Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Britpop veterans Supergrass (remember “Alright” and Gaz Coombes’ impossibly long sideburns?) were synonymous with the Cool Britannia movement of the 1990s. The band’s sixth album still boasts a lot of Kinks-like wit and Buzzcocks-style energy on songs like “Rebel in You” and “Bad Blood.” And the exuberant “345” and the campy “Diamond Hoo Ha Man,” a blues and glam-rock hybrid with Coombes screaming “bite me,” show where the Arctic Monkeys and the Kaiser Chiefs cop some of their licks. Apr. 15

When Healey died last month of cancer, the music world lost a distinctive guitarist who bridged the fields of rock, blues and jazz. Lately, the blind-since-birth musician had recorded three albums of traditional jazz on which he played trumpet, and ran his Toronto nightclub, Healey’s Roadhouse. Here, working with his house band, he tackles various blues and rock classics with gusto, including the Mississippi Sheiks’ “Sittin’ on Top of the World” and Neil Young’s “Like a Hurricane,” adding further to his rich legacy. Apr. 22   

The playful debut by this New York electro-rock outfit has much going for it, including guest vocals by fan Debbie Harry, of Blondie fame, and a release on Elijah Woods’ Simian Records. The band is fronted by Heloise Williams, ex-bodyguard and driver for provocative electro-clash star Peaches, whose influence is here on the x-rated “Givin’ U the Bizness.” Harry shows up on the cooing “Downtown” and the bongo-fuelled “Canadian Changs,” which has apparently nothing to do with the Great White North. Apr. 29   

The latest from Roberts and his bearded bandmates is chock full of anxious anthems for our edgy times, from the uneasy “Stripmall Religion” and the twitchy “Them Kids” to the apocalyptic “End of the Empire,” with its Hip-like boogie guitar. And “Detroit ’67,” which reflects on the Motor City riots, is Roberts’ response to the Lightfoot classic “Black Day in July.” But hope is never far away from his worldview, as in the stirring title track and the joyous singalong “Lions of the Kalahari,” a shout out to his baby girl.

ScarJo isn’t the first woman to tackle Tom Waits. Canada’s Holly Cole and Switzerland’s Claudia Bettinaglio have both recorded tributes to the Gravel-Voiced One. But the Hollywood actress will get the most attention for hers—and not just because of her fame. The Lost in Translation star turns Waits’ “I Don’t Want to Grow Up” into an electro-beat joy and makes his “I Wish I Was in New Orleans” a music-box dream. David Bowie joins her on two others, while ScarJo delivers a quiet gem of her own with “Song for Jo.”

This is African music at its finest. Like Cuba’s Buena Vista Social Club, Senegal’s Baobab is a veteran outfit whose sublime sound—soaring vocals, cascading guitar, hypnotic horns and seductive rhythms—transport the listener back to an exotic past. Although singer Youssou N’Dour and Buena Vista’s trombonist Jesus Ramos guest on “Nijaay” and “Colette” respectively, the album’s star is Barthelemy Attisso, whose fluid guitar lines on the rumba “Aline” and the calypso “Bikowa” weave an irresistible charm. Mar. 24  

A cross between Coldplay and Radiohead, Starsailor mixes soaring, feel-good numbers with darker ditties steeped in the Brit-shoegazer tradition. The band’s second CD is a big step forward, thanks to more confident songs from singer James Walsh like the chest-thumping “Music was Saved.” Even the notoriety of having two tracks produced by Wall-of-Sound legend Phil Spector before his shooting-related arrest can’t overshadow such melodic, self-produced gems as “Telling Them” and “Some of Us.” A triumph.

The documentary is full of candid interviews with over 60 iconic figures like Gordon Lightfoot, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Bruce Cockburn, who offer illuminating stories about each other.Shakin' All Over also features some of Canada's brightest younger stars, including Blue Rodeo, Barenaked Ladies and Sarah Harmer, who pay tribute to the period.Special performance footage includes: "Early Morning Rain" Gordon Lightfoot, "Four Strong Winds" Ian & Sylvia, "Signs" Five Man Electrical Band, "These Eyes" The Guess Who, "Born to Be Wild" Steppenwolf, "Spinning Wheel" Blood, Sweat & Tears, "Walk That Walk" David Clayton-Thomas & the Shays, "Going to the Country" Bruce Cockburn, "Back on the...

Folk has become, for some, a four-letter word. Rusby’s sweet, melancholic voice, and her way with harrowing old ballads, could change that. Rusby’s already well established, with four albums and fans like Bonnie Raitt and Richard Thompson. But she deserves a much wider audience. It may come with her latest, which displays her knack for making ancient heartbreakers like “Cruel” and “Sweet William’s Ghost” sound as relevant as any indie-rock hit. Her own songs, like the gentle “Falling,” are pretty damn fine too. Jan. 13    

On Tweekend, America’s popular electronic act recruited Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland to add some rock oomph to the dance mix. This time, the Method features ex-Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland and ex-Kyuss vocalist John Garcia. Often compared to the Chemical Brothers, the duo sets itself apart on critical tracks like “American Way,” with Roots rapper Rahzel, and the tense “Weapons of Mass Destruction.” The politics of dancing.