Rock
Fall Out Boy
“Infinity on High”
This Illinois band's multimillion-selling 2005 album, “From Under the Cork Tree,” made Fall Out Boy punk-pop's standard-bearers: tuneful, smart, self-conscious, funny and supercharged, with songs about being frustrated but tenacious.
This time around, Fall Out Boy's music has broadened and the perspective of the lyrics has changed: from underdog to rock star. The elaborate arrangements on this album move toward the hefty 1970s and 1980s rock that punk once undercut. Fall Out Boy hasn't turned into a band of rock-star blowhards yet. But the songs were more fun when it was a band of underdogs.
– JON PARELES
Alternative
Bloc Party
“A Weekend in the City”
Claustrophobic with multitracked vocals and baroque effects, this album lacks the wiry catchiness of hits like “Banquet.”
But vocalist Kele Okereke is winningly heartfelt and confused, whether he is addressing anti-Muslim vigilantes (the taut “Hunting for Witches”) or the struggles of a second-generation Briton (“Where Is Home?”). I am trying to be heroic, he sings on the album's opening salvo, issuing a glum wake-up call to an audience that already got the message: It's a terrible time to be a young idealist.
– SIA MICHEL
Pop
Madonna
“The Confessions Tour”
Things we know about Madonna: She is very muscular, she writes children's books, she is into Kabbalah, her concerts are amazing even though her live voice is not the greatest.
Fortunately, the energy of her latest Confessions Tour translates on the 13-song CD that was recorded during a London concert. There are fun touches like infusing Donna Summers' “I Feel Love” with her own “Future Lovers.” And a dance-heavy “Lucky Star.” Maybe it's the wonders of modern technology, but her voice is strong and in tune the entire time. Still, we could do without those depressing “Confessions” from her dancers. And a 10-minute version of “Hung Up” is about five minutes too long.
– NINA GARIN
Pop
Katharine McPhee
“Katharine McPhee”
Fans of last year's “American Idol” runner-up may be surprised at Kat 2007: a sexed-up, urbanized siren programmed to do battle with Ciara, Christina and Beyoncé.
Her producers and handlers meticulously calculated everything on this disc to appeal to the widest possible range of listeners and broadcast formats, from hip-hop to pop to R&B to adult contemporary. “Not Ur Girl” is the closest thing to a mainstream pop song for the teeny-bopper audience, with a catchy melody over a standard rock beat that makes it the most accessible song on the album.
– WAYNE PARRY
Pop
Harry Connick Jr.
“Oh, My NOLA”
It's hard not to like Harry – he's personable, has that Sinatra ring-a-ding thing going on and, well, he's from the Big Easy. With this 16-track collection, Connick pays tribute to his hometown and the tunes associated with it, but spoils the gumbo with tepid big-band arrangements and much overworked material.
Connick brews up a mix of threadbare tunes (“Lazy Bones,” “Hello Dolly,” “Sheik of Araby”) and makes them less a tribute to his soggy and beat-up city, as promised, and more a dull reworking of tunes that need a new coat of paint. With guests that include many of the city's best, but little-known musicians, this collection even includes a couple of Connick originals. But they too lack the pizazz that would make them worthy tributes.
– T. MICHAEL CROWELL
ROCK
Fall Out Boy
“Infinity on High”
Island
ALTERNATIVE
Bloc Party
“A Weekend in the City”
Vice
POP
Madonna
“The Confessions Tour”
Warner Bros.
POP
Katharine McPhee
“Katharine McPhee”
(RCA)
POP
Harry Connick Jr.
“Oh, My NOLA”
Columbia
