By the writers of Last Word Features

Based on 5-star rating

Toby Keith: ‘American Ride’
2 1/2 stars
The title cut of Toby Keith’s new album is already a huge hit, even though it’s hard to tell whether the country star is celebrating or taking a slap at America.

The rest of the album, which will likely follow the single right up the charts, isn’t so ambiguous. Rather, it’s a collection of just what Keith’s fans want to hear: shakin’ honky tonk rockers like “If I Had One”; heartbroke numbers like “Woke Up On My Own”; and ballads like the piano drenched “Tender As I Want To Be.”

Keith is never subtle, which can occasionally give his music some emotional power, but mostly makes things overwrought. But he does nail the other topical song on the disc: “Ballad of Balad,” a banjo-rooted, boots-on-the-ground Iraq War song that won’t be used by Army recruiters, but sure is popular with the soldiers. — L. Kent Wolgamott.
Buy if you like: Garth Brooks

Flaming Lips: ‘Embryonic’
3 1/2 stars
“Embryonic” is psychedelic, surreal and just plain weird, instantly re-establishing The Flaming Lips as THE psychedelic band of the last three decades.

Anti-commercial in the best possible way, the 14th album from Oklahoma City’s favorite sons traverses through spacey, jazz-tinged rock, slams around with distorted guitar, odd bleeps, clatters and other noises, echoing vocals inside fractured songs that are plenty catchy but certainly not sing-along fare. That’s likely to disappoint the festival-going crowd that has embraced the cuddly Lips of the last decade or so. But “Embryonic” is a welcome break from what passes for the mainstream these days, closer to the odd, engaging, rock that made the Lips the Lips when they were an entertaining, challenging club band from the mid-80s through the mid-90s.

Appropriately enough, “Embryonic” is what used to be called “headphone rock,” making it perfect for the iPod era. And if you get the deluxe version, it’s 22 songs of Lips weirdness — L. Kent Wolgamott.
Buy if you like: Pink Floyd, Captain Beefheart

James McMurtry: ‘Live in Europe’
4 stars
For his first foray to Europe early this year, James McMurtry took along former Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan, along with his band, and the Heartless Bastards (bassist/harmony vocalist Ronnie Johnson, drummer Daren Hess and guitar tech/guitarist Tim Holt). It was a smart move; the legendary McLagan adds a light touch to McMurtry’s sardonic songs of desperation and ennui, without once overshadowing his formidable guitar playing.

Showcasing cuts from 2008’s “Just Us Kids” (on which McLagan also played), this disc adds another dimension to gems like “Ruby & Carlos,” another of his beautifully detailed, immeasurably sad tales of loneliness and despair. Only the best musicians can go from pin-drop-quiet for ballads like that one to blistering rockers like “Freeway View” with the ease McMurtry does. The DVD included in the package, which features pal Jon Dee Graham on “Laredo,” is a nice bonus. — Lynne Margolis

Bowling for Soup: ‘Sorry for Partyin’’
3 stars
Texas punk-popsters Bowling for Soup have been around for 15 years and have cranked out their 10th album with “Sorry for Partyin’.” But they certainly haven’t lost their sense of humor, generating laughs from the self-deprecating career recounting opener through a bunch of hook-filled songs filled with juvenile but oft-hilarious lyrics about beer, penises and best friends

Along the way, they bounce through anthems of youth, off-center love songs and sentimental little ditties. Some of them are actually heartfelt. Most of “Sorry for Partyin’,” however, is nothing but fun, fun, fun from a bunch of wise guys who know how to do just that – have fun.
— L. Kent Wolgamott
Buy if you like: Blink 182, Green Day

Adam Marsland: ‘Go West’
3 1/2 stars
You want your pop music eclectic? You’ve come to the right place with Adam Marsland’s “Go West.” You want something a little Steely Dan, try “Learning The Ropes” or “Burn Down The World.” Like a little disco in the mix? Then there’s “I Don’t Wanna Dance With You.” Like a bit of amped up early Elvis Costello-ish rock? Then “Like Other Men” is your go-to song.

These reference points aren’t meant to suggest that Marsland is playing record collection karaoke on “Go West.” His influences may be obvious at times, but the songwriting more often than not is solid and he has songs (like “Cut And Run” and “Go West”) that are less reminiscent of other artists. And with two discs packed full of songs, he offers something for most anyone. Now all Marsland, who has been operating on the fringes for more than a decade, is a bigger audience, and “Go West” he’ll be worth watching from this point forward. — Alan Sculley
Buy if you like: Steely Dan, Elliott Smith

Box Sets

Hall & Oates: ‘Do What You Want, Be What You Are: The Music of Daryl Hall & John Oates’
4 stars
Few voices on the planet are more sublime than Daryl Hall’s. His silk-sheened soul is so smooth, his falsetto so effortless, it’s like crawling into a freshly made bed or sipping a wonderful wine.

But this 74-track, four-disc box and accompanying book make it clear that John Oates was no mere sideman, as some assumed. They were hitmaking kindred spirits. Besides those many hits (“Sara Smile,” “Maneater,” “Rich Girl,” “Private Eyes,” the career defining “She’s Gone,” etc.), the best moments of this slightly overlong retrospective are the incredible live renditions of tunes like “Abandoned Luncheonette” and unreleased outtakes like the R&B-doo-wop pop-rocker “Storm Warning,” which encapsulates everything they were about. Black, white, blue-eyed, Philly … call it whatever. It’s Soul — with a capital S. And it rocks. — Lynne Margolis
Buy if you like: The Temptations, Sam & Dave