Sound Advice: BDN writers offer reviews of new albums from across the musical spectrum

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“For Lovers, Dreamers and Me” (Epic) – Alice Smith

It only seems like Alice Smith came out of nowhere.

After all, Rolling Stone has already declared her one of its “10 Artists to Watch.”

Her debut album shows why that it’s little wonder that critics are falling for her blend of rock, pop, jazz, modern R&B and classic soul.

The self-taught singer from Washington, D.C. and Georgia shows a rare ability to select 10 songs that will keep her listeners enraptured. Four of those she co-wrote herself, while the rest she certainly has made her own.

She may draw comparisons to singers such as Alicia Keys, India.arie or Jill Scott, but Smith, with her four-octave voice, has an idiosyncratic style all her own, as is evident of such songs as “Gary Song,” her first single “New Religion” and “Fake is the New Real.”

Does Smith have staying power? Only time will tell, but “For Lovers, Dreamers and Me” certainly suggests she does. – DALE MCGARRIGLE

“Let’s Frolic” (True North Records) – Blackie and the Rodeo Kings

“Small Miracles” (TeleSoul Records) – Blue Rodeo

The Canadian music scene deserves more attention from we Americans. Two cases in point: the Toronto-based bands Blue Rodeo and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.

Blue Rodeo has been successfully working a north of the border version of the Austin, Texas alt-country sound for two decades. The band features two singer-songwriters, Jim Cuddy, whose sunny poppier tunes are well-suited to his plaintive tenor, and Greg Keelor, who sounds like a road-weary hippie with a voice reminiscent of Mark Knopfler’s.

The 13 songs on “Small Miracles” alternate between Cuddy and Keelor compositions, providing a nice balance. There are some winners here, but for the most part, the songs sound a little too well-crafted, and light on the emotion and passion that marked earlier collections. “Small Miracles” is a pleasant enough listen, but for the uninitiated, 1993’s “Five Days in July” and 1997’s “Tremolo” are better places to start.

Blackie and the Rodeo Kings is a super group of sorts featuring singer-songwriters Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden and Tom Wilson. Each has a successful solo career; Linden has worked with the latter day incarnation of the Band, and “Let’s Frolic” features the late Richard Bell, a Band alumnus.

These collective efforts can sometimes be a dumping ground for a songwriter’s misfit compositions. But even then, the magic of collaboration with musical buddies can make it work. On “Let’s Frolic,” Fearing, Linden and Wilson have brought some gems to the table, and even the apparent throw-aways are made worthy by some adventurous playing and fun arrangements.

Blue Rodeo’s full and rich catalogue is worth exploring, but Blackie and the Rodeo Kings has created the record most fit for export this time around. – TOM GROENING

“By the People, For the People” (Epic) – Mudvayne

One of a few metal bands to stay fresh and angry in recent years, Mudvayne has stopped thrashing long enough to compile a CD of live and demo versions of some of its best songs.

“By the People, For the People,” according to a release, “marks the first time in the history of recorded music that a band has allowed fans to choose the cover art and track listing of an album.”

The CD, in addition to alternate versions of some of the band’s hits, contains the new track “Dull Boy” and a cover of The Police’s “King of Pain.” In keeping with the democratic flavor, a contest on mudvayne.com is challenging fans to fill in the “green screen” for the official video of “Dull Boy.”

Lead vocalist Chad Gray provides short, spoken introductions to each track letting listeners know when and where each song was recorded or providing a little context and color for the songs.

For those who don’t always want to wade through the commentary, it is interspersed between songs as separate tracks so it can be removed easily once ripped onto a computer.

The featured songs provide insight into different layers and new directions the band took from initial recordings. A live recording of “Dig,” the band’s first scorching success, and an acoustic version of “Forget to Remember” highlight the album.

This disk is indeed “For the People,” as in Mudvayne’s “people”; it’s a no-brainer for fans obsessed with owning every version of the band’s songs. Persuading new listeners to buy “By the People”? If you don’t already have a library of the band’s earlier works, go get those albums first, and definitely go see this band perform live. – JUDY LONG

“Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall” (Geffen) – Rufus Wainwright

For two nights in the summer of 2006, singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright took to the stage at Carnegie Hall and performed and recorded, note for note, the concert Judy Garland gave in 1961 on the same stage, later released as the classic double live album “Judy at Carnegie Hall.”

Wainwright, in his position as an openly gay pop star, has some big britches to fill. Garland has long been regarded as a gay icon, with her pluck, her innocence, her tragic victimhood and, most importantly, her astonishingly powerful talent. There’s a lot of baggage that goes with taking on that persona. Fortunately, Wainwright knows this, and instead of recreating every vocal turn, he simply throws himself into the material.

And what material it is: the classic American songbook, from Tin Pan Alley to Hollywood numbers. Though Wainwright’s reedy tenor is more akin to Elton John than the sublime force of Garland’s instrument, he does justice to some of her trademark songs, like a gangbusters rendition of “The Man That Got Away” and a cha-cha-cha-ing take on “You Go To My Head,” complete with Garland’s memorable lyric-flub halfway through.

It’s terrifically entertaining, and strikes a darn near perfect balance between camp and reverence. Wainwright understands Garland’s secret: it was the sheer joy of singing for an adoring crowd that kept her going, throughout her long, troubled career. He’ll never reach that level of genius that his muse attained, but regardless, he’s obviously having a fabulous time on stage, and makes an admirable stab at paying tribute to a legend. – EMILY BURNHAM