New releases today: Neil Young, Robert Plant/Alison Krauss, Carrie Underwood
AllMusic.com
Neil Young
Chrome Dreams II
Reprise
It's billed as a sequel to a 1977 album that never was released, but Neil Young's Chrome Dreams II plays more like a second Freedom -- it's a hodge-podge of sweet folk, loping country rock and crunching hard rock, all built around an epic 1988 outtake called "Ordinary People," recorded with his horn section the Bluenotes. This makes for a bit of a messy listen, especially when compared to his recent focused conceptual works, but Neil Young is often most endearing when he's messy, and that's true here. Even if there are no major songs here outside of "Ordinary People," Chrome Dreams II feels ragged but right in a way Neil hasn't been in years.
Robert Plant/Alison Krauss 
Raising Sand
Rounder
Former and future Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant and bluegrass maven Alison Krauss seems an unlikely pair. Yet, on Raising Sand, they team with producer/guitarist T-Bone Burnett and all star band-that includes guitarist Marc Ribot and master drummer Jay Bellerose they make it sound easy and effortless. The differing timbres and interpretive reach of their twined voices-no matter who is singing lead, work in a remarkable and mysterious ways. Over 13 songs that range from Sam Phillips' "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us," Gene Clark's "Polly Come Home," Mel Tillis' "Stick With Me Baby," and Dorothy LaBostrie's "Rich Woman," the pair explore sultry rockabilly, blues, country various folk styles and more in a manner that feels timeless.
Carrie Underwood 
Carnival Ride
Arista
Carrie Underwood's much-anticipated second album Carnival Ride proves that the smash success of her 2005 debut Some Hearts was no fluke. Underwood sharply downplays the lingering adult contemporary pop elements of her debut -- there are no Diane Warren songs, for instance -- and plays up her country roots. Admittedly, she's far from being a country traditionalist, but now that Shania and Faith Hill have gone pop, Carrie is the standard bearer for mainstream country-pop and Carnival Ride proves that she's just beginning to hit her stride.
