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On Trace la Route, the eagerly awaited follow-up to Christophe Maé's smash breakout hit Mon Paradis (2007), follows in the same direction as its predecessor, and though it lacks that album's easygoing charm, it's an outstanding effort that should delight the singer/songwriter's legion of fans. During the past few years, no one was more successful in the French pop world than Maé, who was showered with NRJ Music Awards for three straight years. He brought home French Revelation of the Year in 2007, and then won both French Male Artist of the Year and French Song of the Year for two years straight in 2008 and 2009. Maé was not only acclaimed as French pop's brightest new star; he was a commercial juggernaut. Mon Paradis spawned several hits, most notably the chart-topper "On S'attache," and the live album Comme à la Maison (2008) kept him riding high on the charts with a couple more singles. It wasn't until 2009, after two straight years of non-stop airplay, that Maé stepped out of the media spotlight for a while to work on On Trace la Route. He reassembled much of the team that had worked with him on Mon Paradis, including producer Volodia and songwriters Michel Domisseck, Lionel Florence, and Bruno Dandrimont. Multi-instrumentalist Felipe Saldivia was also a key participant in the making of On Trace la Route. The end result of their teamwork is a solid batch of 11 songs in the same mold as those on Mon Paradis. Like that album, this one boasts a handful of flat-out great songs. "Dingue, Dingue, Dingue" and "J'ai Laissé," the first and second single spawned by the album, get it off to a perfect start. Then, after a few lackluster songs that dampen the excitement sparked by the first couple, the standout eighth and ninth songs, "Je Me Lâche" and "Ne M'abandonne Pas," revitalize the album as it nears its conclusion. As for Maé himself, he doesn't sound as carefree and unburdened by fame as he did on Mon Paradis. An unfortunate air of pretension hovers over On Trace la Route, and while some of that surely comes along with the great expectations heaped upon the album, one can't escape the sense that Maé has been affected by the incredible success of the past couple years, and not for the better.© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo

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Uncle Tupelo ended in volleys of bitter acrimony between founding members Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy, and as most of Uncle Tupelo's final lineup joined Tweedy to form Wilco, Farrar set out to assemble a new band that suited his specifications. Teaming with UT's original drummer Mike Heidorn, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Dave Boquist, and bassist (and Dave's brother) Jim Boquist, Farrar's new group Son Volt started with the deep, resonant sound of his work with Uncle Tupelo and moved it several steps further, and the band's debut album, 1995's Trace, ultimately displayed his talent to better advantage than any album he made before or since. Sequenced to highlight the dynamic push and pull between fierce rockers like "Route" and "Drown," full of Farrar's Neil Young-styled electric guitar, and quieter and more thoughtful numbers like "Tear-Stained Eye" and "Windfall," Trace honored both sides of Farrar's musical personality, and the muscular but unpretentious attack of his backing band was made to order for these songs. And the mixed themes of freedom, disappointment, and betrayal that punctuate Farrar's lyrics clearly reflected his state of mind as he walked away from one band and into another. One could reasonably describe Trace as Jay Farrar's version of George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, a watershed work where the artist occasionally looks to an unsatisfying past as he sets out on a bracing new adventure, and like All Things Must Pass it was a triumph that Farrar would never quite repeat as he created a body of work that was satisfying but never balanced songs, performances, and mood with the easy perfection he achieved here. However, when Trace appeared in 1995, it was hard not to believe Farrar had broken up Uncle Tupelo for all the right reasons, and it's still a powerful, beautifully crafted, and deeply moving set of songs.© Mark Deming /TiVo