In Brief

Letting loose for the gazzilionth version of “I Fought the Law” offers a fun contrast to the trademark restraint of the Texan’s literate, country-folk snapshots of lives in stasis. But Griffith isn’t a natural rocker, and it’s in relatively subdued, moving new songs and a duet on her old “Gulf Coast Highway” with Hootie’s Darius Rucker that she shines.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).

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* Excerpts from these albums and other recent releases are available on The Times’ World Wide Web site. Point your browser to: https:/ /www.latimes.com/soundclips