Entertainment, Music - Air Force Times

Music picks: Week of Nov. 21

Spotlight: The Beatles, “LOVE” (Four stars out of four):

Genre: Fab four fabulosity

Risking the wrath of Beatlemaniacs and their own fine reputations, George Martin and his son, Giles, accepted the dicey challenge of remixing and reimagining the Fab Four canon without blasting the band’s credibility. They didn’t just craft a strikingly inventive soundtrack for the same-named Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas. The pair vanquished the space-time continuum to deliver the Beatles reunion that Planet Earth has awaited for 36 years. “LOVE,” a 26-track collage of brilliantly layered and jigsawed fragments from 130 songs, is technologically, if not technically, a new Beatles album on which even the most familiar nuggets sound impossibly fresh. The superb sonic clarity of this aural kaleidoscope, a dizzying acknowledgment to the mash-up trend, reveals the full majesty and durability of The Beatles’ blissful sound. That is the glory of “LOVE.” (Unavailable for download.) - Edna Gundersen

Notable: Snoop Dogg, “Tha Blue Carpet Treatment” (Three and one-half stars):

Genre: Ruling rap

Snoop firms up his status as the West Coast don with this gritty, G-funk-drenched set. He rolls out the welcome mat to old friends (Ice Cube, Kurupt, Nate Dogg), young turks (The Game) and Bay Area stalwarts (E-40) while delivering some of his most hard-core and colorful lyrics in years. He raps with authority in his familiar laid-back flow, mixing pleas for gang peace and racial unity with deadly tales of life on the streets and the high and lows of his celebrity life. He reunites on several tracks with producer Dr. Dre, who joins him on the mike on the contemplative “Imagine.” - Steve Jones

- Download: “Vato,” “Think About It,” “Gangbangn 101,” “That’s That S- - - -”

- Skip: “Like This,” “PSst!”

Il Divo, “Siempre” (Two stars)

Genre: Musical divolution

What do you get when you combine a quartet of capable classical singers with an artistically tone-deaf pop mogul? Another multi-platinum notch on evil genius Simon Cowell’s belt, most likely. It’s not that Il Divo is unsuited to ballads such as “Nights in White Satin” and “Somewhere”; there are lighter, more lyrical passages early in several songs. But executive producer Cowell has signed off on arrangements that swell to ludicrously bloated crescendos, ensuring that such moments are few and far between. - Elysa Gardner

- Download: the relatively graceful “Un Regalo que Te Dio la Vida,” the first 15 seconds of most other tracks

- Skip: the rest

2Pac, “Pac’s Life” (Three stars)

Genre: Beyond-grave rap

Tupac Shakur, who was murdered in 1996, was not only controversial but also prolific. Twelve posthumous albums on, his estate continues to unearth material with which to fashion new music. His rhymes still resonate and, when paired with verses from Ludacris, T.I., Snoop, Young Buck, Outlawz, Chamillionaire and Papoose, make for compelling listening. - Jones

- Download: “Sleep,” “Soon as I Get Home,” “Pac’s Life (remix)”

- Skip: “Don’t Sleep”

Chris Daughtry, “Daughtry” (Two stars)

Genre: Reality-show rock

Ejected fifth-season “American Idol” finalist Chris Daughtry resurfaces in a generic and inoffensive rock band called Daughtry, which is short for “FuelNickelStaindback.” The singer has basically spared Ed Kowalczyk the trouble of having to record the next “Live” album. In power ballads and hard-rockers, Daughtry has a more palatable and natural delivery than he did in “Idol”’s strained TV performances, and his strong pipes and palpable angst should satisfy voters who kept him in contention. To win converts, however, he’ll need something more distinctive than a talent show degree. - Gundersen

- Download: “Breakdown,” “There and Back Again”

- Skip: “Gone,” “Feels Like Tonight”

“Rock Star Supernova” (One star)

Genre: More reality-show rock

Let’s review. Fading rockers Gilby Clarke, Jason Newsted and Tommy Lee take on poser Lukas Rossi, winner of the credibility-peeling “Rock Star” talent show. They record a pile of vanilla-rock anthems and that annoying “Underdog” theme. They exude the genuine authority and menace of Dudley Do-Right. And they dub the band Supernova? Black hole - six months, tops. - Gundersen

- Consider: Waiting for next season’s prospects

Damien Rice, “9” (Three stars)

Genre: Folk rock

What sets this Irish crooner and his sensitive anxiety-shot love songs apart from an expanding stable of earnest neo-folkie singer/songwriters are his craggy falsetto and tendency to toss cockeyed views and rock racket into a pretty tune. Cliched and cursory in spots, this album falls short of Rice’s excellent 2002 debut, but there’s plenty to admire in 9’s candor, bleak beauty and experimental leaps. - Gundersen

- Download: the lovely “9 Crimes” and ambient “Sleep Don’t Weep”

- Skip: “Me, My Yoke, and I”

Pick of the week

“The Saints Are Coming”

U2 and Green Day

Take your pick. The Irish quartet and U.S. punk trio offer two versions of the snarling anthem by Scottish punk band The Skids. A lean studio cut, produced by Rick Rubin for the new “U218 Singles” set, builds from Billie Joe Armstrong’s ominous snatches of “House of the Rising Sun” to Bono’s wail to rhythmic thunder. The ramshackle brass-blasted live take performed at the emotional reopening of the New Orleans Superdome is downloadable at Rhapsody.com, with all proceeds going to Katrina-spawned charity Music Rising. - Edna Gundersen

The playlist

USA Today music critic Edna Gundersen highlights 10 tracks from a stack of recent soundtracks.

“My Tighty Whiteys, ” SpongeBob SquarePants Lovesick “Best Day Ever” ode isn’t just a whimsical kiddie tune but also one of many pristine Andy Paley pop compositions.

“How It Ends,” DeVotchKa. The Colorado band brings a gypsy-rock feel to the “Little Miss Sunshine” score, ending hauntingly with a lonesome vocal.

“I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” Dropkick Murphys. Bagpipes, mandolin and scabrous guitars collide in a bruising reel by Boston’s Irish punkers, an ideal fit for “The Departed.”

“Right to Arm Bears,” Paul Westerberg. The cult hero teams with fellow ex-Replacement Tommy Stinson on this daffy, deft thumper penned for “Open Season.”

“Today’s the Day,” Aimee Mann. The singer’s unsettling blend of ennui, twang and psychedelia suits the mellow but off-kilter mood of “The Last Kiss.”

“Hong Kong Garden,” Siouxsie & The Banshees. A new chamber-music prelude lends “Garden” an appropriate royal air to offset its youthful sneer in “Marie Antoinette.”

“When I Look in Your Eyes,” Outkast. It’s no “Hey, Ya,” but hey, ya gotta love Andre 3000’s lively piano-driven retro-jam, an upbeat gem on the wildly uneven “Idlewild.”

“We’re No Here,” Mogwai. The Glasgow guitar band’s stormy instrumental, a highlight of its “Mr. Beast” album, is a standout on the “Miami Vice” disc.

“Ophidiophobia,” Cee-Lo Green. From “Snakes on a Plane,” the Gnarls Barkley MC and Organized Noise team on a hip-shaking slice of slithery Atlanta soul.

“You Be My Wife,” Borat. Over inglorious ‘80s rhythms, Sacha Baron Cohen puts his mock croon to cornball lyrics both hilarious and hilariously odious.