Ratings based on five-star system:

Cheap Trick: “The Latest”
3 stars
As albums from this veteran band go, “The Latest” feels like one of Cheap Trick’s most schizophrenic efforts to date. It opens as if it’s going to be an epic theme album, with singer Robin Zander delivering a lovely vocal intro, only to settle into the poppy tune, “When The Lights Are Out,” which uses an intentional reworking of the beat and signature guitar riff of the song “ELO Kiddies,” from Cheap Trick’s 1977 debut album. The space age synthesizer coda that begins the third song, “Miss Tomorrow,” further suggests the conceptual thread, but is really just a tease. It’s actually part of a tune that is in itself a bit of a patchwork of what feels like two different songs spliced into one. From there, “The Latest” settles into feeling more like just a collection of songs, which is just fine. There are some strong ballads, such as “Miracle” (which tips its hat to John Lennon and the Beatles), and several brisk and catchy rockers, including “Sick Man Of Europe” (the title of which is actually the name of a pre-Cheap Trick version of the band), “California Girl” and “Alive.” So what “The Latest” lacks in cohesiveness, it makes up for with memorable songs. And for a band that on recent albums (“Rockford” and “Special Enough”) has enjoyed a creative resurgence, it’s a further sign that Cheap Trick still has some musical juice left.
— Alan Sculley

Rancid: “Let The Dominoes Fall”
3 1/2 stars
Punk may have the image of being all about youth and rebellion, but sometimes it takes some experienced hands to show the upstarts how it should be done. That’s the case with Rancid, who may no longer be young, but still have the rebellion and fire that has always fueled the group’s combustible brand of punk and ska. “Let The Dominoes Fall” is Rancid’s first CD in six years, and it’s one of group’s best efforts, thanks to smart and infectious songwriting on punk anthems like “East Bay Night,” “Last One To Die” and “LA River,” and the hooky ska of songs like “Up To No Good.” The band’s playing is razor sharp on “Let The Dominoes Fall” — perhaps better than it’s ever been — as the group delivers plenty of timely social commentary. And if the singing is as rough as ever, it just continues to add an essential element of grit to the band’s sound, while serving as a reminder that Rancid remains one of punk’s most honest and battle-tested bands.
— Alan Sculley

Daddy: “For A Second Time”
4 stars
If it wasn’t for the sharp humor in these songs, “For A Second Time” would go down as one of the year’s most enjoyable rootsy music CDs. But after you get past the cheerful vibe of the driving rocker “Early To Bed, Early To Rise,” the wonderfully relaxed tension that inhabits “He Ain’t Right,” or the New Orleans bounce of “Wash & Fold,” it quickly sinks in that Daddy’s principals, Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack, have also turned out one of the downright funniest CDs of 2008. “He Ain’t Right” slyly observes that the kids of days gone by weren’t coddled the way they are today, while “Love In A Bottle” offers a cure-all for the world’s everyday ills. Between the chuckles, though, Kimbrough and Womack find room for a little well-observed social commentary on “The Ballad of Martin Luther King,” which as it turns out isn’t a ballad at all, but one of the CD’s best rockers. Guess they couldn’t help but put the joke in the song title that time.
— Alan Sculley

Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam: “Coming Up For Air”
3 1/2 stars
This 22-year-old guitarist/singer gets some high profile help on “Coming Up For Air,” with Peter Frampton producing the CD. But the songs themselves suggest that Knowles would make a pretty strong statement on his own, without high-profile help. Despite his youth, Knowles, with his earthy blues-rock sound and wise-beyond-his-years lyrics, doesn’t sound like a novice. Instead, first-rate tracks, such as his soulful duet with Jonatha Brooke on “Taste of Danger,” the gritty rocker “Riverbed” and the tangy acoustic tune “Saving Myself,” show that Knowles is ready to make himself heard. That’s good news for a genre — blues/blues-rock — that has lost a lot of its veteran talent and has seemed a bit stagnant in recent years. Knowles may not have the talent or personal presence to be a game-changing blues-rock artist (think Stevie Ray Vaughan), but this very solid CD suggests he could be a solid contributor to the scene for years to come.
— Alan Sculley