Sheryl Crow’s latest is just plain boring

Dana Cooper, “Made of Mud”
“Made of Mud” is made of melodies — the instantly engaging kind difficult to find on the charts today. Singer-songwriter Dana Cooper’s subjects range from love and death to religion and politics, with a topical undercurrent throughout, and he makes everything hummable.

Part of Cooper’s secret is his relaxed, soft-focus voice. Reminiscent of Jules Shear, it coaxes fresh melodic charms from even Woody Guthrie’s venerable “Pretty Boy Floyd.” Other highlights include three beautiful ballads and the Byrdsian rocker “Sit This One Out,” a plea for peace and quiet. The understated, guitar-based arrangements are nicely embellished with the occasional lap steel, harmonica or flugelhorn.

Cooper began making records more than 30 years ago, and he has clearly mastered the craft. —Steven Wine

Fiona Apple, “Extraordinary Machine”
Fiona Apple’s long-overdue third album, “Extraordinary Machine,” doesn’t match up to the more minimalist ‘unfinished’ version that was leaked on the Internet months ago. But on its own merits, “Extraordinary Machine” is a good album and properly returns one of the most talented singers on the planet to the spotlight.

Apple and her handlers handed over the production reins to Mike Elizondo after Jon Brion took a swipe and failed to impress someone, somewhere in a suit. It’s unfortunate for those who appreciate giving Apple room to shine instead of saddling her with production room bluster.

“Red Red Red” is an exceptional song about a relationship slowly changing, and the quest for emotional harmony without compromising individual identity. It’s a slow-paced track, but infused with fire behind Apple’s soulful voice. She’s never sounded better vocally.

However, Elizondo took the sting out of many of the tracks. He botched the steamy song “O’ Sailor” by adding some corny background vocals where none were needed. And he took the energy out “Please Please Please,” a punchy potential hit now stuck with a lot of drum cymbals work and less of the whimsical staccato pace that made the leaked version shine.

This is still good music mind you, but it’s been better. The leaked album sounded like a bunch of talented youngsters snuck into an abandoned orchestra pit and made some beautiful music when no adults were around to give them “direction.”

The official release sounds like an annoying kid with Pro Tools tagged along. —Ron Harris

Charlie Sexton, “Cruel and Gentle Things”
Charlie Sexton knows all about “Cruel and Gentle Things.”

After rocketing to stardom as a teenage guitar whiz in the 1980s, he just as quickly fell back to Earth and out of the spotlight.

And when Sexton got what many considered the break of a lifetime playing guitar for Bob Dylan’s band a few years ago, his marriage broke up.

In many ways, “Cruel and Gentle Things” — his first album in 10 years — is a lifetime in the making.

Dark, introspective and haunting, Sexton’s mark is all over the disc even though there’s not a showoff guitar solo to be found.

Not only did Sexton produce, he wrote or co-wrote all 10 tracks, sings lead, and plays a variety of instruments including piano, drums, bass guitar and tambourine.

The opening track, “Gospel,” gives an idea of what to expect with lines like “I look to the hymns when my spirit sinks, don’t look for Jesus, he’s closer than you think.”

“So I’m taking inspiration with the gloom, cause usually where there is a tear, there’s a tune,” he sings on “It Don’t Take Long.”

Clearly, there’s a lot of pain being expressed here. A party record it is not.

Sexton’s voice is unique. With a cigarette-influenced rasp, Sexton seems to channel all the juke joints, concert halls and empty hotel rooms around the world where he’s made his living.

Backed with a strong rhythm section, anchored by Sexton’s confident but restrained guitar playing, “Cruel and Gentle Things” certainly gets its point across in a way that many artists are afraid to express. —Scott Bauer

Pilotdrift, “Water Sphere”
“Water Sphere,” a collection of synthesized symphonic sounds, worldly rhythms, operatic power chords and coffeehouse poetry, is something unlikely to be heard on commercial radio. That’s because Pilotdrift’s debut album fits no format known to Earth. Mars maybe; perhaps Saturn.

This juxtaposition of truly beautiful harmonics and sparse lyrics is exquisite. It makes me long for the late ’70s, when any self-respecting music lover had a quadraphonic stereo system and those huge, cushy headphones that enabled you to envelope yourself in the space-bending sounds of experimental rock.

Instead, I surround myself with Pilotdrift’s aura during my drive to the office, much like the corporate workers described in the second cut “Bubblecraft” who rush off in their water spheres, supported by a bossa nova beat.

There are circus rhythms, rocking laments, clever beat changes and bizarre passages that seem to have been channeled from pirates or dark characters of the Victorian era.

The five members of this Texarkana band have come up with something entirely unusual and delicately beautiful. —Michelle Morgante

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