Tuskegee
Lionel Richie
Universal
Rating: B+

Storm & Grace
Lisa Marie Presley
Universal
Rating: B-

Spirit In The Room
Tom Jones
Universal
Rating: B+

Travelling
Roxette
EMI
Rating: C+

SOME artists have been around long enough that people take them for granted, and also assume they know what to expect from new releases.

It's always nice to be surprised then, especially by albums that, even in their concept and track lists, appear predictable.

A Lionel Richie album comprised entirely of 1980s hits re-recorded as country-style duets might seem like a somewhat lazy concept, but Tuskegee has gone platinum and spent two weeks at the No 1 spot of the Billboard Top 200 charts, and that success suggests more than an appetite for retro pop.

What underpins Tuskegee is some really good songs, and when classics like All Night Long and Dancing On The Ceiling are stripped of the disco-tinged arrangements that make the originals sound dated, the quality of the writing really shines.

There are few weak tracks, though one surprising stumble is the ho-hum Endless Love with Shania Twain. There's plenty of variety too. Kenny Rodgers is charmingly intimate on Lady, along with an extremely well-paced arrangement that starts softly and builds towards its harmonised climax. And Hello, with Jennifer Nettles, sounds fresh in its country rock verve.

**** **** **** ****

Some may remember Lisa Marie Presley only because of her relationships with two kings of the music business. No one will forget that she's the daughter of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. And her high-profile marriage in 1994 to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, kept her in the public spotlight.

But she deserves credit as an artist in her own right, and her third album, Storm & Grace, makes her case decently.

It's a simmering country rock album that does a good job of showcasing Presley's deep and dark voice that's sort of like Cher with the vibrato and grit.

The slower songs, such as Just A Dream, Close To The Edge and Soften The Blows are better than the less intense fast tracks.

**** **** **** ****

In the past two decades, Tom Jones has indulged in self parody onscreen in movies like Mars Attacks! and even in animated TV shows like The Simpsons. Even songs like 2000's Sex Bomb poke fun at his over-the-top machismo and larger-than-life R&B vocal delivery.

But the stripped-down and unplugged Spirit In The Room is a reminder that there's some serious musicianship underlying all that campy fun and macho bluster. It's a follow-up to 2010's sonically similar Praise & Blame, but this time Jones tackles pop and rock covers.

The amount of interpretive depth Jones is capable of varies throughout the album, especially on Leonard Cohen's Tower of Song where he sings about being "born with the gift of a golden voice" without a trace of irony. But there's undeniably tasteful restraint throughout the tracks that is a far cry from Jones's wailing on Jezebel or Delilah. And it's cool to hear him move from airy Paul McCartney to intense Tom Waits.

**** **** **** ****

There's nothing wrong with Roxette's latest album, Travelling, but the Swedish duo should never have included a live version of its 1990 hit It Must Have Been Love, which was part of the Pretty Woman movie soundtrack.

That song's strong melody and dramatic lyrics overshadow new tracks like She's Got Nothing On and Easy Way Out, which have hints of Roxette's signature sound but simply aren't that memorable.

The closest the duo come to recapturing their old magic is on Turn Of The Tide, thanks to Marie Fredriksson's lead vocals. Although Per Gessle is the songwriting genius, he isn't as distinctive a singer.