CD Reviews

Rob Zombie

‘Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor’

Zodiac Swan

Rob Zombie has smeared his fingerprints all over heavy metal, industrial and three-chord garage rock, as well as the realms of film and the written word. Not everything he has done with his career has necessarily been a rousing success, but Zombie has always tackled his projects with the high-mindedness of an auteur, and “VRRV” is no exception. Sonically, the album is all over the map — from the White Zombie-esque “Lucifer Rising” to the dance-heavy “The Girl Who Loved Monsters,” to the bizarrely named “Ging Gang Gong De Do Gong De Laga Raga,” there’s a wide enough sampling of sounds here to give the casual Zombie fan a nice cliffs-notes look at his entire career. But don’t take that to mean that “VRRV” is a tired retread. This is a fully energized album that shows Zombie clearly still feels like he has a lot to say. CV

Michael Bublé

‘To Be Loved’

Packshot

It’s really easy to take Michael Bublé for granted. He’s one of those artists who turns in a solid, workmanlike performance each and every time out. He’s so good at what he does, in fact, that it’s really easy to understate. Covers of classics and jazz standards — Bublé’s stock and trade — are not everyone’s cup of tea. Buble does, of course, mix in a healthy dose of original material, but the majority of his fans is in it to hear him sing Frank or Dean. “To Be Loved” scratches that itch wonderfully. It’s not a daring album. It’s not an exciting one. There’s nothing here that’s going to make any converts or revolutionize the way people look at music. But that’s never been Bublé’s bag. But the silky-smooth vocals combined with a couple of dreamy original ballads make for a thoroughly satisfying experience. CV