DAVE MATTHEWS BAND

“Stand Up”

½ (three and a half stars)

RCA

You can’t help but miss the extended jams that used to fuel the Dave Matthews Band’s records, but on “Stand Up,” the verse-chorus-verse pop shows how tight the outfit can be.

Even though it’s a concession to make the music more radio-friendly, the abbreviated interplay between the group members doesn’t make the music feel restrained or less jazzy.

Instead, the songs here are uniformly beautiful and uncharacteristically quiet. Matthews’ vocals are prettiest on “Smooth Rider” and he is most forceful on the growling “Hello Again.”

Saxophonist LeRoi Moore is outstanding throughout this record, adding layers and accents to the intricate music, and Boyd Tinsley’s finger-picked fiddle lead on the disc’s first single, “American Baby,” is memorable.

Download this: “Louisiana Bayou”

ROBERT PLANT & THE STRANGE SENSATIONS

“Mighty Rearranger”

(three stars)

Sanctuary Records

Led Zeppelin has been grounded longer than it flew, but Robert Plant never dropped the heavy mantle of the band. You hear it on his latest solo project, where lyrics, smoldering with Celtic mysticism, are supercharged with power blues, world music beats and psychedelic electronic swirls.

Plant isn’t known for his politics, but they’re right up front here – starting with the lushly orchestrated “Another Tribe,” where he denounces war and religious fervor, followed by the better, drum-powered “Freedom Fries” that condemns conspicuous consumption in the West.

Both are good songs, but the album’s top moments come when the 54-year-old lets his signature vocal orgasm loose on the acoustic “All the King’s Horses” and the blues-for-Allah hybrid, “Somebody Knocking.”

Download these: “The Enchanter” and “Somebody Knocking”

STYX

“Big Bang Theory”

½ (three and a half stars)

New Door/Universal

Hell must have frozen over because Chicago rocker Styx has crafted an excellent album of songs culled from the great rock songbook.

Despite the gold and platinum albums the band made over the years, most music lovers would be hard pressed to name a single Styx tune other than “Mister Roboto.”

The band overcomes its dearth of memorable material with an album of well-selected covers. These Styx versions are not only true to the originals but illustrate just how good this band is when it wraps itself in the right number.

When Styx does The Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus,” there isn’t a question who has the tusks. Some of the other classics are Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home” and Jimi’s “Manic Depression.”

Download this: “I Am The Walrus.”

WEEZER

“Make Believe”

½ (two and a half stars)

Geffen Records

Rivers Cuomo, the man who greases Weezer, is really just an emo singer who hides his geeky vulnerability behind power-pop songs.

On the band’s fifth album – delayed because the 34-year-old singer went back to college, again – Cuomo sounds scared and uncertain, but at least he’s interested in making music.

He’s found his lost passion in songs like “The Damage in Your Heart” and the upbeat “My Best Friend.” Longtime fans will recognize those songs as being closer to Weezer’s self-titled debut than the 2002 sleepwalker “Maladroit.”

Unfortunately, “Make Believe” is an uneven album that has a 50/50 balance between powerful singles like “Beverly Hills” and “This Is Such a Pity,” and filler songs such as “Peace” that kill any momentum the disc develops.

Download these: “Beverly Hills” and “We Are All on Drugs”