KRIS KRISTOFFERSON

"Closer to the Bone" (New West)

"Ain't you getting better / Running out of time," Kris Kristofferson observes on the title song of his new album, the "you" seemingly referring to himself.

At 73, the craggy troubadour and sometime movie star may no longer scale the heights of his groundbreaking '60s and '70s work, but in recent years he has come as close as he ever has.

The sense of mortality in "Closer to the Bone" appears to have sharpened Kristofferson's muse. It gives him a renewed appreciation for life and love, one informed by a lifetime of sometimes hard-earned experience, to keep things from getting too sappy or sentimental. It all plays out in compositions with arrangements as spare as his lyrics, putting his ragged spoken-sung vocals -- singing was never his strong suit -- in their best light.

And check out the hidden track, which Kristofferson claims is the first song he ever wrote. Pretty precocious stuff for an 11-year-old.

-- Nick Cristiano, The Philadelphia Inquirer

ROD STEWART

"Soulbook" (J Records)

Rod Stewart reinvented himself in the new millennium by exercising his distinctly soulful pipes on classic standards with his "Great American Songbook" collection. Now he returns to his soul roots on "Soulbook," a 13-song collection that represents the soul sounds of Philadelphia, Memphis, and Motown.

Stewart kicks things off with a dramatic rendition of the Four Tops classic, "It's the Same Old Song" and between that and the last song, he honors soul music's greats, including The O'Jays, the Temptations, and Sam Cooke. And while it's a pretty good record, it does have a few minor bumps.

Whenever an artist covers somebody else's material, it's important that they offer something fresh in return, and for the most part Stewart delivers. But some of the arrangements are too close to the originals. No one will ever confuse Stewart with Jimmy Ruffin on "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted," or Brook Benton on "Rainy Night in Georgia," but he breaks no new ground on either song.

Stewart gets some help on the record from the top echelons of the R&B community. Mary J. Blige joins him on The Stylistics classic, "You Make Me Feel Brand New," while Jennifer Hudson shares the mic on "Let It Be Me." Smokey Robinson even makes an appearance as Stewart remakes his Miracles' classic, "The Tracks of My Tears."

Such high-profile guest artists sometimes leave the listener wanting more, especially on "My Cherie Amour." Here, Stevie Wonder joins Stewart, and the only thing that the duet accomplished for me was making me want to hear Wonder sing it himself.

-- John Carucci, Associated Press

THE SWELL SEASON

"Strict Joy" (Anti)

Boy loses girl, boy meets new girl, boy and girl make lovely, love and pain-filled music.

That's essentially the gist of "Once," the Grammy and Oscar-winning 2007 movie that snagged audiences with its soundtrack featuring the film's stars, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.

Irish singer-songwriter Hansard, frontman of the Frames, and Czech singer-pianist Irglova not only fell in love in real life, but formed a band, the Swell Season.

Then the couple broke up. But that didn't end their musical relationship.

The group's new album, while not as immediately ear-grabbing as the "Once" soundtrack, troves that sensitive, post break-up territory with beautiful, mostly subtle tunes in hushed acoustic tones. Recording started in August 2008, just after the split.

Produced by Peter Katis (Interpol), the album showcases Hansard's impassioned voice and lyrics on numbers such as the soulful single "Low Rising," layered with harmonies from Irglova.

It's her gorgeous, understated vibrato, however, that really makes the Swell Season worthy of attention.

-- Solvej Schou, The Associated Press

YOKO ONO PLASTIC ONO BAND

"Between My Head and the Sky" (Chimera)

Few women have caught more flak for loving their men than Yoko Ono, especially when you consider the widow Lennon's aesthetic pedigree.

Ono has long been prominent as artist and collaborator in the international avant-garde, made worthy stabs into electro dance music during the last decade, and has been an icon to noisemakers and No Wavers. Still, critics turn a jaundiced ear.

Now, at 76, Ono may have her best and most fully realized work. With son Sean Lennon, Japan's "Cornelius" Oyamada, and NYC jazz improvisers Erik Friedlander and Daniel Carter, Ono takes on ruminations over her own death with dark humor (the discordant funk of "Waiting for the D Train"), as well as themes such as decaying elegance ("I'm Going Away Smiling") and the passing of young friends on the precious, haunting ballad "Memory of Footsteps."

The bass-heavy "The Sun Is Down" and the snarling, psychedelic "Calling" benefit from her raw but clarion call, as does all of Head's primal, jazzy roar of saxophones and guitar. Pushing herself to sing in tones more roughly expressive and beautiful than ever, Ono becomes one with the music in a way she hasn't since the cracked blues of the initial Plastic Ono Band recordings of 1970.

-- A.D. Amorosi, The Philadelphia Inquirer