FLOBOTS

"Fight with Tools"

(Universal Republic)

Flobots has the audacity to try to matter, and if only for that reason, they do.

The Denver rap-and-you-name-it collective's "Fight With Tools" gets a deserved upgrade from 2007's indie status to a major-label release thanks to a deal with Universal Republic.

These earnest champions of social justice announce "We are the insurgents" on opening track "There's a War Going on for Your Mind," and though Flobots may blame marketing and advertising and pop culture for the blitzkrieg, they're gunning for your attention, too.

Give them a chance, and they'll have it. Sure, they may eventually lose it again with the overkill of spitfire vocals by Brer Rabbit and Jonny 5 and the numbing aural assault of fractured genres, but "Fight With Tools" carries an air of importance akin to vintage Public Enemy.

The ongoing war in Iraq and downward-spiraling economy aren't lost on Flobots, but neither is the power of the people -- and ultimately the messages that stick are lines such as "Peace will never become passe" (on "Mayday!!!"), "Put your hands up, and I'll copy you" (on "Stand Up") and the gripping group mantra of "We rise together" on the anthemic closer, "Rise."

Kudos to the group's musical creativity as the organic sound of "Fight With Tools" takes on a sophisticated edge with viola and trumpet and jogs through everything from soft jazz to hard rock. This six-member band -- which also includes a guitarist, bass player and drummer -- doesn't simply flip on an electronic beat and rap away.

Flobots' bracing ways take their toll, however, and listeners might find themselves squirming to escape the endless lectures and messy arrangements. But the group makes such a case for itself that much of its audience will keep coming back.

'SEX AND THE CITY' SOUNDTRACK

Various Acts

(New Line)

The press release accompanying advance copies of the "Sex and the City" soundtrack projects that the film could be "the movie event of the year." Even if it does prove to be so, the soundtrack is just another soundtrack -- a collection of songs as random as the sex partners had by the four main characters on the HBO-show-turned-movie.

The compilation starts with an event song, an emphatic new ditty from Fergie, "Labels or Love," inspired by riffs from the show's theme song. And the soundtrack ends with a bang, a "Sex and the City Movie Theme" in which the Pfeifer Broz. Orchestra gives the TV theme a grand overhaul.

The in-between stuff is typical of cuts on soundtracks, all over the place and not well-suited for each other. Former "American Idol" contestant and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, who has a role in the "Sex" movie, yowls on a trying-too-hard "All Dressed in Love." Joss Stone is entirely extraneous to Al Green on a seven-minute revamp of "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart." India.Arie surfaces in an uninspiring remake of "The Heart of the Matter" and Mairi Campbell & Dave Francis deliver a gratuitously florid version of "Auld Lang Syne."

On the other hand, there are a couple of cool electro-lounge songs, Jem's "It's Amazing" and Bliss' "Kissing," as well as a pair of full-on electronic dance tracks, Kaskade's "I Like the Way" and a "Madison Park vs. Lenny B remix" of Nina Simone's "The Look of Love," that give the proceedings a kick in the butt. There's also an unexpected sense of adventure that emerges in the punked-out retro-synth of Morningwood's "New York Girls" and the bouncy indie-pop of The Weepies' "All This Beauty."

There have been many worse, much worse, soundtracks than this. But most of those weren't attached to something so eventful.

Rating (five possible): 3

USHER

"Here I Stand"

(LaFace/Zomba)

In the four years since his last album -- the nine-million selling, Grammy-winning "Confessions" -- Usher has apparently undergone a personal and musical maturation.

On the homefront, the Atlanta-bred R&B singer now has a son, Usher Raymond V, and wife, celebrity stylist Tameka Foster (despite breakup rumors in the blogosphere). And where his previous CD dealt with themes of infidelity and mixed emotions, his latest release "Here I Stand" is a near-180-degree shift, full of solid songs about true love and committed relationships.

However, Usher hasn't lost his sense of sexual drama nor his skill at delivering well-crafted, soul-pop jams. He's just more straightforward in his ability to titillate and romance. "Love In This Club" featuring Young Jeezy is a right-here, right-now sexy, dancefloor-packer on which Usher gets all hot-and-heavy. He croons: "You know all you gotta do is tell me what you sippin' on/ And I promise that I'm gonna keep it comin' all night long."

Meanwhile, the swaying, lovey-dovey vibes of the Jermaine Dupri-produced "Something Special," built on spare guitar strums, is perfect for summer wedding playlists. And for the honeymoon, he's got the necessary mood music: the slow burn of "Love You Gently."

There are moments where Usher's gooey sentiments seem overwrought -- the synth-heavy ballad "Moving Mountains" and the sentimental "What's A Man to Do." But so much of "Here I Stand" is classy R&B that it's hard to fault Usher for playing the good-guy.

CHECK OUT THIS TRACK: On "Best Thing," fellow newlywed Jay-Z and Usher throw away their playa cards, equating the sharing of "two-car garages" with having a menage a trois. Now that's real love.

DONNA SUMMER

"Crayons"

(Burgundy)

Donna Summer is still viable, if not particularly marketable.

"Crayons," her first release of all-new material since 1991, is a surprisingly intense bid for a comeback, a thoroughly contemporary release loaded with vigorous diversity and relevance.

The disco pioneer is more of a follower than a leader now, and that works against her: It would almost be better if "Crayons" were a lame, maybe even sad, resurrection of disco because that would be easier to sell to nostalgic fans who may not embrace a modernized, 59-year-old Summer.

Still, even if her reach doesn't extend far beyond dance clubs these days, fans will discover "Crayons." They'll get inspired by her defiantly resilient manifesto embodied in the slapping electricity of the jock-jam-sounding "Stamp Your Feet." They'll get a charge out of her emphatic stand on the high-voltage "Fame (the Game)." They'll get a laugh at her tongue-in-cheek "Guess who's back?" on the rumbling "The Queen Is Back." They'll get intrigued by her scratchy soul against the curious gurgle of rural electronica on "Slide Over Backwards."

Summer also dishes out sturdy pop ("Science of Love"), a double dose of world music ("Drivin' Down Brazil" and "Bring Down the Reign") and one of those melodramatic piano ballads that folks tend to love ("Be Myself Again").

And she bellows with similar commanding presence to what she had in the 1970s, even if she's just killing time in the interminable formula of the dance track "I'm a Fire" or bumping around in the bossy framework of "Mr. Music."

Apparently, Summer figures if she's going to fail, she's not going to be shy about it.

Good call.

AL GREEN

"Lay It Down"

(Blue Note)

If Al Green's "Lay It Down" sounds familiar, it should. Much like his 2003's comeback CD I Cant Stop, this is an homage to and re-creation of Green's '70s glory days. That's when the quintessential love man, with producer Willie Mitchell, delivered classics like "Let's Stay Together," and "Call Me" that inspired millions: That apparently included James Poyser and The Roots Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, who, (with Green) produced this joyful if somewhat uneven CD.

The intentions are good. Green's vocals are still sanctified and sexy -- witness the slinky "I'm Wild." Likewise the mournful title track and "No One Like You" shout out to Green's 1972 gem "Love And Happiness," and the proliferation of Hammond B3 organs makes this an old school dream, which is part of the problem.

While no one is expecting Lil Wayne on the hook, the participation of stylists like Thompson and Poyser -- along with fellow acolytes John Legend and Anthony Hamilton (who almost steals the jazzy "You've Got The Love") -- implied that Green's trademark sound might be guided into a new direction. Not doing so doesn't make "Lay It Down" any less soulful -- it just makes it a bit too safe.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: Buoyed by guitars with a juke joint twang and a finger-popping chorus, Green preaches about the transcendent power of love on "Standing in the Rain."

"RAMBO"

(2008, 91 min.)

Dir.: Sylvester Stallone

After years of flops, Sylvester Stallone worked his way back into audiences' graces by reprising one of his iconic characters in "Rocky Balboa," then fell out again by resurrecting another, John Rambo, in this savagely violent jungle tale. With an outrageous body count, the movie co-written and directed by Stallone revisits his Vietnam vet Rambo, now trying to live a quiet life in Thailand but drawn into the fray again to rescue naive American missionaries captured by military thugs in Myanmar. Available in a single-disc DVD, a two-disc DVD set and a two-disc Blu-ray high-definition release, the movie is accompanied by deleted scenes, commentary from Stallone and half a dozen behind-the-scenes segments about reviving Rambo, the movie's music, the weapons and other topics. Single DVD, $29.95.; DVD set, $34.98; Blu-ray set, $39.99. (Lionsgate)

CASSANDRA'S DREAM

(2007, 109 min.)

Dir.: Woody Allen

Woody Allen's latest also is one of his darkest, reviving some of the grim themes of murder, guilt and strained fraternal bonds that he previously examined in 1989's "Crimes and Misdemeanors." Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell star as working-class British brothers -- one with ambitious dreams, the other with modest aspirations -- who are presented with the means to overcome obstacles in their lives by a sinister offer from their rich uncle (Tom Wilkinson). As with all films by Allen, who prefers to let his stories stand on their own without any glimpses into how they were made, the DVD comes with just the film and no extras. DVD, $24.95. (Genius)

THE THIEF OF BAGDAD

(1940, 106 min.)

Dirs.: Zoltan Korda, Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell

Producer Alexander Korda's 1940 classic, whose directing team included British master Michael Powell, was ahead of its time with its ravishing color and visual effects. A fantasy inspired by "The Arabian Nights," the film follows the exploits of a prince (John Justin) who is reduced to a blind beggar by an evil magician (Conrad Veidt), the outcast royal finding an unlikely ally in a wily young thief (Sabu). Highlights among the many extras in the two-disc set include commentary with Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, a documentary on the visuals featuring such special-effects experts as Ray Harryhausen and Dennis Muren, excerpts from Powell's audio dictation for his autobiography and a propaganda film for the British effort in World War II produced by Korda. DVD set, $39.95. (Criterion)