A Mixed Bag

Editor’s Note: Dave Norman is off this month. The following reviews are the work of Associated Press writers Wayne Parry (Cheap Trick), Chris Talbott (Dinosaur Jr.), John Kosika (Mars Volta) and Melanie Sims (Al B. Sure).

Maybe it’s Red Bull, or maybe they just took a dip in that pool from the movie “Cocoon,” but Cheap Trick has got its youthful energy and exuberance back again.

That’s no small feat for the Rockford rockers, whose biggest success came while Jimmy Carter was in office, and who haven’t hit it this hard since 1982’s “One On One” album.

The song “Sick Man Of Europe,” named after a solo project bassist Tom Petersson launched during a 1980s break from the band, sounds like a bunch of amped-up 20-year olds gleefully bashing away in a garage for nothing more than the sheer joy of plugging in, turning it up all the way and rocking out. Petersson’s nasty distorted bass dominates as Rick Nielsen’s slashing guitars add to the mayhem.

Other hard rockers include “Every Day You Make Me Crazy,” “California Girl” and “Alive.”

Longtime faithful disciples of The Beatles, Cheap Trick continues the reverence on the Lennon-like “Miracle,” which even lifts the riff from “Mind Games” and blends it with chord progressions from CT’s own “World’s Greatest Lover,” itself a loving Beatles ode.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: “When The Lights Are Out” will doubtless sound familiar to Cheap Trick fans: It grafts the drumbeat and guitar riff from “Elo Kiddies” onto the lyrics of the song originally done by Slade. It’s an old track, recorded in 1976 and included here with no changes.

Good news: The original lineup of Dinosaur Jr. has a new album out.

Not so good news: “Farm” sounds like another installment of J Mascis and friends.

The great thing about the revival of one of indie rock’s touchstone bands is the chance for guitarist Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph to spontaneously combust with another album like “You’re Living All Over Me,” the molten lava middle album of the three the original lineup put out in the 1980s.

“Farm” is not that album. The band’s latest is as close to mellow as Mascis is ever likely to get. Acting as producer, Mascis has things going just the way he likes. Barlow and Murph act like a platform from which Mascis launches several extended guitar solos and inspired noodling.

There are some great moments here. Mascis’ lazy delivery on “Ocean in the Way,” his playful guitar intro on “Over It,” the drama of “There’s No Here” and the sugary sweet melody of “See You.”

But overall, the album sounds a lot like Mascis’ work post-breakup. And that’s a wasted opportunity.

The most energetic moment on “Farm” comes in “Your Weather,” one of two songs penned by Barlow. It’s a reminder of how much energy the band once had, and may yet reclaim.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: Mascis’ gift is that he can break your heart while he’s blowing you mind, something he accomplishes on the melancholy “Said the People” with it’s plaintive chorus, soaring guitars, unexpected keyboards and patient delivery.

Grammy-winning prog-rock wizards The Mars Volta show a softer side but still rock hard on their fifth studio outing, “Octahedron.”

A creative partnership between guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala – who breathe life into their collaborations with the help of various musicians – The Mars Volta soar just as high with acoustic guitars and piano arrangements as they do with blazing riffs and space-rock atmosphere.

The prolific Rodriguez-Lopez effortlessly weaves elements of punk, funk, psychedelia, jazz fusion, and Latin grooves into the mix, while Bixler-Zavala teams a scorching falsetto with an impressive vocabulary on his abstract, metaphorical vocals.

They kick off with a light touch on “Since We’ve Been Wrong” and bring some serious spaced-out funk-rock on “Teflon” and the dynamic “Halo Of Nembutals.” “With Twilight As My Guide” sounds just like its title with gloomy acoustics and haunting guitar effects, and “Desperate Graves” is a dose of post-hardcore aggression.

The disc closes with the manic 1-2 punch of “Copernicus,” which floats into deep electronics, and the cryptic “Luciforms,” with a trippy opening that builds into wah-wah euphoria.

And euphoric is exactly what “Octahedron” is – yet another indispensable entry in The Mars Volta’s already impressive catalogue.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: “Cotopaxi” kicks hard from start to finish and features a ferocious performance by drummer Thomas Pridgen.

When an artist delivers an album after more than a decade on hiatus, fans listen closely for the music they fell in love with and cynics listen closely for a deafening flop. In the case of Al B. Sure, fans win out.

Sure! is still the crooner he was when “Nite and Day” reached the Top 10 of the Billboard R&B and Pop charts in 1988, but on the slow-burning “I Love It! (Papi Aye, Aye, Aye),” drum machines and electric guitars have been replaced by pianos and violins.

That’s not to say, however, that Sure! has abandoned the R&B sound that made him and his New Jack Swing peers popular.

“Honey I’m Home” bears all the signs of 90s R&B nostalgia. The track “Dedicate My All” not only incorporates the sound of snapping fingers, but it boldly begins with a voiceover: “Can I talk to you? I think you need to hear what I’ve got to say. So please, listen.”

It’s almost impossible for listeners to forget what era Sure! is coming from, and for the most part, it seems the singer doesn’t mind reminiscing. He covers both Michael Jackson’s “Lady in My Life” and Sting’s “Fragile.”

Besides those two songs, Sure! takes writing and co-producing credits for every track on the album. The mid-tempo “Top of Your Lungs,” featuring an exasperated Sure! singing to an argumentative lover, is one of the best in the batch of romantic, mellow grooves.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: Al B. Sure makes pickup lines sound like sweet nothings (in a classic R&B kind of way) on “By The Way, By The Way.”