Quick Spin Reviews of New CDs by Juliette Lewis, Radney Foster and Pitbull

TERRA INCOGNITA

Juliette Lewis

Of the herd of actors enjoying needless vanity projects as musicians, Juliette Lewis has been one of the least deserving of a cattle prod. Her recently dissolved group, Juliette and the Licks, was a competent live rock act. Any vocal shortcomings were atoned for by Lewis's punky, stiletto-stomping stage presence. But now she has gone and made a self-absorbed solo album -- an eclectic, eccentric romp with producer Omar Rodriguez-López, guitarist for cacophony purveyors the Mars Volta.

Lewis isn't quite the "musical force" as described in her press bio, but she does let it all hang out. Her Joplinesque rasp is respectable (if utterly obvious) on the slow-grinding blues number "Hard Lovin' Woman." A kitten-like Lewis bounces through the poppy "Uh Huh" as if her name were Jenny instead of Juliette.

Rodriguez-López pumps sonic psilocybin into tracks such as "Female Persecution," making them trippy if forgettable. The shimmering, soulful "All Is for God" is the album's best rocker: funky, unafraid and 2 1/2 minutes long.

Let's face facts: We wouldn't be discussing this experimental inner-diva excursion if it wasn't sung and mostly written by Brad Pitt's ex-fiancee. Explains Lewis: " 'Terra Incognita' means unknown territory, and I wanted -- needed -- to go there. Not everybody wants to. I got no one to answer to, so why not feed the muse?"

Fine, just don't expect us to swallow all of it.

Juliette Lewis performs at 8 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Rock & Roll Hotel. Tickets are $16-$18.

-- Michael Deeds

DOWNLOAD THIS: "All Is for God"