Nicole Kidman's husband is so naturally content that it's a little jarring when he tries to shoehorn some pathos into his albums. His seventh solo disc features good-natured country rock that's as likely to feature a Police bass line as a fiddle. Urban radiates psyched-ness — about his awesome marriage or the gathering power of crossover country — on summer jams and magnolia-scented ballads. Even the marital-tension song, "Shut Out the Lights," has a slick message: Sleep on it, things will look better in the morning.

Keep up with rock's hottest photos in Random Notes.

“The A Team”

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.