like Brendan Benson. Benson tosses off sparse, Beatles-worthy guitar ditties like a musical Midas who just can't help himself. Run, don't walk: Lapalco is an unpretentious pop gem.
Thievery Corporation
Sounds From the Verve Hi-Fi (Verve)
This Washington, DC, conglomerate has mastered the easy-listening ethos, pulling elements of classic bossa nova, samba, and exotica into its modern electronic mix. This compilation of songs - culled from Verve's diverse back catalog, which spans 50 years - displays a level of craftsmanship that seems to elude most current pop groups. Few TC contemporaries can boast the emotive power in Astrud Gilberto's steamy cover of "Light My Fire," Willie Bobo's romantic "Lisa," or the incomparable Sergio Mendes leading Brazil '66 in "Chove Chuva." Sultry sounds for jaded ears.
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