LITTLE ROCK — Kelly Clarkson

Greatest Hits:Chapter One

RCA B+

Talk about seizing the moment. Singer Kelly Clarkson, the first American Idol winner, was nominated for best female vocalist at this year’s Country Music Association Awards, debuted her new country-tinged single, “Don’t Rush” (a duet with Vince Gill) on the TV show and has a pop single, “Catch My Breath,” out this week.

This hits collection is stoked with lots of ’em, including the No. 1 smash “Stronger,” plus favorites such as “Since U Been Gone,” “My Life Would Suck Without You” and “Behind Those Hazel Eyes.”

The new tracks sweeten the deal, with the fine “Don’t Rush,” the familiar-sounding, “Stronger”-esque “Catch My Breath” and a lovely reading of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Clarkson’s strong voice and the tunes’ pop hooks are hard to resist. So don’t.

Hot tracks:

“Stronger,” “Don’t Rush,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Don’t You Wanna Stay” (with Jason Aldean).

• ELLIS WIDNER

Lindi Ortega

Cigarettes &Truckstops

Last Gang B+

The second album by Lindy Ortega follows her recent move from Canada to Nashville. Ortega has an arresting, high-lonesome voice that pairs quite well with her rockabilly, reverb-drenched sound. When Ortega is on here, as she is on the high-tension murder ballad “Murder of Crows” or the fast-paced “Don’t Wanna Hear It,” you’re ready to follow her atmospheric angst anywhere it wants to go.

But repeat listenings show something oddly limiting about Ortega’s approach - she doesn’t range very far from one-girl, one guitar mix. Still, Ortega separates herself from thousands of others and carves out a genuine identity, a rare thing on Music Row or even in the Great White North.

Hot tracks:

“Murder of Crows,” “Don’t Wanna Hear It.”

• WERNER TRIESCHMANN

Various artists

Jekyll & Hyde:Concept Album

Broadway C

If you’re looking for Broadway singing, look elsewhere. This is a concept album in anticipation of a new tour and a short Broadway run for 2013. Not all the songs from the show Jekyll & Hyde are included.

Former American Idol contestant Constantine Maroulis takes on the dual title role, and while he does fine on the rock elements (primarily as Hyde on numbers like “Alive”), when the song calls for smoother lines and more traditional Broadway singing, his voice is strained, overpowered by the orchestrations, and the vibrato threatens to get out of control. Case in point: “This Is the Moment.”

Deborah Cox (as Lucy) uses a heavy pop style (think Whitney Houston) on all her songs, whether warranted or not. Teal Wicks (as Emma) has a tendency to swallow notes, although she sounds lovely when she sings out.

Some may like this new approach, but I found the album exhausting. There was far too much unnecessary power singing, vocal strain, scooping and near-screaming.

Hot track:

“Once Upon a Dream.”

• JENNIFER NIXON

Tora Fisher

Spilling Over

LML Music/Allegro D

Is Tora Fisher a real artist or the work of a brilliant futurist at MIT (or EMI) who managed to invent a perfectly mimetic, perfectly algorithmic folk-pop album? Fisher’s debut, Spilling Over, is everything you’d expect from this genre - the down-tempo bass drumming and chanteuse-y arpeggios, the plucky acoustic string riffs and G-chord refrains. She supports her own choruses with synthesized backtracks.

“I can’t stop looking down, still can’t believe I’m here,” she sings in “Won’t Cry.” “My feet are on the ground, but my heart is nowhere near.” Where have I heard this before? Everywhere. It’s a little Lady Antebellum but without the bright harmonies or semblance of a regional dialect, save maybe “Brooklyn.”

Hot tracks:

none.

• BOBBY AMPEZZAN

The Coal Porters

Find the One

Prima B

Sid Griffin used to lead a New Wave band called The Long Ryders that made a handful of respected records in the mid-1980s. Kentucky-born Griffin now lives in London and leads The Coal Porters, an alt-bluegrass band. This is the fifth album for Griffin’s current group.

While Find the One demonstrates all sorts of stellar musicianship, there is something a little too precious - cute even - about the band’s general approach. The only time they seem to add up to something more than a genre exercise is when they cover old rock songs - David Bowie’s “Heroes” and the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It, Black.”

Hot tracks:

“Heroes,” “Paint It, Black.”

• WERNER TRIESCHMANN

Style, Pages 29 on 11/20/2012