Editor’s Note: In Sound Advice, NEWS entertainment writer Dale McGarrigle, rock columnist Emily Burnham and a revolving stable of NEWS writers review new albums from across the musical spectrum.

“We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions” (Sony) – Bruce Springsteen

When making his 1975 breakthrough “Born To Run,” Bruce Springsteen explained years later, he aimed to sing like Roy Orbison, backed with a sound like legendary producer Phil Spector’s, with song lyrics like Bob Dylan’s.

We can trace Dylan back to Woody Guthrie, whose plain-spoken and stark songwriting Springsteen reflected in records such as 1984’s “Nebraska,” and even more so in the Dust Bowl-inspired “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (1995).

This time out, after a return to his big E Street Band sound with “The Rising” (2002) and a collection of carefully crafted solo acoustic songs (“Devils & Dust,” 2005), the Boss is again tapping a pre-Dylan folk lodestone.

“We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions” honors Pete Seeger – still with us at 86 – with 13 tunes written by or associated with Seeger.

With all due respect to Seeger – who wrote such classics of the folk music era as “If I Had A Hammer” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” neither of which is heard here – his talent was more as a song collector and translator. Seeger deserves credit for introducing the folk tradition to a wider audience, but an artist of Springsteen’s stature might have turned his eye to more challenging material.

Springsteen’s and his band’s enthusiasm notwithstanding, “The Seeger Sessions” sounds more like treading water than swimming against any tide of social injustice, as Seeger did in his time. The fun Springsteen and his dozen-plus musicians must have had singing such tunes as “Old Dan Tucker” and “Froggy Went A’Courtin'” is evident, but just isn’t contagious.

“The Seeger Sessions” has its moments, mostly on the darker or more sparsely arranged songs. But for my money, I’d rather hear Springsteen revisit folk music with the toughness and tenderness he brought, respectively, to Guthrie’s “Vigilante Man” and “I Ain’t Got No Home” on the 1990 tribute “Folkways: A Vision Shared.” – Tom Groening

“St. Elsewhere” (Atlantic) – Gnarls Barkley

Here’s what you need to know: Gnarls Barkley’s “St. Elsewhere” will be the soundtrack to your summer. And if it’s not, it should be.

Here’s everything else: Gnarls Barkley, the duo comprised of DJ Dangermouse (of Gorillaz fame) and Cee-Lo Green (formerly of Goodie Mob), got together sometime last year, chucked hip hop, soul, gospel, indie rock, house music and movie soundtracks into a food processor and hit ‘puree.’

They took hilarious promo photos of the two dressed up as characters from “Napoleon Dynamite” and “A Clockwork Orange,” and then – boom – they’re at the top of the downloads charts.

Kicking off with “Go Go Gadget Gospel,” a frenetic blast of sweaty, raise-the-rafters soul, Gnarls manages to keep up the pace all the way through the end of the album, with the infectious, Jackson Five-esque “The Last Time.” In between, there’s a cover of the Violent Femmes’ “Gone Daddy Gone,” the swinging, syncopated “Smiley Faces,” the creepy “Boogie Monster,” and finally the uber-hit “Crazy,” a soulful plea that begs repeated listens if only because it’s so damned catchy.

The lyrical themes of madness, fear and suicide are juxtaposed with the album’s playful, danceable, funny atmosphere. And it’s chock-a-block full with anything and everything Dangermouse and Cee-Lo can drag out of their imaginations, both musically and lyrically.

A party album that’s smart and funny. Like I said – if it’s not bumping on your stereo all summer, you’re missing out. – Emily Burnham

“Jukebox” (Hidden Beach International) – Bent Fabric

The title single of this album has become ubiquitous, between its popularity in dance clubs and its use in commercials.

Yet few know that the mastermind behind it and this album is 81-year-old jazz pianist Bent Fabricius-Bjerre, who is revered in his home country of Denmark, yet little known on these shores.

That should be remedied by this release, in which the elderly pianist joins forces with hip, young producers and musicians, who, as the liner notes state, “put a fresh coin in the jukebox and reinvent the old Bent Fabric name.”

This idea certainly works, as Fabricius’ brand of swinging jazz, which stands just fine on its own, is masterfully revamped with studio magic for a new generation of clubbers, so that those young and older can bop alongside the same CD. It’s Frank Sinatra meets Fat Boy Slim.

Besides “Jukebox,” other standout cuts are “Bam Boogie,” “Haven’t You Noticed,” “Shake” and “Everytime.”

Everything musical gets recycled. “Jukebox” shows how to do it right. – Dale McGarrigle

“‘Live’ Trucker” (Atlantic) – Kid Rock and the Twisted Brown Trucker Band

If you’re looking for new material, there really isn’t anything here for the dedicated Kid Rock fan. If, however, you’re looking to relive the Kid Rock concert experience or get a taste of what it’s like, this fits the bill, right down to the plethora of F-bombs liberally poured before, during, and after almost every one of the 14 songs on this album that more than earned its parental advisory warning label for explicit content. The cover is obviously modeled after fellow Detroit rock legend Bob Seger and his Silver Bullet Band and the group’s “Live” Bullet album, released in 1976. Wow… It’s been 30 years? Yikes. Anyway, Kid Rock pays homage to one of his musical heroes with the live album and for the most part, it works. A guest appearance by Gretchen Wilson on the duet for “Picture” which was originally sung by Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow, is a nice bonus. – Andrew Neff