Allison Moorer Takes Radio-Friendly Road

** 1/2

ALLISON MOORER

“Miss Fortune”

Universal South

In her third solo album (due in stores Tuesday), this Alabama-bred singer steps away from her neo-traditionalist country music stance for a more pop-edged, radio-friendly approach, complete with lots of string-assisted gloss.

That’s reasonable enough considering that Moorer, younger sister of Shelby Lynne, simply wasn’t getting anywhere commercially with her old sound--even though her last album, 2000’s “The Hardest Part,” was among the most acclaimed CDs to come out of Nashville in recent years. More than the sound, the problem with “Miss Fortune” is the material.

It’s tempting to think that anyone with as soulful a voice as Moorer’s can make almost any song work. This album shoots down that theory. Several of the tunes, including “Tumbling Down” and “Cold in California,” are so conventional that even she is unable to breathe life into them.

Moorer, who co-wrote most of the material with husband Doyle Primm, infuses a few songs, including the melancholy “Let Go” and the stark, disillusioned “Dying Breed,” with some of the raw emotion and revelation that made the last album so striking. She also kicks up her heels nicely on “Ruby Jewel Was Here.”

All too often, however, you get the feeling that Moorer and the production team of Primm and R.S. Field devoted so much time to the album’s musical design that they lost track of the challenge of actually saying something.

-- Robert Hilburn

*** 1/2

LINDA THOMPSON

“Fashionably Late”

Rounder

One thing’s for certain: The first album in 17 years from the esteemed British folk singer-songwriter won’t be picking up nominations as party record of the year.

But then, this is folk music in the time-honored troubadour tradition, one where happy endings are the exception, not the rule. Love withers, eludes or dies, sometimes mysteriously, sometimes tragically, seemingly always for reasons beyond the control or comprehension of the hapless humans at the center of these tales.

Songs frequently sound as if they’ve been handed down through centuries, a testament to Thompson’s understanding of folk tradition and to the compositional skills that allow her and collaborators to turn out instantly timeless ballads and laments.

Her primary partner in rhyme is son Teddy, inheriting the role his father, Richard Thompson, once handled before his marriage to Linda ended two decades ago. Two redeeming qualities somehow emerge from these exquisitely crafted fables detailing life’s harshness: the power of music and love of family.

Thompson’s own family helps here, with contributions not only from her son, but also from daughter Kamila and even her ex, who drops in to lend some of his signature guitar wizardry in “Dear Mary.”

--Randy Lewis

In Brief

** Filter, “The Amalgamut,” Reprise. More tough melodies and industrial-strength riffing from singer-guitarist Richard Patrick. Songs with real hooks are no longer the exception, although a shortage of musical personality has him often sounding like the Bryan Adams of metal. Filter’s third album is heavy with hard rock epics, with “Where Do We Go From Here?” falling easily into the radio-friendly territory of Foo Fighters or Alice in Chains. Lyrics are typically vague, mostly muted anger and endless frustration, but the precision of Patrick’s delivery at least keeps it rolling.

--Steve Appleford

*** 1/2 Project Pat, “Layin’ Da Smack Down,” Hypnotize Minds/Loud/Columbia. Sex, money and murder are the topics of choice on the fourth album (in stores Tuesday) from this Three 6 Mafia affiliate. The Memphis rapper’s flow ranges from pimpish to menacing, and his lyrics provide fresh wrinkles to these familiar topics. The rambunctious beats from Three 6 Mafia members DJ Paul and Juicy J are among the best and most sinister the genre has to offer.

--Soren Baker

*** 1/2 Sasha, “Airdrawndagger,” Kinetic. The debut album (in stores Tuesday) of original material from the British DJ is an ambitious, uncompromising work. There is nary a vocal on the 11 tracks. Instead, Sasha fills “Airdrawndagger” with rich, textured grooves, dense keyboards and smart, progressive beats to create a celebration of music akin to his DJ sets. In drawing on that spirit, Sasha adds a dazzling chapter to his legacy.

--Steve Baltin

*** Deep Forest, “Music.Detected,” Sony Music International. Deep Forest’s familiar fascination with samples has been set aside in this 10th-anniversary album. But fans of its global beat sounds need not worry--co-leaders Eric Mouquet and Michel Sanchez are capable of cooking up a steaming caldron of rhythms, melodies and textures in a live studio setting. More unexpected are the blended vocals from blues artist Beverly Jo Scott, Telepopmusik diva Angela McClusky, and artists from Bulgaria, Japan and Turkey.

--Don Heckman

*

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.