In Brief

*** Black-Eyed Peas, “Bridging the Gap,” Interscope. This strong second album (in stores Tuesday) from the Los Angeles trio radiates with positive energy and advanced musicianship. Throughout the 15 songs, Will.I.Am, Alp.de.Ap. and Taboo celebrate work-free days, the love of hip-hop and the thrill of performing. The rich production, handled by Will.I.Am and others, features organs, guitars and trumpets that give the album a fuller feel than that of most hip-hop albums.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.