Abilities don't quite add up for Jackie Greene

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"GIVING UP THE GHOST," Jackie Greene (429 Records)Jackie Greene might have sounded like the next Tom Waits or Bob Dylan on his previous releases, but on his new "Giving Up the Ghost," he sounds like the next ... whatever.The 27-year-old Californian is technically talented enough to assimilate anything that rolls his way in this Americana/pop/blues/roots-rock mashup produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos. Yet Greene doesn't have enough of the intangible ability to consistently sound convincing.He does have his moments, however. Greene gingerly and breathily taps into the power of understatement on "Prayer for Spanish Harlem," and he harkens John Mayer as he wryly declares his grasp on reality on "I Don't Live in a Dream." In a similar vein, Greene flawlessly flows into the wistful energy and mournful guitars of opening cut "Shaken," delivering a line that, unfortunately, foreshadows the pitfalls to come: "I want to know why I'm so uncertain/Behind the curtain, shaken."Listeners will be uncertain, too, as to what Greene's all about when they hear him affect a variety of bland personas and project little in the way of soul on much of the rest of "Giving Up the Ghost." He may have the husk in his voice to pull off the clomping "Uphill Mountain" and craggy "Follow You," for example, but something about his performance feels like the equivalent of drinking a mocktail in a whiskey bar.There are echoes of timeless greatness in other songs -- such as the old-school rock of "Like a Ball & Chain" and the old-school adult pop of "Downhearted" -- but nothing quite classic.Greene's cause is further damaged by an overabundance of pedestrian mid-tempo arrangements that force him into an addled swagger, and he doesn't do himself any favors by plugging rote lines into tracks that could be saved with lyrical innovation.It's hardly time for Greene to give up the ghost, but he seriously needs to re-examine it.Rating (five possible): 2-1/2"ADDICTED TO COMPANY (PT. 1)," Paddy Casey (RCA/Victor)The unappealing cover of Paddy Casey's new "Addicted to Company (Pt.1)" gives a misleadingly bad impression of the release: The Irish singer's photo is superimposed on a garish yellow background, with a campy font spelling out his name and the title in an incongruous jumble.It looks like the epitome of kitsch when in fact "Addicted to Company" presents a disarmingly sincere and innocent-sounding singer.Casey's follow-up to "Living," which was a monster hit in his homeland in 2004, is a surprisingly smooth blend of folk and funk -- two genres that don't necessarily complement each other. Yet they work together here, making an unconventional charmer of Casey, whose typically nasal, often plaintive and sometimes oddly modified vocals carry an earnest distinction apart from the arrangements.What's more, for a release that seems weirdly stitched together, "Addicted to Company (Pt. 1)" shows impressive range, with wah-wah guitar stringing along a rhythmic flourish on the opening "Sound Barrier," horns punching up the Philly soul of the title track and Casey paying homage to everyone from James Taylor on "U'll Get By" to Elton John on "City."There's an ominous and sometimes-morose edge to "Addicted to Company," be it in the death theme of "Leaving" or the earnest state-of-the-world summary of "Fear," and Casey can overdo the beseeching-singer shtick, driving his voice into protracted, overly arch passages. But he seems to have his heart in the right place -- so much so that when he stretches out in the bombastic, mass vocal swells of "U and I," all you can do is smile and forget all about that ugly cover.Rating: 4"1 REAL," DJ Dolores (Crammed/Ryko)DJ Dolores' "1 Real" plays out like a visit to day care: There's education-centered playtime followed by nap time.Yet given that most of the lyrics on the release aren't in English, the social commentary will be lost on many American ears. Plus the simmering hypnosis of "1 Real's" closing tracks may leave adult listeners feeling more sensual than somnolent. Still, the rhythmic momentum is the same: high energy followed by relaxed pacing.Recife, Brazil, native DJ Dolores, a/k/a Helder Aragao, is a madman for percussion above all else, and the frantic energy early on can be invigorating or unnerving.His blend of the music of Northeast Brazil plus dub and electronica is eclectic and kinetic from the jump, when off-kilter vocals by Isaar snake through the rustling rhythms and slapping beat, horns and guitar of opening cut "Deixa Falar" ("Let the people talk").From there, "1 Real" continues to plow through its quirky dance music, a Frankenstein blend of organic and electronic arrangements unlike the usual dance music by someone with the "DJ" moniker. Accordion and watery flow create a mesmerizing fluidity to "Cala Cala," all manner of clanging punctuates the anti-capitalism "Proletariado" and the skittering/booming "J.P.S." uses a dancehall stage to present Jean-Paul Sartre as a Don Juan.Meanwhile, "Flying Horse" is a throbbing and thrusting carnival ride of a song, and "Shakespeare" echoes the exotic strains of Stereolab, complete with cool-cooing French vocalist Marion Del'Eite substituting for the band's cool-cooing French vocalist Laetitia Sadier."1 Real" closes out with a few fairly traditional trance-ish songs. Although they're effectively atmospheric, they aren't overly memorable.Rating: 3-1/2(E-mail Chuck Campbell of The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee at Campbell(at)knews.com.)