A- Reba McEntire
Love Somebody
Starstruck/Nash Icon/Big Machine
Love Somebody is Reba McEntire's best album of the 21st century because it draws on her strengths: that is, subtly and powerfully interpreting substantial story songs about adult relationships set to contemporary country music.
At 60, the performer -- she bills herself by her first name these days -- remains a remarkable vocalist, capable of stunning ferocity and dramatic nuance. She's one of the great traditional country singers of her time, but she prefers pushing herself to stay current. Always ambitious, she errs only when she tries to appeal to radio with material that's too lightweight for her talent and maturity.
Love Somebody strikes a perfect blend, especially on songs like "She Got Drunk Last Night," written by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, and the title song, co-written by Sam Hunt, which finds McEntire rising to a challenge of mixing tongue-twisting stanzas with a testifying chorus.
Other highlights include a duet with Jennifer Nettles on "Enough," dealing with a partner who leaves her feeling like she's not worth the effort he puts into the rest of his life, and the emotional ballad "Just Like Them Horses," a tribute to her rodeo champion father, written by friends Liz Hengber and Tommy Lee James.
With Love Somebody, McEntire proves she still has far too much to say to rest on her laurels.
Hot tracks: "She Got Drunk Last Night," "Love Somebody," "Just Like Them Horses."
-- MICHAEL McCALL
The Associated Press
B+ Ludacris
Ludaversal
DTP/Def Jam
Whether as Chris Bridges or as his nom de rap, Ludacris, the emcee-turned-actor has spent the latter half of this decade honing his cinematic skills, notably in the Fast and Furious series. This can't hide the fact that, earlier in the 2000s, he was an avatar in pushing Atlanta (the city and the aesthetic) in the Dirty South's rise to hip-hop prominence. With a voice like a hot slide trombone, a patented punctuated flow, and a friendly, lyrical braggadocio, Ludacris has carved out his own brand of pop-hop.
With producer David Banner providing double-time rhythms, title track "Ludaversal" announces the rapper's rude intentions and deep commitment: "They say Luda don't want it no more/ Nah, I'm as hungry as the first day." Sure, there are a lot of "I'm back" bits and typical rap gloats and boasts, but Ludacris still manages to go deep and ruminate. The rope-a-dopey pulse of "Ocean Skies" gives way to a personal story of familial addictions. "Grass Is Always Greener" and "Charge It to the Rap Game" find Luda dealing seriously with leeches in the media and his family. Luckily, Luda still sounds like the rubber-band man throughout.
Hot tracks:"Ludaversal," "Ocean Skies," "Charge It to the Rap Game."
-- A.D. AMOROSI
The Philadelphia Inquirer
B The Mountain Goats
Beat the Champ
Merge
Like a good short-story writer, the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle possesses a sharp eye for characters in crisis. He often builds albums from concepts: Bible verses ("The Life of the World to Come"), an unraveling marriage ("Tallahassee") or his own troubled childhood ("The Sunset Tree"). His narrators grapple with frustration or anger, but his songs convey hope and affirmation.
It's an album full of thwarted ambitions and narrow idealism, of faded heroes and heroic fantasies, of violence and blood. Typical of the Mountain Goats, the songs are intimate, empathetic, and, by turns, urgent or tender.
Hot tracks: "Beat the Champ," "Choked Out," "Fire Editorial."
-- STEVE KLINGE
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Style on 04/21/2015