MUSIC REVIEWS

Various Artists, “A Star Is Born—Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” (Interscope Records)

The soundtrack to “A Star Is Born” is no slim thing, thank goodness. It contains a whopping 34 tracks, mostly due to the inclusion of brief snatches of songs, dialogues or interludes. It will put fans back into the film in a visceral way. Haven’t seen it yet? With this album, you may not need to.

The latest film incarnation of the doomed love affair between two singer-songwriters—one on the way up, the other down—has plenty of buzz thanks to its stars, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. But the soundtrack is proof that it deserves it. From bluesy rock to country to bubble gum pop, the 19 original songs are varied and addictive. We knew Lady Gaga was capable of great things, but Cooper’s musicality is a wonder. We often make fun of actors who long to be rock stars, but Cooper shows real skill in front of the microphone.

The soundtrack is chronological and, of course, includes Gaga’s performance of Edith Piaf’s classic “La Vie En Rose,” which is her star turn moment when Cooper’s character discovers her in a cabaret. And it naturally has the huge tearful finale, “I’ll Never Love Again”— actually it has an extended cut of that as well, if you have enough hankies at home.

But a film about the power of music needs to have lots of it and the soundtrack includes virtually every note heard onscreen, including blistering guitar instrumentals (“Out of Time”), duets (including the bluesy “Alibi,” the country “Music to My Eyes” and the soft rocker “I Don’t Know What Love Is”), and even dialogue about music (the minute-long “Twelve Notes” speech delivered by Sam Elliott).

In many ways, the film’s trajectory can be boiled down to its first breakout hit, “Shallow,” co-written by Mark Ronson. It starts in a folky vein with Cooper alone, then becomes a duet with Cooper and Gaga before ending with her taking it over, belting out the lyrics in a glam-rock style. (Gaga first singing it to Cooper in a parking lot is nicely included on the CD in an earlier snippet.) Like that song, the whole soundtrack starts with Cooper’s blues and rock and ends with Gaga going full Gaga.

Other highlights include the searing rock cut “Black Eyes,” the country ballad “Always Remember Us This Way,” the burning “Diggin’ My Grave,” the Britney Spears-ish “Hair Body Face,” the moody club banger “Heal Me” and the simple, beautiful “Too Far Gone.”

In addition to Cooper and Gaga, who also co-wrote most of the tunes, some other names jump out on the album, including Lukas Nelson (son of Willie Nelson), who is credited with co-writing a slew of songs for both stars. Diane Warren co-wrote “Why Did You Do That?” while frequent Gaga collaborator DJ White Shadow co-wrote and co-produced six of her new songs.

And for those of you with not enough Alec Baldwin in your lives, rejoice—he’s there, in a tiny audio excerpt as a “Saturday Night Live” host. There’s a good chance he could win a Grammy for uttering four words. There’s no way this album won’t be in contention.—Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press

Steve Perry, “Traces” (Fantasy Records)

Steve Perry has been away for quite a while but he’s never really been gone. From the unforgettable use of “Don’t Stop Believin’” on the last “The Sopranos” episode to the way his former band found a new, sound-alike singer on the internet and, last year, Journey’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Perry and his prolonged absence have been often on our minds.

“Traces” is Perry’s first solo album since 1994 and, cliched as it may sound, it really is a very personal work with some songs that would have sounded out of place on a Journey record. Made in part to fulfill a promise to his partner who succumbed to breast cancer in 2012, “Traces” is dominated by ballads in many guises by someone whose quasi-operatic voice made him one of their most memorable interpreters.

Launching with the first single, “No Erasin’,” immediately injects “Traces” with nostalgia through an updated recreation of a teenage love with an unerringly precise opening line—“I know it’s been a long time comin’.” Perry has said the song was meant to evoke a high school reunion and— along with “We’re Still Here” and “Sun Shines Gray”—it’s the one that most resembles a Journey track.

“In The Rain” is the album’s tour de force but sans any bombast, one of Perry’s most emotional vocals supported by a restrained piano-and-strings arrangement emphasizing its anguish: “You got me even though you’re gone.”

On “Easy To Love,” Perry’s lead vocals have just a touch of Rod Stewart’s gruffness while his backing vocals are satin smooth and George Harrison’s “I Need You” is transformed into a heartfelt soul ballad.

Breaking his long silence in such a memorable way, “Traces” shows that for Perry retuning to music was about much more than keeping his word.—Pablo Gorondi, The Associated Press

Twenty One Pilots, “Trench” (Fueled By Ramen)

It’s going to be hard for Twenty One Pilots to top the success of their last album. Every tune on “Blurryface” went gold, platinum or, in some cases, multiplatinum—the first album to do so in history. But if anyone’s going to do better, it’s these two guys from Ohio.

“Trench,” the 14-track, fifth album from vocalist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun (as well as songwriting help from Paul Meany), is every bit as good as “Blurryface,” continuing the band’s genre-bending trademark of tackling various styles and showcasing a knack for songwriting.

The band comes fast out of the gate with the throbbing bass line of “Jumpsuit” with insecurity in the lyrics (“I can’t believe how much I hate/ Pressures of a new place roll my way”). Then it’s on to Dun’s kinetic drumming on “Levitate,” a blissed-out and terrific “Morph” and The Killers-like, falsetto-fueled “My Blood.” Further ahead, there’s the reggae-tinged “Nico and the Niners,” the ’80s-sounding “The Hype” and the complex, constantly shifting “Bandito.”

We reach peak Twenty One Pilots on “Pet Cheetah,” an exhilarating and daffy tune that namechecks Jason Statham as it mixes techno, rap and rock, along with a healthy dose of reggae and house. No one out there makes music as thrilling as this.

“Trench” is a more low-key album—“Cut My Lip” and “Neon Gravestones” are slow burners—and Joseph and Dun show maturity in not overworking songs, too. The last track, “Leave the City,” is a piano-driven gem with understated drumming and ghostly vocals.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Pilots record without opaque lyrics that connect the songs—“jumpsuit” and “neon”—and the album to a larger fantasy narrative that has spooled out over several albums and onto websites. We’ll leave all those clues—references to Dema and the bishops and Nicolas Bourbaki—to the fans on Reddit.

“Trench” also finds Joseph in a confident mood, lyric-wise, even mocking songwriting itself. “Chorus, verse, chorus, verse/ Now here comes the eight,” he sings on “Levitate.” On “Smithereens,” he croons: “For you, I’d go write a slick song just to show you the world.”

Well, he’s certainly done that. He’s made another album full of them.—Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press

Elvis Costello & The Imposters, “Look Now” (Concord Records)

Like in “Anna Karenina,” the characters in “Look Now,” Elvis Costello’s sumptuous new album with The Imposters, are each unhappy in their own way.

A woman who laments her deteriorated marriage while doing some renovations around the house (“Stripping Paper”); a dilapidated music-hall singer whose return to showbiz may be brief (“Under Lime”); a daughter pondering her dad’s infidelity (“Photographs Can Lie”); someone grieving the end of the British empire (“I Let the Sun Go Down”) and so on.

What make it easy to be sympathetic with even the most pitiable of those in these very human songs are Costello’s elegant melodies and arrangements, which result in a kind of silkier, even more debonair version of “Imperial Bedroom,” his 1982 album produced by recently departed Beatles recording engineer Geoff Emerick.

Costello’s guitars are mostly in a supporting role. Horns, woodwinds and strings—as well as some of the liveliest backing vocals on an EC album since Afrodiziak lit up “Punch the Clock”—plus the deft hands of The Imposters and Argentine-born co-producer Sebastian Krys, turn “Look Now” into one of his most sonically gratifying records.

Burt Bacharach composed some of the music and Costello also dusted off “Burnt Sugar Is So Bitter,” another tale of domestic gloom, written years ago with Carole King. But there are several others, including “Why Won’t Heaven Help Me” and “Stripping Paper,” which show how deeply those 1960s sounds, from pop to soul, influenced Costello and how expertly he applies them in his own superlative songwriting, which “Look Now” has plenty of.

Costello said he recorded the lead vocals as he was recovering from a cancer scare and it made him feel invigorated instead of depressed. The power of his voice here, including that characteristic long-wave vibrato, confirms his mood.

Those in Costello’s songs may be mostly miserable, but “Look Now” will make its listeners very happy indeed.— Pablo Gorondi, The Associated Press

Doyle Bramhall II, “Shades” (Provogue)

For some masters of the fretboard, changing their guitars is as far as they sometimes seem willing to go to create a different mood. Texan guitar ace Doyle Bramhall II—who also as singer, songwriter and producer has worked with Eric Clapton, Roger Waters and Sheryl Crow, among many others—may also be using different guitars on the 12 tracks on “Shades,” but his conviction and commitment to a wide variety of sounds make him a particularly compelling performer.

It’s all rooted in the blues but “Shades” goes in several directions with nary a misstep, naturally integrating superstar guests like Clapton and Norah Jones, and achieving a steady flow no matter the style.

“Everything You Need” has an inspired Clapton solo and soulful R&B sounds to spare like Stevie Wonder, while Bramhall’s vocals mesh perfectly with Jones’ on “Searching for Love,” one of those ballads that make you look around for someone to quickly dance slowly with.

“Live Forever” counts on the talents of the Greyhounds, a duo from Austin, Texas, and it sounds like a tune for a band that would have felt at home sharing a stage with the likes of Cream and Spirit, while “Consciousness” features an all-star selection of ’60s instruments, from the Farfisa organ to a Leslie guitar. Groovy.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band, also on his extended list of credits, helps Bramhall close out the album in style with Bob Dylan and The Band’s “Going, Going, Gone” and its sage advice of “Don’t you and your one true love ever part.”

In 2016, Bramhall broke a prolonged solo silence with “Rich Man” and “Shades” is an even more distinguished effort whose consistency Bramhall will hopefully try to emulate with greater frequency.—Pablo Gorondi, The Associated Press

Eric Church, “Desperate Man” (EMI Records Nashville)

Eric Church turned in country music’s album of the year in 2016 and promptly took some time off from releasing new music. Now he’s back with his sixth album “Desperate Man,” displaying the approachable storytelling that his fans expect and Nashville banks on.

Church himself says he initially struggled with the direction of “Desperate Man.” The 11-track offering began with 25 songs and got whittled down to the best that offered “an electric, raw, old soul sound.”

That approach is clearly evident on the albums gems, such as “Heart Like a Wheel” which would best be described as a “stroll” in a bygone bobby sox era. “Higher Wire” delivers that aforementioned electricity, heavy with the snarl of reverb guitar work giving way to Church’s familiar voice.

If there is a chink in Church’s armor here it’s that the title track “Desperate Man” sounds a little too much like Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” in both the pace and the hook’s refrain. But all is forgiven when the album’s sweetest song arrives with “Hippie Radio,” a heart-warming, coming-of-age track with the common thread of a fading Pontiac. It’s the kind of thing few do better than Church.—Ron Harris, The Associated Press

John Daversa Big Band featuring DACA artists, “American Dreamers: Voices of Hope, Music of Freedom” (BFM Jazz)

As a certain recent Nobel laureate from Minnesota once said, we live in a political world. “American Dreamers” is a political album but also a collection of outstanding tracks that target both your senses and your conscience, presenting the musical talents of young people, often called “Dreamers,” brought to the U.S. illegally as children and who now face an uncertain future as politicians are at a stalemate over their fate.

The album includes testimonies from a handful of those young musicians—Juan Carlos, an organist from Mexico; Saba, a pianist and singer from Pakistan; Maria, a flutist from Venezuela; and Caliph, a rapper from Senegal, among others—each followed by tunes they perform along with other “Dreamers” and a big band of professionals led by John Daversa.

Daversa is a Grammynominated trumpeter, composer and arranger who masterminded this project—along with producers Kabir Sehgal and Doug Davis—and a top jazz cat at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, where the main recordings were made.

Daversa’s talents are one of the keys making the album such a rewarding musical listen, as his arrangements expertly integrate the “Dreamers’” talents with the big band and put exciting twists on several well-known tunes and a few originals.

Among the many highlights are Caliph’s rapping and the horns on Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song,” the all-percussion “America” from “West Side Story,” a take on James Brown’s “Living in America” where the refrain sometimes sags as if reflecting their exhausting situation, and “Dreamer” Daisy Cardozo’s vocals on Woody Guthrie’s soul-wrenching “Deportee (Plane Wreck At Los Gatos).”

The 53 “Dreamers” on the album come from 17 states and 17 countries of origin but they share the same desire: to be recognized as Americans. Listening to this album, you’d have to have a tin ear to not appreciate their abilities and a cold heart to not recognize their aspirations.—Pablo Gorondi, The Associated Press