Darius Rucker
‘LEARN TO LIVE’
RATING: 3 EXCLAMATION POINTS
Darius Rucker’s second solo album is one of the year’s most vibrant country albums. “Alright” echoes the self-consciously rural charm of recent hits by Craig Morgan, and “It Won’t Be Like This for Long” and “Learn to Live,” both about the wisdom that comes with age, suggest the more wistful songs of Kenny Chesney. “Learn to Live” is seamless enough that it almost slips by unnoticed that Rucker is the first African-American to have a Top 10 country hit (“Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”) since Charley Pride. JON CARAMANICA, NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
Dead Confederate
‘WRECKING BALL’
Hardy Morris, the lead singer of the Athens, Ga., band Dead Confederate, has a good voice for rock ‘n’ roll, and he uses it with all appropriate conviction. Within the first few seconds of “Wrecking Ball,” he’s already snarling over a guitar riff, anxious to bring the pot to a boil. But then when he does there’s a moment of startling recognition. “Over and over I’m ashamed,” Morris howls. He sounds like Kurt Cobain, and the chorus distinctly recalls Nirvana. That disorienting sensation crops up again and again in “Wrecking Ball.” This is a band still in search of itself. NATE CHINEN, NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
CD RACK
Also in stores this week:
* Buckcherry, “Black Butterfly”
* Kristy Lee Cook, “Why Wait”
* DJ Khaled, “We Global”
* Jem, “Down to Earth”
* Nelly, “Brass Knuckles”
* Noah and the Whale, “Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down”
* Raphael Saadiq, “The Way I See It”
