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Brian Wilson, Joshua Bell, NKOTB and more

Sept. 2-8, 2008

By Kurt B. Reighley
Special to MSN Music

Did you enjoy your Labor Day weekend? Great. Now pack away those white bucks and straw boaters; summer is officially over. Except nobody told Brian Wilson. "That Lucky Old Sun," the latest solo opus from the Beach Boys genius, brims with the warmth of Southern California. The arrangements are a little more sophisticated, and Wilson's voice a bit wearier, but stylistically this disc echoes his '60s best. Autobiographical in nature, it acknowledges Wilson's eccentric behavior circa his lost masterpiece, "Smile" (and reunites him with one collaborator from that troubled project, Van Dyke Parks). Yet, primarily, its songs (including the classic Tin Pan Alley title track) and narrative interludes accentuate the positive, via cuts like the wistful "Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl," and the greet-the-day ditty "Oxygen to the Brain." Sunny? You'll feel like you've ingested your monthly allowance of Vitamin C by its end.

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As summer segues into fall, what better week to issue a new recording of Vivaldi's classic "The Four Seasons." Yet listening to the oh-so-recognizable opening bars of "La Primavera" (i.e. "Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 1"), one might be tempted to think, "Must there really be another spring?" Yes, absolutely, when the soloist is none other than Grammy Award-winning Joshua Bell, accompanied by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Orchestra. In the wrong hands, the intricate counterpoint of this baroque masterpiece can sound mechanical, but virtuoso violinist Bell illuminates even the most familiar passages with a lightness of touch and deft technique. Bravo!

At 58, Rodney Crowell is entering the autumn of his years. But from the sound of his latest, "Sex & Gasoline," this winner of the ASCAP Lifetime Achievement Award isn't ready to start crooning "September Song" just yet. The country vet -- he started playing with Emmylou Harris back in 1975 -- still has too much to get off his chest! Produced by Joe Henry (whose credits include Solomon Burke's 2002 comeback "Don't Give Up on Me"), the set features 11 new originals, and subtle supporting turns on guitar, pedal steel, and mandolin by players including Doyle Bramhall II and Greg Leisz. Standouts like the title tune, which viciously skews sexism, and the winding "The Rise and Fall of Intelligent Design" take a while to digest lyrically, yet the melodies are more than compelling enough to ensure repeated listens.

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Also on a roots music tip (albeit even further left of center), check out "proVISIONS" by Giant Sand -- one of the creative aliases of prolific Tucson, Ariz., resident Howe Gelb. A moody mix of country, jazz, Southwestern textures, and cinematic atmospheres, his first full-length under the Giant Sand moniker in four years is a worthy successor to Gelb's gospel-drenched 2006 solo outing, "'Sno Angel Like You." Features guest performances by Neko Case, M. Ward, and Isobel Campbell.

Their name might sound a little silly, now that New Kids on the Block have matured into a "man band," but there's no denying that the quintet are enjoying a kind of Indian summer, revisiting sunnier days of yore. You know, back when they sold more than 70 million records worldwide. After a sold-out reunion tour, Donnie, Danny, Joey, Jordan and Jonathan return with "The Block," their first new album since 1994. And while the guys run little risk of alienating their fan base, they have updated their sound to keep in step with contemporary R&B trends, roping in producers including Timbaland, Akon, and Polow Da Don, who slaps a bluesy sample under their pair-up with Pussycat Dolls, "Grown Man." Also on hand are Ne-Yo, fellow boy band vets New Edition, Teddy Riley, and newcomer Lady GaGa. Midtempo and slow tunes take precedence over dance jams, but perhaps that's wise -- none of us are as spry as we were 14 years ago, right fellas?

Watch NKOTB interviews and exclusive video | In Focus: NKOTB

While some artists change like the weather from disc to disc, Young Jeezy is more of a perennial. Why mess with a proven formula? The Atlanta superstar with the slow flow sticks to the script on his third studio full-length, "The Recession," and one imagines fans who pushed his 2006 smash "The Inspiration" to No. 1 will lap it up. The production credits eschew the usual proven chart-toppers, but there are a couple of notable cameos -- that's Kanye West on the current hit "Put On." And while some lyrical content treads familiar territory, revisiting Jeezy's shady past as, um, a young entrepreneur, more intriguing is "My President," featuring Nas, on which the two rhapsodize about seeing a black leader in the White House.

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