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Neil Young “Are You Passionate?”  Reprise Records

Passionate? Yes, that this album should remain on the shelves and far away from your CD player. “She’s a Healer,” from Neil Young’s “Are You Passionate?,” starts out with the lyrics, “There ain’t no way I’m gonna let the good times go.” But sadly, they have gone. The music on this CD plods along with barely a break in the monotony. Then there’s the vocals. Young sounds like Scuttle, the Little Mermaid’s seagull sidekick, who’s been kicked in the nuts and asked to sing a love song. The guitar is enjoyable, but there isn’t enough of it to save the CD. The disc needs more good ol’ rock ’n’ roll. There’s enough “oh baby” rock in this world without Young adding to the grand total. Young has made plenty of interesting music in his prime, but this just isn’t revolutionary. Or even enjoyable. The only people who will find true use with this album are diehard Young fans, warbling enthusiasts and insomniacs. -

Kathleen Dunphy

Cornershop “Handcream For A Generation” Wiiija Records

Anyone who has seen Guy Ritchie’s “Snatch” or “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels” knows the British director’s affinity for soundtracks featuring versatile playlists. With “Handcream for a Generation,” London quintet Cornershop boasts a vast variety of sounds that would seem fitting in the next Mr. Madonna Ciccone production. After waking up from a four-year nap, Cornershop has stumbled onto an album that might be as charming as 1997’s “When I was Born for the 7th Time,” which spawned the irresistible ditty “Brimful of Asha.” “Handcream” is all over the place. “Heavy Soup” swings into a jazzy table of contents. “Staging the Plaguing of the Raised Platform,” incorporates a chorus of children in the style of Jay-Z’s “Hard Knock Life.” “Lessons Learned from Rocky I to Rocky III” is a riff-laden heavyweight obviously influenced by Marc Bolan and Keith Richards. Just for good measure, ringleader Tjinder Singh knocks out some disco, reggae, funk and Indian music. Despite the lack of a consistent vocal presence from Singh, “Handcream” is one of those rare albums that make listeners want to jam on a sitar. -

David Chang

Badly Drawn Boy “About a Boy” (Soundtrack) XL Recordings

“About a Boy” is not the follow up to Badly Drawn Boy’s acclaimed and wonderful “The Hour of Bewilderbeast.” It is a movie soundtrack and a very pleasant one at that. BDB infuses the instrumental interludes and jangly songs with the same mellow voice and sweet melodies that made “Bewilderbeast” so universally appealing, but without the intimacy and brutal emotion that characterized “the Beast.” There is no “The Shining” or “Pissing in the Wind” on “About A Boy.” This soundtrack does deliver extremely pleasant background music. It even gets a little funky, and is certainly upbeat. The listener can easily hear how fitting these tracks will be accompanying the assumably heartwarming film they were written for. Although, those unfamiliar with BDB’s music should start with “Bewilderbeast,” this disc will tide fans over until the fall release of the band’s actual sophomore effort tentatively titled “All Possibilities.” -

Anthony Bromberg

Sheryl Crow “C’mon, C’mon” A&M Records

Fun, sun and Sheryl Crow in a bikini: a great summer party? Almost. On Crow’s newest album, “C’mon, C’mon,” the singer/songwriter/producer/pseudo-diva delivers plenty of good-time guitar strumming and memorable hooks. Like any good party, “C’mon” boasts a phat guest list from Don Henley and Lenny Kravitz to Liz Phair and Gwyneth Paltrow, but this is still Crow’s party. Despite her sexed-up look, Crow’s sincerity and sense of humor are still intact and in many ways the makeover has given her songs a freshness that seemed to have been lost in “The Globe Sessions.” Although on “C’mon,” Crow does everything from the brooding blues of “Weather Channel” to the straight rock ’n’ roll of “Steve McQueen,” the strongest songs lie somewhere in the middle. The motivational “Diamond Road” is one of the more notable songs. “C’mon, C’mon” is an impressive return by Sheryl Crow. It’s pop with substance – songs that talk about communists and The Clash but can still manage to sneak onto TRL. -

Alex Palmer

Trey Anastasio “Trey Anastasio” BMI

No one can blame Trey Anastasio for lacking ambition. Liberating himself from the confines of his former band Phish in order to explore more creative musical avenues, Anastasio has already recorded and toured with bizarro outfit Oysterhead; now with the release of his first official solo LP, long-time fans can watch him dive headfirst into Latin and R&B in an attempt to be the next border-hopping Paul Simon. With no less than 29 other instrumentalists contributing to the album, it’s clear how easily Anastasio’s first solo project could have become an overblown glut-fest. Yet with songs like “Cayman Review” and “Push on Til the Day,” the horn arrangements manage to add just enough bombast to provide an energy that was AWOL in nearly all of Phish’s studio work. Meanwhile, songs like the afro-beat driven “Last Tube” and the marimba-enhanced album opener “Alive Again” show Anastasio in a state of transition, still trying to assimilate the world-beat stylings without coming off forced. Witness “Money, Love and Change,” which features Anastasio sharing vocal duties with a soulful R&B singer. Even with his volume turned down low, our melanin-deprived friend’s nasally vocals nevertheless sound embarrassingly awkward. Naturally, the best moments come when all of the added bells and whistles don’t get in the way of Anastasio’s quirky melodies and guitar virtuosity. Thankfully those moments come often enough to avoid the train wreck that this LP could have become. -

Andrew Lee