CD REVIEWS POP/ROCK

CD REVIEWS POP/ROCK

Weezer, "Raditude" (DGC/Interscope)

To those taken aback by Rivers Cuomo's newfound embrace of songs about slaying honeys in the clubs while downing Patron shots on "Raditude," he has this to say -- "If you was me, honey, you would do it, too." Name any neurotic, lovelorn bedroom rocker who, upon achieving unlikely arena-filling status, wouldn't take full advantage of having Lil Wayne on speed dial, as evidenced by the rapper's cameo (Weezer and Weezy, get it?) on "Can't Stop Partying." The weird aftertaste of "Raditude" isn't that Cuomo has so surrendered the oddball charm of his band's first two albums, though. It's that his late-career pursuit of mindless, opulent fun is so transparent it almost taps a deeper vein of interior sadness than anything on "Pinkerton." Imagine a kind of "Sunset Boulevard" set amid the stuccoed wreckage of post-'90s alternative-rock stardom. Cuomo still turns out more functional hooks before his breakfast tequila than most bands get in a career. "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" and "Put Me Back Together" reclaim gum- snapping pop-punk from Weezer's myriad hijackers. But how does one appropriately respond to tracks such as the buffet-soundtrack sitar jam "Love Is the Answer" and the Warrant-worthy ode to post- puberty "The Girl Got Hot?" Maybe just relax and order a double.

AUGUST BROWN, LOS ANGELES TIMES

"Glee" Cast, "Glee: The Music, Vol. 1" (Columbia)

The fall's freakiest phenomenon has been the triumph of the kids from "Glee" as they storm the charts weekly with songs from their hit Fox show. "Glee: The Music, Vol. 1" is at its best when it re- imagines songs with grand, inventive new arrangements such as on "Don't Stop Believin'," the jazzy reworking of Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself" and the stirring "Somebody to Love." But as unnecessary as the faithful takes on "Bust Your Windows" or "Take a Bow" are, their candy-coated treatment keeps them sweet enough.

GLENN GAMBOA, NEWSDAY

Joss Stone, "Colour Me Free" (EMI)

The American edition of "Colour Me Free" comes wrapped in an unsightly purple cover. Stone prefers the version of her fourth album that shows her crammed into a cage like a factory-farm chicken, her limbs numbered like a butcher's diagram. The bizarre image refers to her ongoing battle with EMI, which refused to release her from her contract despite a reported buyout offer of more than $3 million. The album-opening "Free Me" bids for defiance, as she belts, "Don't tell me that I won't / I can." Too bad Stone's vision of independence is as colorless as that vague proclamation. The album's swipes from Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, et al., are as accomplished as ever, but she has devolved from retro-soul to retro-retro-soul, re-creating other people's simulations of a vintage sound. Freedom never sounded so constrained.

SAM ADAMS, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER