In Brief

* * Eddie Murphy, “Love’s Alright,” Motown. The most striking aspect of this record is how happy Murphy sounds. His good spirits infuse both the lyrically succinct “Yeah,” featuring an all-star choir with everyone from Patti LaBelle and Bon Jovi to Garth Brooks, as well as the album’s catchiest cut “Whatzupwitu,” guest-starring Michael Jackson. Too bad none of this good cheer resulted in a good album.

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