Billboard CD reviews: Nelly Furtado, Ricky Skaggs

ARTIST: NELLY FURTADO

ALBUM: MI PLAN

NEW YORK (Billboard) - There is nothing contrived about Nelly Furtado's Spanish-language debut, "Mi Plan." With simple, straightforward songs that appeal to melodic sensibilities rather than rhythmic contraptions, the set is a mix of vulnerability and earnestness. On the album, Furtado teams up with several Latin artists, including Alejandro Fernandez, Juan Luis Guerra, Julieta Venegas, La Mala Rodriguez and Concha Buika, and classical crossover singer Josh Groban. The uptempo first single, "Manos Al Aire," lends itself to dance clubs, but it doesn't set the tone for the album, which balances intimacy with commercial appeal. Even when Furtado dwells on the obvious -- like the cumbia beat of "Vacacion" or the banal improvisation of "Bajo Otra Luz" -- she does it with an appealing freshness that defies the formulaic. Standouts include "Como Lluvia" (featuring Guerra), with a chorus that switches from major to minor for a haunting feel. But the biggest departure is "Silencio" (featuring Groban), with Furtado adapting to his dramatic, classical sound while retaining her earthy vocals and organic cadence.

ARTIST: RICKY SKAGGS

ALBUM: SOLO (SONGS MY DAD LOVED) (Skaggs Family Records)

If these are indeed the songs Ricky Skaggs' father sang to him as a child, it's a wonder he didn't suffer from perpetual nightmares. There's some awfully sober terrain covered on these 13 bluegrass and folk tracks, from the likes of the Stanley Brothers, the Monroe Brothers, Clyde Moody as well as the public domain. But Skaggs, who plays more than a dozen instruments and harmonizes with himself on this one-man-band set, tucks into all of them with a joyful and unapologetic reverence. The result makes "Solo (Songs My Dad Loved)" truly feel like an intimate, fly-on-the-wall field recording. Such instrumentals as "Colonel Prentiss," "Pickin' in Caroline" and "Calloway" give Skaggs room to show off his multitracked chops, while "Sinners, You Better Get Ready," "Green Pastures in the Sky" and "God Holds the Future in His Hands" offer case studies in how spirituality was communicated in rural Appalachia.

ARTIST: THE BLACK CROWES

ALBUM: BEFORE THE FROST ... UNTIL THE FREEZE (Silver Arrow Records)

It took the Black Crowes seven years to release last year's "Warpaint," but now that the Robinson brothers are back in the studio album business, they're making up for lost time. Fans who buy "Before the Frost ..." will receive a digital password entitling them to a free download of the companion album, "... Until the Freeze." Both sets were recorded before a live audience at Levon Helm's Woodstock, N.Y., compound, and the sound of applause punctuates many tracks, reminding listeners of the fans' presence when the crisp arrangements don't. The material spans the Crowes' usual blues-rock spectrum -- the opener, "Good Morning Captain," rides a roadhouse-worthy slide-guitar groove, while gorgeous harmonies enrich a cover of the Stephen Stills/Chris Hillman gem "So Many Times." But one highlight, "I Ain't Hiding," suggests that the band's Rolling Stones worship has reached a new level: It's an unlikely disco-boogie jam a la "Miss You."

ARTIST: MARK KNOPFLER

ALBUM: GET LUCKY (Warner Bros. Records)

Fifteen years removed from the global success of Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler is ever the quiet craftsman, sculpting one modest gem after another beyond the spotlight (at least in the United States). It's a shame that his solo music is largely ignored outside the States, because his albums are cohesive and complete in concept, and they boast an aural bonanza. "Get Lucky" is a tribute to the experiences and personalities of Knopfler's youth. The album takes sonic sojourns to the likes of Scotland ("Border River") and the Wild West ("Cleaning My Gun"), and the songs all seem to lock, with such prayer-like moments as the lovely "Remembrance Day." Listening to "Get Lucky" feels like a journey, where great care has been taken to ensure that you'll come back a little better.

ARTIST: SCARLETT JOHANSSON & PETE YORN

ALBUM: BREAK UP (Atco/Rhino Records)

Actress Scarlett Johansson follows up her 2008 collection of Tom Waits covers, "Anywhere I Lay My Head," with another fascinating project centered on quirky yet classic music. The songs on "Break Up" (a duets album with singer-songwriter Pete Yorn that was inspired by Serge Gainsbourg's '60s recordings with Brigitte Bardot) feel like relics from a long-lost AM radio station that has the urgency of modern pop. The set is less than 30 minutes of subtly crafted tunes about a disintegrating relationship, including the hand-clap-driven "Blackie's Dead" and a stirring reworking of Chris Bell's "I Am the Cosmos." Johansson is still a raw talent, but she sounds comfortable exploring Yorn's songwriting and providing the backbone for his lilting vocals. Sunny Levine's production keeps the album ticking, with clean acoustic riffs and piano keys enhancing both vocal performances. "Break Up" could have been a messy misfire, but Johansson and Yorn have sculpted a short, sweet winner.

ARTIST: Q-TIP

ALBUM: KAMAAL THE ABSTRACT (Battery Records)

Originally set for an April 23, 2002, street date, A Tribe Called Quest leader Q-Tip's second solo album is a stark contrast to the polished swagger of his underrated 1999 debut, "Amplified." Soulful and organic, with roots in jazz and funk, "Kamaal the Abstract" finds Q-Tip not only rhyming in his trademark nasal cadence, but also singing -- and surprisingly well to boot. But his label shelved the album after dubbing it "too uncommercial." "Kamaal the Abstract" finally gets an official release, thanks to Sony subsidiary Battery Records -- and even after the long delay, the set seems ahead of its time. In addition to the original nine tracks -- including the Prince-meets-Yusef Lateef slow burner "Do U Dig U?" and the airtight collaboration with sax great Kenny Garrett on "Abstractionisms" -- this expanded edition contains two tracks left off the original release.

ARTIST: BRUCE HORNSBY & THE NOISEMAKERS

ALBUM: LEVITATE (Verve Forecast)

Bruce Hornsby rocketed to pop stardom with his 1986 album "The Way It Is," but he spent the better part of the next quarter-century following his multifaceted musical muse. From jazz outings with Christian McBride and Jack DeJohnette to his work with Ricky Skaggs and the Grateful Dead, Hornsby has managed to continually break musical boundaries. On "Levitate," Hornsby -- backed boldly by his longtime touring band, the Noisemakers -- digs deep into topical songwriter turf: rodents and their bacterial strains on the opener "The Black Rats of London," love and plate tectonics on "Continents Drift" and tripping the time-space continuum on "Space Is the Place," featuring the soaring guitar work of Eric Clapton. With scarcely a piano solo in sight, Hornsby lets the songwriting speak for itself, all while managing to encapsulate the very essence of his signature sound.

ARTIST: ISABELLE FAUST & ALEXANDER MELNIKOV

ALBUM: BEETHOVEN: COMPLETE SONATAS FOR PIANO AND VIOLIN (Harmonia Mundi)

Pianist Alexander Melnikov and violinist Isabelle Faust combined their formidable virtuosity to create this three-CD album (plus a DVD), which brings listeners all 10 of Beethoven's sonatas for piano and violin. Tracking this body of work required the duo to cover a good deal of emotional and technical terrain, and they do so with great skill and sensitivity. One of their finest efforts is heard on "Sonata No. 4 in A Minor," featured on the second disc. This piece opens in presto, Melnikov and Faust playing with sharp precision and the fine timing of their interplay immediately evident. The central movement opens most delicately; Faust's bowing is terribly expressive. Beethoven mixed tempos here -- andante and scherzo -- and Faust and Melnikov work adroitly in this complex section. The piece ends allegro molto, and again the duo shines, providing an appropriately dramatic finale to this wonderful sonata.