cd reviews pop/rock
Randy Jackson, "Music Club: Volume One" (Concord)
The "American Idol" judge goes on a mad shopping spree, trying on everything from dance music to lachrymose ballads, country to crunk -- and it all fits. You can hear echoes of everyone from Danity Kane to Uncle Kracker on this likable mishmash. Jackson recruited some impressive participants: Joss Stone, Richie Sambora, Mariah Carey, Ghostface Killah and others. But they have celebrity cameos more than showcases. Jackson saved the best material for his "Idol" posse -- "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" for Paula Abdul and "Real Love" for Katherine McPhee and Elliott Yamin. That's loyalty, dawg! 5311
DAVID HILTBRAND, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
HIP-HOP
Flo Rida, "Mail on Sunday" (Poe Boy/Atlantic)
Possessing one of hip-hop's least inventive aliases, Flo Rida (he's from Florida, get it?) is equally as obvious when it comes to his commercial ambitions. His debut disc is a high-energy affair aimed squarely at earning urban radio spins. It's loaded with uptempo party songs and big-name guests including will.i.am, Lil Wayne and Sean Kingston. For Flo Rida, that strategy may work against him. He has trouble standing out amid his friends' charisma and familiar-sounding deliveries. A prime example is the chart-topping single "Low," featuring T-Pain, which sounds like a Nelly knockoff. Elsewhere, on "Elevator," Flo Rida's unremarkable double-time rhymes whiz by before Timbaland's chanted hook leaves an indelible mark on your brain. Even when Flo Rida shows his sensitive thug side ("Me & U" and "All My Life"), the sentiments are admirable, not memorable. 5312
BRETT JOHNSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rick Ross, "Trilla" (Slip N' Slide/Def Jam)
Rather than the sultry ambience he used on his "Port of Miami," with its slurred hit "Hustlin'," there's a chilly vibe behind Ross' new tale of social and sexual activity. His "Speedin' " with R. Kelly is racy, but not in usual Kelly lover-man style. "The Boss" is Ross at his most buoyant, but this CEO's an emotionless slate. Flo Rida may help Ross provide "Street Money" with gangsta tension. But now that both men have made their money, they're a bit blasé about it all. 5313
