EW reviews four hot new albums
SHORT TAKES
DIERKS BENTLEY Modern Day Drifter Bentley has a big, clean baritone and songs that are rooted in classic honky-tonk, Bakersfield twang, and bluegrass (the Del McCoury band and Alison Krauss guest). He also has a knack for turning traditional sounds into something altogether new. B+
PLATINUM PIED PIPERS Triple P PPP (producing partners Saadiq and Slum Village cofounder Waajeed) fluidly synch hip-hop boom-bap to full-bodied songwriting. Drunk-happy love letter ''I Got You,'' featuring jazzy belle Tiombe Lockhart, is a soon-to-be cult soul classic. A-
VARIOUS ARTISTS A Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver: Live This concert — with Robert Earl Keen and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, among others — celebrates the plainspoken bard of country songwriting. It's no musical masterpiece, but the songs and stories flow as freely as cold beer on a hot afternoon. B
GOLDIE LOOKIN CHAIN Straight Outta Newport The U.K.'s belated answer to the Beastie Boys take intentionally cheap (and often very funny) shots at gangsta rap, rap-R&B love songs, Sherlock Holmes, and rock mishaps. Best line: ''That drummer from Def Leppard/His arm has made three times what he has.'' B+
