SOUND CHECK.

FERGIE: ``The Dutchess'' (will.i.am/A&M) - Two stars

All hail Fergie, dutchess of hip-pop.

That could sum up the Black Eyed Pea's breakout album, a club-centric bump and grind that wants so bad to be ``Love. Angel. Music. Baby'' but takes itself way too seriously.

Fergie was elevated to diva status in the early 2000s, when the former child actress-turned-aspiring singer ditched her teen dance-pop trio Wild Orchid for the lightweight rap group. Working here with bandmate will.i.am, Fergie has created a shallow, fleeting collection of styles, from standout ``Fergalicious'' and ``London Bridge'' booty-shakers to syrupy inspirational ballads like ``Finally.''

Bob Marley's gorgeous ``No Woman, No Cry'' is reduced to an ode to ``Mary Jane Shoes,'' on which Rita Marley contributes backing vocals -- for shame. Elsewhere, Fergie brings old-school r&b to a simmer with ``Clumsy,'' ``All That I Got (The Makeup Song)'' and ``Here I Come,'' and does some heavy breathing on the cosmopolitan pop of ``Velvet.''

It doesn't always work, but you've got to give the girl credit where credit is due. She did kick her meth habit.

-- Sandra Barrera

CHRIS THILE ``How to Grow a Woman From the Ground (Sugar Hill) - Three and one half stars

Nickel Creek's obnoxiously talented mandolinist done got his young heart broke, and that's led to a felicitous return to his childhood bluegrass roots. While Thile's latest solo album clocks its share of jazz riffs, it's closer to the authentic sound than we're used to hearing from this virtuoso guy. Jimmie Rodgers and Gillian Welch get covered, but so do the White Stripes and the Strokes, and they all work in context with Thile's own compositions. Those homegrown songs sort women into devil and angel categories, but listen to Thile's ex: job well done!

-- Bob Strauss

CLAY AIKEN: ``A Thousand Different Ways'' (RCA) - One star

If he only had a twisted psyche and a smart manager, Aiken, with his boyish looks and grandma-pleasing persona, could finish the job of cultural subversion the Sex Pistols started. It hasn't happened yet. On his third album, the peppy ``American Idol'' runner-up applies his robust pipes to 10 saccharine spoonfuls by such treacle peddlers as Elton John, Foreigner and Celine Dion. This bland parade comes with a short reprieve in the stark ``Everything I Have'' and a reimagined ``Here You Come Again'' (a '70s hit for Dolly Parton), but we just wish Aiken would get hip to Karl -- not Richard -- Marx.

-- Fred Shuster

ELTON JOHN: ``The Captain & the Kid'' (Interscope) - Two stars

Eltie has rarely made an all-around perfect album (``Tumbleweed Connection'' gets our vote), but gems can be found throughout his long career. Among the new disc's 10 slow-moving tracks, in which John and songwriting partner Bernie Taupin sift through the past, are a couple of effective moments buried among platitudes. Perhaps the best of it is ``The Bridge,'' a pensive piano ballad about the passage of time that seems to contain a rare hint of real emotion. The package is packed with pics of John and Taupin, long lists of thank-yous, and a shout-out to the Scissor Sisters, the campy New York group that gloriously resuscitates the very '70s that ``The Captain & the Kid'' are so gloomily nostalgic for.

-- F.S.

PETE MALINVERNI: ``Joyful!'' (ArtistShare) - Three and one half stars

Pianist Malinverni has long been one of the more interesting voices in jazz, but even people familiar with his consistently strong body of work from the past decade might be surprised at his latest -- a jazz/gospel concert based on the Old Testament Psalms. Malinverni has been minister of music at his Brooklyn church for the past 14 years, so he's both familiar and passionate about the source material. This CD/DVD package, available on Malinverni's Web site, features his church's gospel choir, a host of wonderful soloists (including his singer wife, Jody Sandhaus) and some between-song exhortations from his minister. Sweet music and powerfully inspiring.

-- Glenn Whipp

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Peter Kramer/Getty Images

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