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DROPS: A departure by that other McCartney guy

Glenn Gamboa | DROPS

May 20, 2008

Risk and pop music hardly ever go together. Why take a chance when there's money to be made?

That's what makes Jesse McCartney's new album, "Departure" (Hollywood), so remarkable. The first single "Leavin'" is an irresistible smash, with the reggae-and- R&B tinges and the cell-phone bleeps making the big pop chorus that much more memorable. But that's only the beginning of

"Departure's" wild ride.

Working with a who's who of hot producers, McCartney zooms all over the musical map with reckless abandon, seemingly willing to try anything except the pretty "Beautiful Soul" pop that he was previously known for. Sometimes it works. Sean Garrett's "How Do You Sleep?" is an update of those unstoppable boy band hits of a decade ago, while "Runnin'," from up-and-comers The Clutch, gives McCartney a stylish R&B beat tailor-made for today's radio playlists.

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But even when it doesn't quite work - in the crazy-eyed hip-hop of "Rock You" or the in-your-face R&B of "Freaky" - McCartney's delivery and the slick production still keep it entertaining.

After co-writing Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love" and voicing

Theodore in "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and its surprisingly popular soundtrack, McCartney has already had quite a big year behind the scenes. With "Departure," McCartney shows that sometimes all these chances pay off.

DEPARTURE. Jesse McCartney gets his groove on. In stores today. Grade: B

SCARLETT FEVER. Scarlett Johansson's debut album "Anywhere I Lay My Head" (Atco) is a delight. How much of that excellence she is actually responsible for is beside the point. Yes, her voice is limited - think lower-register Sinead O'Connor without the banshee yelling and the nimble phrasing - but it gets the job done. And when there's so much marvelous stuff going on around it, from the Tom Waits songs to the soundscapes lovingly assembled by TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, does it really matter?

The title track recasts the Waits classic as an Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song, complete with boozy horn sounds and engaging synthesized-drum fills. "I Don't Want to Grow Up" is reborn as a Pet Shop Boys remix. And when David Bowie's majestic backing vocals kick in on "Fannin' Street," the results are stunning.

It's a trick that Johansson and her collaborators pull off time and again on "Anywhere I Lay My Head" - even on "Song for Jo," the album's sole original, co-written by Johansson and Sitek - and one that future actresses-turned-singers should study. Sticking to what you do best generally works out just fine.

("Anywhere I Lay My Head," in stores today; Grade: B)

ALSO IN STORES. Green Day alter ego Foxboro Hot Tubs' debut "Stop, Drop and Roll" (Warner Bros.); 3 Doors Down's eponymous album (Universal); Donna Summer's "Crayons" (Burgundy); Flobots' "Fight With Tools" (Universal Republic); The Dresden Dolls' "No Virginia" (Roadrunner); The Wedding Present's "El Rey" (Manifesto); Julianne Hough's eponymous country album (Mercury Nashville); Dan Zanes' collection of Latin-themed children's songs "Nueva York!" (Festival Five); and John Williams' soundtrack to " Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (Concord).

SONG OF THE WEEK. The Black Kids' single "I'm Not Gonna Teach Him How to Dance With You" (Columbia) was such a blog sensation last year there's already a backlash before the band's debut even comes out. That won't really matter though once the mainstream gets a load of the Jacksonville band's indie-poppy hooks and enough John Hughesian lyrical drama in less than four minutes to spawn an entire season of "The Hills." All Reggie Youngblood has to do is sing in his best Robert Smith voice and it's nearly impossible not to get sucked in and just as impossible to get it out of your head.

Contact Glenn Gamboa at 631-843-3434.