Billboard CD reviews: Sheryl Crow, Lenny Kravitz

ARTIST: SHERYL CROW

ALBUM: DETOURS

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Since 2005's reflective "Wildflower," Sheryl Crow ended her engagement with Lance Armstrong, battled breast cancer, adopted a son and stepped up her activism efforts. She's also reteamed with Bill Bottrell, who produced her multiplatinum 1993 debut, "Tuesday Night Music Club." Thus the roots-rock of "Detours" is old-school-sounding Crow with a heightened consciousness of the world around her. Every day is still a winding road, but it costs too much to drive down ("Gasoline"); a change would do, well, everyone some good, particularly those struggling to rebuild their lives post-Hurricane Katrina ("Love Is Free"). If the message is a bit heavy-handed at times, Crow still delights with the melodic chorus of "Shine Over Babylon" and the breathe-easy "Now That You're Gone" and "Lullaby for Wyatt," a tender reminder of just how far Crow has come and what her future holds in store.

ARTIST: LENNY KRAVITZ

ALBUM: IT IS TIME FOR A LOVE REVOLUTION (Virgin Records)

Lenny Kravitz has been letting love rule since he started releasing music 18 years ago, so declaring that "It Is Time for a Love Revolution" is not quite a, well, revolutionary concept for the rock alchemist. He exhibits a different kind of urgency this time out, however, partly fueled by the times and perhaps also motivated by a desire to bounce back from the disappointing sales of 2004's "Baptism." Kravitz doesn't fly away from what brought him here, though. The mostly one-man-show of "Time" is another amalgamation of the vintage rock stylings that are his stock in trade, from the crunchy, Led Zeppelin-styled blues rock of "Bring It On" to the psychedelic riffing of "A Love Revolution," the mannered dynamics of "If You Want It" and the trippy, Beatles-flavored melodicism of "Good Morning" and "A New Door."

ARTIST: OTIS TAYLOR

ALBUM: RECAPTURING THE BANJO (Telarc Records)

Bluesman Otis Taylor gathers an all-star cast of fellow blues revivalists and banjoists -- Keb' Mo', Corey Harris, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Guy Davis, Don Vappie -- to pay brilliant tribute to the instrument rooted in the legacy of African-American music. Spurning banjo stereotypes (from minstrelsy to bluegrass) and keying in on the instrument's rhythmic versatility, Taylor covers a broad swath of stylistic ground, including rocking blues, funky swagger, jazz-inflected melody, Creole dance, old-timey jug band and country blues. And in testament to the banjo's role in a rock setting, Taylor nods to Jimi Hendrix in his charged rendition of "Hey Joe."

ARTIST: BOB MOULD

ALBUM: DISTRICT LINE (Anti-)

"District Line" is a fine showcase for the differing sides of ex-Husker Du/Sugar frontman Bob Mould's repertoire: Cuts like raucous opener "Stupid Now," the propulsive "Who Needs to Dream?" and the single "The Silence Between Us" recall the artist's more weighty rock moments, while "Again and Again" rides a crisp, undulating acoustic riff. Standout track "Shelter Me" shows off one of Mould's latter-day fascinations, as a polyrhythmic electronic groove supports his computer-modulated vocals. The fact that all this comes together in a smooth package says a lot for his maturation as an artist. The former punk icon is still going strong and clearly following the beat of his own drummer (or drum machine, as the case may be).

ARTIST: IDINA MENZEL

ALBUM: I STAND (Warner Bros.)

After originating the role of lesbian performance artist Maureen in rock-opera "Rent," Idina Menzel released a debut album that sounded much like the songs from the revered show, with enough strum and angst to land her a spot on the Lilith Fair tour. Nearly a decade later, "I Stand" sounds a heck of a lot like the score to "Wicked," the show that captured the imagination of a generation of preteen girls and made Menzel's Elphaba an icon of adolescent triumph. You can't say the formula is flawed. With songs like "I Stand" and "Brave," the album is a great companion piece for "Wicked" fans, capturing Menzel at her vocally acrobatic, appealingly nasal best, with hearty pop melodies and lyrics that will be belted by aspiring Elphabas from summer theater camp to Chelsea cabarets.

ARTIST: JACK JOHNSON

ALBUM: SLEEP THROUGH THE STATIC (Brushfire/Universal)

Saying that Jack Johnson's fourth record is languid and breezy is a little like saying the Cubs probably won't win it all this year, but "Sleep Through the Static" takes Johnson's uber-chill, barefoot-in-a-hammock vibe to new heights -- or mediums, depending on how you look at such things. Recorded purely with solar energy, "Static" traffics more in earnest, welterweight rock than his usual island-flavored vibe, which owes a lot to the subtle rhythms of his native Hawaii, and its pervasively midtempo skeleton is probably slow-rolling enough to completely alienate anyone not already in his camp. (This record will be a mighty tough sell at Coachella.) But fans who stick with it will find rewards like the sweet melody of "Angel," the hard-biting politics of the title track, the unlikely hook of first single "If I Had Eyes" and the jaunty saloon rhythms of "Monsoon."

Reuters/Billboard