Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger (Lost Highway): We like Ryan Adams: he’s witty, annoying, moody, talented, and 100% rock star. It’s unfortunate, then, that his output is so often uneven. Like a poster child for iPod album editing, Adams throws a handful of gems on each album, then adds lots of C+ songs with gratuitous swearing and purposefully off-key vocals. Easy Tiger isn’t the complete return to glory that early press suggested, but it is better than anything he’s done solo besides Heartbreaker and Cold Roses. Not as twangy as his last couple of albums, the mood falls somewhere near VH-1 and KGSR-friendly alt.country. The album is truly an Adams Tex-Mex combo meal: an entrée of Heartbreaker, Gold, and Cold Roses with a side of Rock’N’Roll. There’s not much filler here, but one gets the feeling that Adams can do a little better than what you’re hearing. Fans will really like this record, while newcomers might ask someone to recommend the five best tracks to download (we’d start with “These Girls,” “Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.,” and “Everybody Knows.”)

Beastie Boys – The Mix-Up (Capitol): After delivering their most heartfelt (but least good) album in To The 5 Boroughs, the Beasties return with an instrumental-only album of funk and retro wah-wah type tunes. Whether this is intended as a serious project or a stop-gap is uncertain, but the songs do have a groove and charm to them. Unfortunately, they all start to sound like a mix of Shuggie Otis, 70’s film scores, and Blind Faith after a while, but simply aren’t as good as any of those things. It leaves the listener wondering if the Beastie Boys have fallen into the R.E.M. category of aging artist: talented people who still want to play together, but who cannot come up with much that’s meaningful or exciting as a unit. We hope this isn’t true long-term, but in the meantime, consider this a release for serious fans only.

Image via Ryan Adams' MySpace page. Photographer uncredited.