B Lil Wayne
Tha Carter V
Young Money
The role of Tha Carter series in Lil Wayne's career is kind of like the Mission: Impossible franchise in Tom Cruise's. Both performers are well past the point of being central figures in their respective fields but are still capable of commanding attention with the latest iteration of their signature brands.
In Wayne's case, the New Orleans rapper is a full decade past his most-loved hit, "A Milli," released in 2008 when calling himself "the greatest rapper alive" seemed more than just an idle boast. He has spent most of this decade tied up in contractual woes, however. The release of Tha Carter V was first said to be imminent in 2014, and Wayne has spent the intervening years keeping his fans dissatisfied with subpar mixtapes.
It would be overstating the case to say that V finds the rapper -- born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. -- back on top of his game. Sure, the 23-track, 80-minute enterprise is flabby and rarely flat-out brilliant, though the soulful and sexy "Dark Side of the Moon" (not the Pink Floyd song) collaboration with Nicki Minaj is a superb use of both of their talents, and the high-concept teaming with Kendrick Lamar on "Mona Lisa" (not the Nat "King" Cole classic) showcases the verbal skills of both emcees.
V can't maintain that level of inspiration, but the album, which begins with a spoken intro from Wayne's mother, Jacida Carter, is enlivened along the way by guest spots from Snoop Dogg and Ashanti, who sings on a track that, counterintuitively, is the 18th track on the album. V begins to feel like a slog by that point, but it's worth sticking around -- or skipping ahead -- to the end. The final track, "Let It All Work Out," which features British pianist and singer Sampha, turns out to be a deeply personal, moving song in which Wayne admits that the incident in which he shot himself in the chest when he was 12 was not an accident, but a suicide attempt.
Hot tracks: "Dark Side of the Moon," "Mona Lisa," "Let It All Work Out"
-- DAN DELUCA
The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)
B+ Eric Church
Desperate Man
EMI
Eric Church's new album is the rarest of country records, one that reflects and comments on the present.
He opens with the stunning parable "The Snake," a dark commentary about the current state of America's two-party political system, where Church snarls, "Rattlesnake, copperhead, either one of them, kill you dead/We stay hungry, they get fed ... And the whole world's burning down."
When he sings "I've learned that the monsters ain't the ones beneath the bed" in "Monsters," Church may be referring to the shooter who killed 58 and injured more than 800 at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas a year ago, where he was one of the headliners. But he is definitely referring to the feeling that sometimes the monsters win and that his response is the cautious hope of "I keep my faith intact and make sure my prayers are said."
It's a testament to Church's skill as a songwriter and a singer that Desperate Man doesn't sugarcoat anything, but still maintains a positive outlook, even if, as he does in "Drowning Man," all he can do is offer an escape. And in "Solid," Church praises resilience, by declaring, "I might look like a mess to you, but I'm solid."
He manages this difficult balancing act by drawing on more soul and blues than he has in the past, calling to mind the Allman Brothers Band, as much as the new country traditionalists like Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson. The good-time soul groove of "Hanging Around" even draws out an unexpectedly playful vocal performance from Church, while the wistful "Hippie Radio" is a gorgeous nostalgic trip through "Carry on My Wayward Son," Billy Idol and even a nod to Harry Chapin.
And the world Church conjures in the sweet, blues-tinged "Heart Like a Wheel" or "Jukebox and a Bar" offers proof that the monsters don't always win.
Hot tracks: "The Snake," "Drowning Man," "Heart Like a Wheel," "Solid"
-- GLENN GAMBOA
Newsday (TNS)
SINGLES
Loretta Lynn, 'Ain't No Time to Go'
At 86, Loretta Lynn stares toward mortality in "Ain't No Time to Go" from Wouldn't It Be Great, a new album of songs she wrote or collaborated on. She wrote "Ain't No Time to Go" with her daughter Patsy Lynn Russell. To what sounds like an old Cajun fiddle tune, with a deep Appalachian twang in her voice even when it's whispery, she sings to a dying spouse about all that is left undone, and begs, "Stay with me if you can."
-- JON PARELES
The New York Times
Style on 10/23/2018