Billboard CD reviews: Marvin Sapp, Alan Jackson

ARTIST: MARVIN SAPP

ALBUM: HERE I AM

NEW YORK (Billboard) - The sonorous voice behind the long-running gospel No. 1 and R&B crossover hit "Never Would Have Made It" is back with his eighth album, "Here I Am," recorded live at the same Michigan church where Marvin Sapp laid down 2007 album "Thirsty." The singing preacher once again delivers powerful, emotional messages focusing on inspiration, praise and spiritual guidance. The joyous fervor of album opener "I Came" sets the pace as Sapp and accompanying singers feed off the energy of the enthusiastic audience. After shifting into revivalist mode on the aisle-dancing praise jam "Fresh Wind," Sapp taps back into the uplifting lessons of "Never" on the album's encouraging lead single, "Best in Me," as well as its deeply moving title track. In a surprise move, a fearless Sapp upends the proceedings with the rock-veined anthem "Praise You Forever." It's that ability to skillfully stretch convention without compromising his gospel roots that makes Sapp such a vital force.

ARTIST: ALAN JACKSON

ALBUM: FREIGHT TRAIN (Arista Records)

Although the style-vs.-substance debate has been raging for more than 50 years along Nashville's Music Row, there's no mystery about which side Alan Jackson falls on. Just as the fruit-flavored martini is for drinkers who don't much care for the hard bite of gin, the vast majority of Nashville's most famous export is intended for folks who don't much care for country music -- at least not Jackson's brand of traditionalism. His 14th studio album, "Freight Train," opens with the blue-collar tribute "Hard Hat and a Hammer," which could be a giant radio hit, given the current economic woes in the heartland. He duets with Lee Ann Womack on Vern Gosdin's 1977 weeper "Til the End," and recruits bluegrass queen Rhonda Vincent for harmony on three tracks, including the haunting, lovely "Every Now and Then." Jackson combines genuine emotion with a clever twist on "Tail Lights Blue."

ARTIST: LUDACRIS

ALBUM: BATTLE OF THE SEXES (DTP Recordings)

Originally conceived as a sort of Marvin-and-Tammi-style collaboration between Ludacris and Shawnna, "Battle of the Sexes" shifted game plan after Shawnna decamped from Luda's Disturbing Tha Peace crew in 2009. But the rejiggered album pairs the affable Atlanta rapper with a handful of feisty female MCs, including Lil' Kim and Nicki Minaj. The set also includes appearances by Gucci Mane ("Party No Mo' "), Lil Scrappy ("Everybody Drunk") and Flo Rida ("I Know You Got a Man") -- none of whom makes much of an effort to conceal his preference for bodies over minds. "Hey Ho" gestures toward an examination of gender-based double standards ("If men sleep around we some players," Ludacris observes, "But for women they be saying, 'Hey, ho'"), while the R&B-leaning "Sex Room" finds the rapper generously offering to "power down your inhibitions and power up your inner freak." Yet with its rowdy gang vocals and efficient club beats, "Battle of the Sexes" is ultimately more concerned with partying than with politics. Surprised?

ARTIST: BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB

ALBUM: BEAT THE DEVIL'S TATTOO (Vagrant Records)

Rock trio Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's newest album, "Beat the Devil's Tattoo," draws from the better and better-left-alone components of the group's previous efforts. The result is a collection rich in fan favorites, but lacking in momentum. The band is at its best on tracks like "Conscience Killer" and "War Machine," which are born out of the same distorted, Jesus and Mary Chain-inspired garage rock of the group's 2001 debut, "B.R.M.C." Other songs on the new set -- "Sweet Feeling" and "The Toll" -- recall the mellower sounds and Americana influence found on 2005's "Howl," but they're less engaging than their predecessors. Overall, "Beat the Devil's Tattoo" is in the same vein -- a substantial effort, but one that could benefit from a step outside the box.

ARTIST: JORGE DREXLER

ALBUM: AMAR LA TRAMA (WEA International)

On Jorge Drexler's latest album, "Amar la Trama," the Uruguayan singer-songwriter -- perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning song "Al Otro Lado del Rio" from the 2004 film "The Motorcycle Diaries" -- delivers another set that encourages repeated listening. Poetic lyrics address some of his familiar themes: fated encounters, global wanderings, the South American experience and the universal wonder of everyday moments. Drexler and a diverse band of musicians recorded "Amar la Trama" in front of an audience during a four-day period in Madrid. Highlights include "Toque de Queda," on which Drexler returns to his Southern roots musically and thematically (the title means "curfew") in a duet with Spanish actress Leonor Watling, who's also the mother of his son. The jazzy pop fanfare on opener "Tres Mil Millones de Latidos" can seem fussy at times, distracting from Drexler's voice, which is more expressive when set off by quieter arrangements. That's apparent on tracks like "Noctiluca," which is dedicated to his son and features electric guitar, drums and some evocative tinkling from a child's music box.

ARTIST: DJ KHALED

ALBUM: VICTORY (E1 Entertainment)

Last year, DJ Khaled was appointed the head of Def Jam South. As a result, "Victory," his fourth album in five years, finds the artist pulling the strings on an understandably triumphant affair. Khaled's approach, however, remains the same, with a constellation of hip-hop stars (Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, T-Pain) imbuing straightforward anthems with their branded swagger. But Ludacris' comedic candor and Snoop Dogg's cool collectedness add differing dimensions to "All I Do Is Win." On the title track, Nas' eternal conflict between ghetto poetry and brag-rap surfaces, while Usher, Lil Wayne and Drake seem to get lost in the mix on the uninspired, synth-driven "Fed Up," which features production by the Runners. Schife & OhZee, another pair with numerous contributions to the album, also fail to distinguish themselves from their contemporaries.

ARTIST: KIDZ IN THE HALL

ALBUM: LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE (Duck Down Records)

MC Naledge and producer Double-O, who comprise alternative hip-hop duo Kidz in the Hall, don't fit the rap stereotype -- the pair graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and the latter was on the Belize track team during the 2004 Summer Olympics. However, the title of the group's third album, "Land of Make Believe," refers to the larger-than-life accommodations of rappers and celebrities. Naledge's rhymes are a complex web of pop culture references and braggadocio, and Double-O's pop-soul production serves as a bright, sugary backdrop. Although it would probably complement their "smart is the new gangster" shtick to condemn the superficial rapper lifestyle, the closest the act comes is "Simple Life," on which Naledge considers a life free of luxuries and indulgences. Album closer "Rise & Shine," on the other hand, is a triumphant exoneration of the duo's career choice.

ARTIST: THE KNIFE IN COLLABORATION WITH MT. SIMS AND PLANNINGTOROCK

ALBUM: TOMORROW, IN A YEAR (Mute)

Given the increasing sophistication of the Knife's recent live shows -- not to mention the outright performance-art weirdness of singer Karin Dreijer Andersson's other musical project, Fever Ray -- it makes sense that this Swedish electro-pop duo would turn to opera for its follow-up to its 2006 breakout album, "Silent Shout." But that's about all that makes sense on the Knife's latest release, "Tomorrow, in a Year," which is said to be based on the life and work of Charles Darwin. Commissioned by Danish theater group Hotel Pro Forma, the album is a sprawling, experimental work defined more by ambient synth hum and field-recording rustle than by melodic hooks or danceable grooves. (The Knife wrote and recorded the 90-minute piece in collaboration with underground electronic acts Mt. Sims and Planningtorock.) Hooks and grooves do crop up occasionally, as heard on "Seeds," a supremely lonely-sounding avant-house jam, and the 11-minute "Colouring of Pigeons," which marries moaning strings to ominous tribal drums.