• ELECTRONIC

MOBY

Wait For Me

Little Idiot

*** ½

It's been a decade since pint-size Moby blew up to extra-large to become the world's biggest shaven-headed vegan DJ, with the blues-infused field-holler techno of the ubiquitous Play. Since then, the mixmaster born Richard Melville Hall has receded to a more comfortable size, most recently with last year's old-school dance-floor workout, Last Night.

Wait For Me is that album's antithesis: It's an ambient chill-out record on which Moby wisely puts aside the modern rock moves of 2005's Hotel and smartly farms out the vocals to singers more skilled and soulful than he, while melding the melancholy of Play with delicately pretty electronic textures. An old pro, getting back to what he does best.

DAN DELUCA

The Philadelphia Inquirer

CAM'RON

Crime Pays

Asylum

***

This is Cam'ron circa 2009: the Harlem-based MC at his raw-knuckled best, shifting his concerns from the penthouse to the pavements without missing a step.

Lest you think he's headed into the recession-era poorhouse without a fight, think again. Cam'ron likes his coupon-cutting topicality touched by the same liquor-and-drugs Iggy Pop sang of on Lust for Life.

As the big beat hits and its melody swells, Get It In Ohio lets Cam play in the fields of landlords, launderers, ''blue pills and Grey Goose'' with his flow at its loosest. The song stays the thing on the powerfully contagious My Job, with its piano-driven pulse pushing Cam's Office Space -like dismay to the max. Every disgusted Everyman and Everywoman will be singing My Job this summer. And while there are delicious examples of Cam's usual street- swaggering gamesmanship (a foul Where I Know You From ), cocksureness (Who), and misanthropic romanticism (Cookies-N-Apple Juice), his blue-collar approach to rap, rhythm, and melody finds him at his fighting best.

-- A.D. AMOROSI

Philadelphia Inquirer

STELLASTARR*

Civilized

Bloated Wife

***

After taking a dramatic turn with its Harmonies for the Haunted album, stellastarr* has returned to quirky, catchy, new-new wave for its new Civilized album. Singer Shawn Christensen still conjures a wide array of alt-rock front men with his vocals -- from the Pixies-ish Freak Out to the Joy Division-meets-U2 Sonja Cries. Teaming again with the great Tim O'Heir, who produced the band's impressive debut, stellastarr* has recaptured the element of surprise on Civilized, bouncing from the anthem-like Tokyo Sky to the delightfully unhinged Prom Zombie and, more important, its raw spirit of fun.

-- GLENN GAMBOA

Newsday

RANDY CRAWFORD

AND JOE SAMPLE

No Regrets

PRA Records

***

It was the 1979 hit Street Life that brought singer Randy Crawford together with the Crusaders and their pianist, Joe Sample.

Crawford and Sample reunited first in 2006 with the jazz crossover CD Feeling Good. On this CD, she sounds more like a jazz singer, though there's still a healthy bit of crossover -- from blues to gospel to pop -- as one might expect from Sample and producer Tommy LiPuma.

Crawford is a bit of a mystery. She's got solid chops and the ability to convey emotion, but hasn't broken through. This set doesn't solve that problem, but it shows Crawford and Sample in accessible form.

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