Black Eyed Peas ringleader will.i.am's last solo outing was 2007's Songs About Girls, a hearty collection of relaxed R&B pop that was mostly left in the shadows as his main act grew in popularity to the scope of Superbowl halftime shows and world records for most downloaded singles. #willpower sees will.i.am returning with a nonstop list of collaborators from Juicy J to Skylar Grey and over an hour of neatly polished pop-friendly tracks. Beginning the album with the lyrics "Good morning/Welcome to the thing called life" sets #willpower up for unabashed cheesiness, and the album follows suit with a plethora of mindless party jams, tossed-off rap routines, and the type of cheesy escapist fun you would expect from one of the minds that gave us "My Humps" and "Let's Get Retarded." While there's something to be said for letting go, having fun, and partying, even the constant in-the-club rhetoric seems tiredly disingenuous and phoned-in on #willpower, with will.i.am delivering lines like "I wish this night would last forever!" with all the energy of an overworked convenience store clerk on the graveyard shift eager to get home and go to sleep. His biggest hits were no more intelligent or substantial, but they got over with the type of big dumb hooks that cement themselves in the minds of every passerby. #willpower is plenty big, with banging four-on-the-floor beats pushing most songs through plastic production and the occasional dip into interesting glitchy electro or string samples, as on "Hello." Dumb is the order of the day, too, as embraced on "Gettin' Dumb," one of several half-cooked party anthems on the record, but nothing sticks with even half the force of gloriously simple Black Eyed Peas anthems like "I Gotta Feeling." Single "Scream & Shout," featuring Britney Spears reciting her verses in an inexplicably British accent, is as close as the album comes to catchy. Even bringing in big guns like Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus for manufactured disposable pop moments like "#thatPOWER" and "Fall Down" doesn't save the songs from their plodding beats, piecemeal digital construction, and an overarching sense that a good portion of the album's interminable 15 tracks were written in the studio moments before they were recorded. This unfinished feeling wouldn't be a huge downfall if there were anything in between the relentless side-chained bass thumps and mindless lyrical clichés to latch onto. #willpower gets more confusing as it goes on, with stabs at worn-out Top 40 trends like the ham-fisted "Let's Go" and clumsy social commentary over an admittedly intriguing beat on "The World Is Crazy," and with irritating little-kid vocals on "Ghetto Ghetto." Lacking real excitement, verve, or even the stupid type of fun we're used to from him, will.i.am sounds remarkably like his heart isn't in it throughout the record, bored on the job even though it's his job to get the party started.© Fred Thomas /TiVo

All the greats have dabbled in such projects. Bowie with Pinups, Johnny Cash with American IV: The Man Comes Around, Lennon with Rock & Roll, Metallica with Garage Inc, Cat Power with The Covers Record, Meshell Ndegeocello with Ventriloquism, Patti Smith with Twelve, Costello with Almost Blue and hundreds more. Nevertheless, the cover album remains a risky project that rarely stands out in an artist’s discography. With California Son, Morrissey works namely to unearth unexpected, obscured or even forgotten songs. The ex-Smiths singer’s favourite artists (New York Dolls, Patti Smith, Roxy Music, Bowie, Sparks etc.) are known to many yet are nowhere to be found on this album. With the help of seven collaborators (LP, Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear, Ariel Engle of Broken Social Scene, Petra Haden, Sameer Gadhia of Young the Giant, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day and Lydia Night of the Regrettes), Moz excels particularly on tracks by Roy Orbison, Melanie, Laura Nyro, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Bob Dylan, the 5th Dimension but also Jobriath, Phil Ochs, Tim Hardin, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon. His voice acts as a driving force and is often exquisite, mastering each title (it’s astonishing on Dylan’s Only a Pawn in their Game). Above all, it’s a record we recommend to all Morrissey fans. © Max Dembo/Qobuz

Black Eyed Peas ringleader will.i.am's last solo outing was 2007's Songs About Girls, a hearty collection of relaxed R&B pop that was mostly left in the shadows as his main act grew in popularity to the scope of Superbowl halftime shows and world records for most downloaded singles. #willpower sees will.i.am returning with a nonstop list of collaborators from Juicy J to Skylar Grey and over an hour of neatly polished pop-friendly tracks. Beginning the album with the lyrics "Good morning/Welcome to the thing called life" sets #willpower up for unabashed cheesiness, and the album follows suit with a plethora of mindless party jams, tossed-off rap routines, and the type of cheesy escapist fun you would expect from one of the minds that gave us "My Humps" and "Let's Get Retarded." While there's something to be said for letting go, having fun, and partying, even the constant in-the-club rhetoric seems tiredly disingenuous and phoned-in on #willpower, with will.i.am delivering lines like "I wish this night would last forever!" with all the energy of an overworked convenience store clerk on the graveyard shift eager to get home and go to sleep. His biggest hits were no more intelligent or substantial, but they got over with the type of big dumb hooks that cement themselves in the minds of every passerby. #willpower is plenty big, with banging four-on-the-floor beats pushing most songs through plastic production and the occasional dip into interesting glitchy electro or string samples, as on "Hello." Dumb is the order of the day, too, as embraced on "Gettin' Dumb," one of several half-cooked party anthems on the record, but nothing sticks with even half the force of gloriously simple Black Eyed Peas anthems like "I Gotta Feeling." Single "Scream & Shout," featuring Britney Spears reciting her verses in an inexplicably British accent, is as close as the album comes to catchy. Even bringing in big guns like Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus for manufactured disposable pop moments like "#thatPOWER" and "Fall Down" doesn't save the songs from their plodding beats, piecemeal digital construction, and an overarching sense that a good portion of the album's interminable 15 tracks were written in the studio moments before they were recorded. This unfinished feeling wouldn't be a huge downfall if there were anything in between the relentless side-chained bass thumps and mindless lyrical clichés to latch onto. #willpower gets more confusing as it goes on, with stabs at worn-out Top 40 trends like the ham-fisted "Let's Go" and clumsy social commentary over an admittedly intriguing beat on "The World Is Crazy," and with irritating little-kid vocals on "Ghetto Ghetto." Lacking real excitement, verve, or even the stupid type of fun we're used to from him, will.i.am sounds remarkably like his heart isn't in it throughout the record, bored on the job even though it's his job to get the party started.© Fred Thomas /TiVo

Sweet Charlie Babe contains ten powerhouse tracks by Jacksonville, FL native Jackie Moore. A good mixture of Southern and urban R&B soul from the saucy, sweet soul diva. The slinky "Precious, Precious" zoomed up the charts and became her biggest hit; it employs a similar groove that made hits out of "Trapped by a Thing Called Love" by Denise LaSalle and "Make Me Yours" by Bettye Swann. "If" is lyrically infectious; Joe Simon also recorded the Bunny Sigler and Phil Hurtt tune. The floating "Both Ends Against the Middle" delights every time it spins. Moore does justice to the Elgins' "Darling Baby," the rolling ballad is one of Holland-Dozier-Holland's most charming songs. Moore shows no shame singing about her man Charlie, on "Sweet Charlie Babe," an upbeat testimonial, with a message similar to the Marvelettes' "Don't Mess with Bill." She dispenses wise advice on "Clean Up Your Own Yard." "Time" is an exquisite ballad eloquently done by Moore; however, beat ballads and deep soul sagas like "Cover Me" and "Willpower" defined Moore's style. If you can't find this slab of vinyl, these songs and more are available on the CD Precious, Precious: The Best of Jackie Moore.© Andrew Hamilton /TiVo

If James Brown is Soul Brother Number One, you can make a very credible case for Dan Penn being number two. The Alabama native has had a hand in writing a fair number of classic soul songs, and here he commits his versions of them to tape for the first time, recording, of course, in Muscle Shoals, with their fabulous house band, and a horn section including former Memphis Horn member Wayne Jackson. It's a tall order Penn sets himself, offering himself up for comparison with greats like James Carr, Aretha Franklin, and James and Bobby Purify, who have sung his songs -- and that's just the start of the list. However, he comes out very well, beginning with a quiet take on"The Dark End of the Street," coming across like a note to a secret lover, rather than a cry of pain. "It Tears Me Up" conveys the anguish,"You Left the Water Running" bounces in its pain, and "Do Right Woman Do Right Man" is advice to a friend, instead of Aretha's extra freedom cry for equal rights."I'm Your Puppet" becomes a sigh of resignation. Given tracks like that, the other songs will inevitably suffer by comparison, and, to be fair, "Memphis Women and Chicken" is little more than a throwaway. But even the lesser-known material from a craftsman-like Penn is head and shoulders above most of the competition, and "Zero Willpower," a song that he took 20 years to complete, has soul classic written all over it, as good as the greatest hits. Penn can't just write 'em, he can perform 'em too, in a manner as soulful as the greats, as this record shows. The man deserves to be an American musical icon.© Chris Nickson /TiVo

Black Eyed Peas ringleader will.i.am's last solo outing was 2007's Songs About Girls, a hearty collection of relaxed R&B pop that was mostly left in the shadows as his main act grew in popularity to the scope of Superbowl halftime shows and world records for most downloaded singles. #willpower sees will.i.am returning with a nonstop list of collaborators from Juicy J to Skylar Grey and over an hour of neatly polished pop-friendly tracks. Beginning the album with the lyrics "Good morning/Welcome to the thing called life" sets #willpower up for unabashed cheesiness, and the album follows suit with a plethora of mindless party jams, tossed-off rap routines, and the type of cheesy escapist fun you would expect from one of the minds that gave us "My Humps" and "Let's Get Retarded." While there's something to be said for letting go, having fun, and partying, even the constant in-the-club rhetoric seems tiredly disingenuous and phoned-in on #willpower, with will.i.am delivering lines like "I wish this night would last forever!" with all the energy of an overworked convenience store clerk on the graveyard shift eager to get home and go to sleep. His biggest hits were no more intelligent or substantial, but they got over with the type of big dumb hooks that cement themselves in the minds of every passerby. #willpower is plenty big, with banging four-on-the-floor beats pushing most songs through plastic production and the occasional dip into interesting glitchy electro or string samples, as on "Hello." Dumb is the order of the day, too, as embraced on "Gettin' Dumb," one of several half-cooked party anthems on the record, but nothing sticks with even half the force of gloriously simple Black Eyed Peas anthems like "I Gotta Feeling." Single "Scream & Shout," featuring Britney Spears reciting her verses in an inexplicably British accent, is as close as the album comes to catchy. Even bringing in big guns like Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus for manufactured disposable pop moments like "#thatPOWER" and "Fall Down" doesn't save the songs from their plodding beats, piecemeal digital construction, and an overarching sense that a good portion of the album's interminable 15 tracks were written in the studio moments before they were recorded. This unfinished feeling wouldn't be a huge downfall if there were anything in between the relentless side-chained bass thumps and mindless lyrical clichés to latch onto. #willpower gets more confusing as it goes on, with stabs at worn-out Top 40 trends like the ham-fisted "Let's Go" and clumsy social commentary over an admittedly intriguing beat on "The World Is Crazy," and with irritating little-kid vocals on "Ghetto Ghetto." Lacking real excitement, verve, or even the stupid type of fun we're used to from him, will.i.am sounds remarkably like his heart isn't in it throughout the record, bored on the job even though it's his job to get the party started.© Fred Thomas /TiVo

Willpower was really designed to be Jack Bruce's Crossroads -- it followed Clapton's monumental box by a year, had similar artwork, a similar approach that blended selections from throughout his various projects, and the same remastering/production team. Thing is, Bruce didn't have the commercial success of Clapton, nor did he have the same sizable following (although his fans were indeed devoted), and critics just sorta gave up paying attention around 1970, so there wasn't much of an audience for Willpower upon its release in 1989. Nevertheless, it's a pretty terrific summary of Bruce's career, never staying too long in one particular period (even the selections from Cream lack such heavy hitters as "Sunshine of Your Love" or "I Feel Free"), and encapsulating how unpredictable and adventurous Bruce's career has been. This is not heavy on hits, even if it has such signature songs as "White Room," "Theme for an Imaginary Western," "Never Tell Your Mother She's Out of Tune," "How's Tricks," and "As You Said," because Bruce never had that many hits, even radio hits. But it does provide a through, representative introduction.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Black Eyed Peas ringleader will.i.am's last solo outing was 2007's Songs About Girls, a hearty collection of relaxed R&B pop that was mostly left in the shadows as his main act grew in popularity to the scope of Superbowl halftime shows and world records for most downloaded singles. #willpower sees will.i.am returning with a nonstop list of collaborators from Juicy J to Skylar Grey and over an hour of neatly polished pop-friendly tracks. Beginning the album with the lyrics "Good morning/Welcome to the thing called life" sets #willpower up for unabashed cheesiness, and the album follows suit with a plethora of mindless party jams, tossed-off rap routines, and the type of cheesy escapist fun you would expect from one of the minds that gave us "My Humps" and "Let's Get Retarded." While there's something to be said for letting go, having fun, and partying, even the constant in-the-club rhetoric seems tiredly disingenuous and phoned-in on #willpower, with will.i.am delivering lines like "I wish this night would last forever!" with all the energy of an overworked convenience store clerk on the graveyard shift eager to get home and go to sleep. His biggest hits were no more intelligent or substantial, but they got over with the type of big dumb hooks that cement themselves in the minds of every passerby. #willpower is plenty big, with banging four-on-the-floor beats pushing most songs through plastic production and the occasional dip into interesting glitchy electro or string samples, as on "Hello." Dumb is the order of the day, too, as embraced on "Gettin' Dumb," one of several half-cooked party anthems on the record, but nothing sticks with even half the force of gloriously simple Black Eyed Peas anthems like "I Gotta Feeling." Single "Scream & Shout," featuring Britney Spears reciting her verses in an inexplicably British accent, is as close as the album comes to catchy. Even bringing in big guns like Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus for manufactured disposable pop moments like "#thatPOWER" and "Fall Down" doesn't save the songs from their plodding beats, piecemeal digital construction, and an overarching sense that a good portion of the album's interminable 15 tracks were written in the studio moments before they were recorded. This unfinished feeling wouldn't be a huge downfall if there were anything in between the relentless side-chained bass thumps and mindless lyrical clichés to latch onto. #willpower gets more confusing as it goes on, with stabs at worn-out Top 40 trends like the ham-fisted "Let's Go" and clumsy social commentary over an admittedly intriguing beat on "The World Is Crazy," and with irritating little-kid vocals on "Ghetto Ghetto." Lacking real excitement, verve, or even the stupid type of fun we're used to from him, will.i.am sounds remarkably like his heart isn't in it throughout the record, bored on the job even though it's his job to get the party started.© Fred Thomas /TiVo