FALL ALBUM ROUNDUP : In Brief

* * Martina McBride, “Wild Angels,” RCA. Some heartland rock adds musical kick to McBride’s basic country sound in several tunes, but too many of the lyrics fall flat as the Kansas plains. She’s better at close-to-the-heart vignettes--”Swingin’ Doors” stands out, with its analogy of a heart as a honky-tonk at closing time--than at sweeping pronouncements on life.

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