ROCK
After the platinum breakthrough of 2006's 15, featuring the hit "Crazy Bitch," Buckcherry keeps letting it rip. Serving up plenty of meat-and-potatoes rock, this California quintet plays it hard and sleazy—think the un-supergroup Velvet Revolver. First single "Too Drunk..." is a raunchy ode to bad-boy excess—and the sexual performance issues it may cause—that might make Kid Rock blush. But the band also shows a serious side, with two songs inspired by Dave Pelzer's child-abuse memoir A Child Called 'It': One Child's Courage to Survive, including the turbo-charged opener "Rescue Me."
DOWNLOAD THIS: "Talk to Me," a swaggering come-on
Down to Earth
ALT-POP
On her full-length debut, 2004's Finally Woken, Jem sparkled with her trip-hop pop. On this follow-up, the Welsh singer-songwriter seems determined to show just how multifaceted she is musically. Down to Earth expands her sonic horizons to include funk and gospel, Latin and African influences. She even goes so far as to rock the mike in Japanese on "Aciiid!," a tripped-up attempt at electro hip-hop. But Jem is still at her best with the chill grooves and cool allure of songs like "Got It Good" and the title cut.
DOWNLOAD THIS: "It's Amazing," a lilting piano-laced reverie
Colby O
R&B-POP
O'Donis, a 19-year-old singer of Puerto Rican descent, works it like a Latin Chris Brown in an impressive debut featuring writing and production by Akon, who signed O'Donis to his KonLive label and appears on the hit first single "What You Got."
DOWNLOAD THIS: "Let You Go," an irresistible midtempo charmer
Meet Glen Campbell
COUNTRY-POP
Anyone who listened to country music in the late '60s and '70s certainly needs no introduction to Glen Campbell. But it's been 14 years since his last studio album. Now, at 72, Campbell proves he's no variety-show relic. Pulling a Johnny Cash, he covers both classic rockers (John Lennon, Jackson Browne) and contemporary ones (Green Day, Foo Fighters) with his fresh-again style. The highlight is his version of Travis's "Sing," which shows that the Rhinestone Cowboy remains in strong, robust voice after all these years.
Dawn of a New Day
COUNTRY
Native American Crystal Shawanda, whose last name means "Dawn of a New Day," grew up on a reservation in Ontario. And with her raspy, bluesy voice, she brings plenty of earthiness to her country debut. Shawanda has her own "Redneck Woman" in "My Roots Are Showing," the honky-tonkish highlight: "You better love me when my roots are showing/Or I'll pack up my boots and be going." But she can go from tough to tender, as shown by the three-hankie ballad "You Can Let Go."
Here & Gone
REVIEWED BY V.R. PETERSON
JAZZ
This set, featuring guests like Joss Stone, Eric Clapton and Sam Moore, pays homage to the round, brash precision of Ray Charles' band and its director, Memphis alto saxman Hank Crawford, in the late '50s. In typical fashion, Sanborn goes for the musical jugular with sax tones that cry, dart and screech. Best track? "Brother Ray," featuring guitarist Derek Trucks, which blisters as it swings.
Love & Life
REVIEWED BY IVORY JEFF CLINTON
R&B
With an impassioned tenor that suggests he knows from whence he sings, R&B smoothie Eric Benét deftly explores the titular themes of his latest disc. On "Don't Let Go," the breezy midtempo highlight, Halle Berry's ex offers advice to "people throwing in the towel once they pass the honeymoon phase." Other standout tracks include "You're the Only One," a plush slow jam, and the insatiable "The Hunger," another ballad. Meanwhile, the final number, "One More Tomorrow," celebrates Benét's love for his 16-year-old daughter India.
For more information on where to find our Download This picks, go to people.com/downloadthis
• This iTunes exclusive benefiting the Stand Up to Cancer campaign is an uplifting divafest with everyone from Mariah and Rihanna (right) to cancer survivors Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge.
SOLANGE Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams
She may have a superstar sister in Beyoncé, but the younger Knowles, delivering sultry vocals and soulful beats, proves that she stands strong on her own with her sparkling second album.
BRIAN WILSON That Lucky Old Sun
If the Beach Boy's gifts for melody and vocal harmony are not quite restored to the majestic heights of old, they're certainly close to it. "Going Home," this disc's highlight, is pure rock-and-roll redemption.
JOAN OSBORNE Little Wild One
On this winning album, Osborne's rich vocals soar atop arrangements that mix old-timey mandolin with the urban pulse of electronic instruments. "Hallelujah in the City" sounds like salvation.
JOHNNY FLYNN A Larum
This Welsh-bred troubadour and multi-instrumentalist revives the sounds of traditional English and Irish folk music on his U.S. debut, bringing plenty of old-world charm to songs like "The Wrote & the Writ."
KEANE kicks up the pace on "Spiralling," a dance track that previews the British trio's third album, Perfect Symmetry, due Oct. 14. At napster.com.
LUDACRIS crunks it up with T.I. on the blustery "Wish You Would," from the rapper's sixth CD, Theater of the Mind, out Oct. 21. At iTunes.com.
SARAH McLACHLAN mesmerizes on the ballad "U Want Me 2," a new song from her upcoming greatest-hits collection. At rhapsody.com.
BRANDY (left), after her musical hiatus, is back where she belongs with "Right Here (Departed)," a sweet pop return. At iTunes.com.
• The inspirational pop duo, Jason Warner, 33, and deMarco DeCiccio, 32, who are gay and the stars of the Showtime doc We're All Angels, have a new album, Safe.
ON THEIR CONNECTION TO INSPIRATIONAL MUSIC
"It is really what brought us together," says Jason. Adds deMarco: "I just know that there's some greater purpose for what Jason and I are doing."
ON BEING CHRISTIAN AND COMING OUT
"A lot of people think we're crazy to mess with Christian extremists," says deMarco. "But the worst thing that's happened is one of our concerts was picketed. It brought out three times the [number of concertgoers] normally there!"
ON THEIR ENGAGEMENT
"deMarco popped the question on our seventh anniversary [last July]," says Jason. "It was at a gay-owned restaurant in Houston. He even had a bottle of wine labeled with a picture of us." Explains deMarco: "It was an old-time photo of us dressed as cowboys, with shotguns, cowboy boots and cowboy hats." So when's the big day? "We haven't set a date yet," says Jason, "but sometime next year!"
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
