JP, Chrissie and the Fairground Boys: “Fidelity” (La Mina Records/Rocket Science Ventures) 
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It will undoubtedly be hard for some fans of singer/guitarist Chrissie Hynde to accept the idea of her making music outside of her long-time band, the Pretenders. But “Fidelity,” her collaboration with singer/songwriter JP Jones from Wales, is the best album Hynde has made since the Pretenders’ “Learning To Crawl.” That CD, by the way, came out in 1983.

Hynde, of course, has made some good Pretenders music since then, but her albums fronting that band have more often been uneven. With “Fidelity,” she and Jones have created a solid, highly listenable CD from start to finish. Many of the songs — “Fairground Luck,” “Courage” and “Australia” — fall into the mid-tempo rock/pop vein of such Pretenders’ favorites as “Brass In Pocket” and “Kid.” There is also a bit of the country-leaning sound Hynde explored on the 2008 Pretenders CD, “Break Up The Concrete” on songs like “Leave Me If You Want” and “Never Drink Again.”

What’s also refreshing is hearing Hynde blend her sultry vocals with the singing of Jones, whose tone evokes thoughts of Kris Kristofferson (but more melodic and more scruffy).

As lyricists, Hynde and Jones also seem to have been inspired, telling the story of a romance that couldn’t happen between a woman and man separated by several decades in age — one that reflects their own chemistry.

Romance may have been out of the question for these two, but the creative sparks that flew between Hynde and Jones will hopefully lead to more albums as good as “Fidelity” in the future. — Alan Sculley
Buy if you like: The Pretenders, the Kinks

JJ Grey & Mofro: “Georgia Warhorse” (Alligator)
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JJ Grey & Mofro is one of those outfits who remain inexplicably under the mainstream radar while other, far lesser talents gain way too much attention. But that’s OK; those of us who know just how good this Florida swamp rat and his band are do our grooving with or without you. And this album has plenty to groove on, from “King Hummingbird,” a soulful, spare acoustic lullaby that builds to gospel-style intensity, to “Slow, Hot & Sweaty,” which is every bit as sexy as it sounds. You’ll want to light a cigarette at the end of this one, even if you don’t smoke; the album sure does.
Aided by Toots Hibbert and Derek Trucks, JJ Grey & Mofro slide from funk to soul to blues with the kind of heat that’ll makes you beg for more.
— Lynne Margolis
Buy if you like: Paul Thorn, Derek Trucks

Dead Confederate: “Sugar” (TAO/Old Flame)
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Dead Confederate opened quite a few ears with its 2008 debut CD, “Wrecking Ball” and its Southern-tinged modern rock sound that ricocheted between moody whisper-to-a-scream songs like “It Was A Rose” and explosive rockers like “The Rat” and “Start Me Laughing.” “Sugar” offers more of the same with songs like “By Design” and the title track, which moves from eerie understatement to a controlled roar, and rockers like “Mob Scene” and “Quiet Kid” that would have fit just fine on the first album.

But the band also stretches out, employing new textures and delivering several songs that represent an expanding musical range. In the texture department, there’s “In The Dark,” the CD’s impressive opening song that cuts back on the bombast, but achieves plenty of tension and color with its sliding lead guitar line and organ fills.

A similar restraint informs “Father Figure,” a potent track that might even fit on a Smashing Pumpkins CD. “Run From the Gun” represents a new twist entirely in the Dead Confederate sound, with its hunky acoustic pop sound.

The added diversity is welcome, and overall Hardy Morris and Brantley Senn have grown as songwriters and taken some stylistic risks, making “Sugar” a sweet step forward from a band that sounds like it has a bright future. — Alan Sculley
Buy if you like: Black Crowes, the Whigs

Katy Perry: “Teenage Dream” (Capitol Records)
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Between her high-profile relationship with Russell Brand, her penchant for provocative photos (the “Rolling Stone” cover shoot being a recent example, as is the album cover for “Teenage Dream”) and her willingness to titillate with songs like her smash hit “I Kissed A Girl,” it’s easy to assume Katy Perry is more interested in being a spotlight-seeking celebrity than a true artist. Fortunately, her albums show there’s more to Perry than her looks and her willingness to exploit them.

As much as her songs are often frothy — and on the “Teenage Dream” CD she’s playing more often on flirtatious themes — some of her lyrics, at least, are also smart, cleverly worded and have more depth than the usual pop/dance fare that populates top 40 playlists these days.

“Last Friday Night (TGIF),” for instance, manages to tease with its tales of skinny dipping and streaking, but in the end is both a funny and cautionary ditty. The title track also knowingly plays with the stereotype of teenage fantasy. And yes, Perry knows a thing about creating catchy pop, with the “Teenage Dream” album delving further into dance-oriented beats and synthy tones than on her first CD, the multi-platinum smash “One of the Boys.”

The new CD is certainly crafted for maximum commercial impact, offering the kind of hooky and playful sound that top 40 craves radio. But if “Teenage Dream” is light, at least it’s not brainless. — Alan Sculley 
Buy if you like: Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga

Charlie Musselwhite: “The Well” (Alligator)
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Charlie Musselwhite has recorded more than 30 albums in his long career and played on scores of albums by other artists. But his latest release, “The Well,” represents a career first for the harmonica virtuoso. It’s his first full-band album in which he wrote all of the songs, except for one track that he co-wrote.

Not surprisingly, “The Well” is arguably Musselwhite’s most personal CD as he touches on his Delta roots in the blues (“Where Highway 61 Runs”), his battle with alcohol and drug addiction (“Dig The Pain”), his recovery from those addictions (“The Well”) and the murder of his elderly mother (a duet with the great Mavis Staples on “Sad And Beautiful World”).

Musically, “The Well” is as pure a distillation of Musselwhite’s brand of blues as any album he’s made. His country-blues style is represented in fine form on “Rambler’s Blues.” He swings nicely on “Dig The Pain,” and shows on “Good Times” and “Where Highway 61 Runs” that he knows his way around the Delta-influenced Chicago blues sound.

There may be little stylistically on “The Well” that will be new to those familiar with other Musselwhite albums. But this is a strong collection of songs, and with its autobiographical lyrics and command of the blues idiom, “The Well” is also a great introduction for the uninitiated to the artistry of Musselwhite. — Alan Sculley
Buy if you like: Sonny Boy Williamson, Lazy Lester