New Recordings: Michael Jackson; Black Keys; Sturgill Simpson

Michael Jackson

Xscape

(Epic **1/2)

nolead ends There are allegedly hundreds of recordings in the Michael Jackson vault, but only eight songs on Xscape, the second posthumous release since Jackson's death in 2009. This one has been "contemporized" by a team of ardent-fan producers, helmed by Timbaland and including South Jersey native Rodney Jerkins. Up-to-the-minute textures and flourishes are added, taking the final cut out of the hands of a control-freak tinkerer who can no longer have the final say as to what his music sounds like.

Not that Xscape is run-of-the-mill necrophilia. Jackson's legacy has been largely respected. While the beats have been modernized, the basic shapes of Jackson's songs have been maintained. You can tell, because the refurbished cuts are followed by their original versions. And it's thrilling to hear Jackson sweetly croon in "Loving You" and "Love Never Felt So Good" (here done up as a TSOP groove with Justin Timberlake), or forcefully ride the beat in "Slave to the Rhythm" or "A Place With No Name," which, strangely, bears more than passing musical resemblance to America's "A Horse With No Name."

Familiar obsessions are prevalent. That's most uncomfortably so in "Do You Know Where Your Children Are?" in which the late King of Pop, who was charged with (and cleared of) sexual molestation in his life, sings from beyond the grave about a 12-year-old female victim of sexual abuse, and warns parents of how afraid they need to be of sexual predators. He sings as if he's the children's fiercest protector.

In "Blue Gangsta," he plays the outlaw, à la "Smooth Criminal." His desperation is palpable, as he fantasizes about getting away from prying "electric eyes," not to mention greedy women allegedly after his money, on the Jerkins-produced title cut. Five years after his death, he still sounds trapped in the prison of fame from which he would never escape.

- Dan DeLuca

nolead begins Black Keys
nolead ends nolead begins Turn Blue
nolead ends nolead begins (Nonesuch ***)

nolead ends After a decade of steady audience-building, the Black Keys, a duo from Akron, Ohio, broke through big-time with 2011's hook-happy El Camino, whose popularity also led to singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach building a resume (and earning a Grammy) as a highly in-demand producer. He's helmed acclaimed albums by Dr. John, Bombino, Valerie June, and many others.

So now they're sitting on top of the world, what do the blues-rockers and producer Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton do (besides bash Justin Bieber on Twitter, which seems to be drummer Patrick Carney's principal avocation)? Do their best to make an immersive rock record that consciously avoids the hit-single approach of songs like "Lonely Boy," which made them so popular in the first place, of course.

That's not a big problem on Turn Blue because, truth be told, the album does have its catchy moments, such as the addictive keyboard squiggle in "Fever" and the chooglin' John Fogerty rip "Gotta Get Away." But more important, Auerbach, Carney, and Burton are now so self-assured in the craft of record-making that they can start off with a 7-minute slow-burner such as "Weight of Love," a Led Zep-meets-Air mood piece, and be confident the music-heads among their arena-size fan base will go on the head trip right along with them. Not thrilling, but solid.

- Dan DeLuca

nolead begins Sturgill Simpson
nolead ends nolead begins Metamodern Sounds  in Country Music
nolead ends nolead begins (Thirty Tigers ***)

nolead ends The album title is an intriguing one, and the first number, "Turtles (All the Way Down)," is certainly a trippy affair, with its mentions of "reptile aliens" and mind-altering substances, as well as Jesus, Buddha, and the Devil. But don't be fooled: On his second album, Sturgill Simpson remains hard-core country at heart - more Waylon than way out.

Simpson might have more on his mind than the average honky-tonker or new-country hunk - "Gonna transmigrate to my destination/ Far beyond time in an eternal dream," he sings on "Just Let Go." But his musings are tethered mostly to chip-kicking barroom twang, and he's not above delivering such age-old sentiments as this from the swaggering "Life of Sin": "Gonna drink myself silly/ Only way for this hillbilly." Like any good country boy, Simpson can also deliver a dose of straight-up gospel, as he does with "A Little Light Within."

- Nick Cristiano

This Week Last Week

Locally   Nationally   Locally

1   1    Various Artists Now 50   -

2   2    Various Artists Frozen   1

3   3    Hunter Hayes Storyline   -

4   4    Sarah McLachlan Shine On   -

5   6    Pharrell Williams G I R L   5

6   12    Lily Allen Sheezus   -

7   9    Santana Corazon   -

8   13    Various Artists   Music of "Nashville," Season 2   -

9   7    Luke Bryan Crash My Party   15

10   10    Lorde Heroine   20

SOURCE: SoundScan (based on purchase data from Philadelphia and Montgomery, Delaware, Bucks, Chester, Camden, Burlington and Gloucester Counties). Billboard Magazine 5/17/14 © 2014

Conor Oberst, Upside Down Mountain;

Archie Branson Outfit, Wild Crush;  

Anastacia, Resurrection;

Brian Jonestown Massacre, Revelation