In Brief

* Ricky Van Shelton, “Don’t Overlook Salvation,” Columbia. For his first gospel album, Shelton (who headlines the Universal Amphitheatre on Monday) treats a basketful of traditional numbers to a flat, by-the-numbers vocal delivery that denudes them of every smidgen of human emotion. With gospel music this lifeless, salvation may be as close as the eject button.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).