Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Dolly Parton, as Joan Osborne says in the liner notes, is “a gifted artist cleverly disguised as a media superstar and sex bomb.” In particular, what this tribute album proves is she’s really an extraordinary songwriter. From Norah Jones’ sultry interpretation of “The Grass is Blue” and Melissa Etheridge’s understated reading of “I Will Always Love You” to Me’Shell N’degéOcello’s funky take on “Two Doors Down” and Sinéad O’Connor’s surprising performance of “Dagger Through the Heart,” this collection is a revelation.

Belfast’s blue-eyed soul shouter has always swung effortlessly from rock and r&b to Celtic music and other styles. In the 1990s, he recorded two albums for the Verve jazz label. So it’s no surprise that Morrison’s now been scooped up by prestigious Blue Note Records. It’s a good move: on his label debut, featuring original blues and swing numbers like “Too Many Myths” and “Whinin’ Boy Moan,” along with covers of Lightnin’ Hopkins’ “Stop Drinking” and “Saint James Infirmary,” he sounds positively invigorated.

When he died last December, Joe Strummer joined John Lennon and Bob Marley in rock heaven as a true idealist. Strummer’s final album features his most accessible material since the Clash’s heyday. The reggae vibe of “Get Down Moses” and the country ballad “Long Shadow” (written for Johnny Cash) rank with some of his best songs. But the real standout is the infectious “Coma Girl,” with its memorable line “into action everybody sprang/and the oil drums were beating out doo-lang doo-lang.” A posthumous hit.

As one half of Kashtin, the northern Quebec duo whose albums sung in their native Innu language became hits in the 1990s, Florent Vollant knows too well the fickleness of pop success. Which is probably why Vollant’s first solo album features both a song in English, “Call of the Moose,” and a Leonard Cohen cover (“Everybody Knows,” sung in Innu as “Tshissenitenanu”). Despite nods to Dire Straits and dub reggae, the album is mostly mediocre folk-rock—with too many songs performed in the same somber tempo.

Put this on, close your eyes and try to convince yourself that the singer is a 16-year-old blonde English schoolgirl. It’s simply not possible. As Joss Stone herself says: “People always think I’m some 50-year-old black woman.” That’s because Stone sings Aretha Franklin’s “All the King’s Horses” and Laura Lee’s “Dirty Man” with an emotional depth well beyond her years. Throw in an ultra-cool version of the White Stripes’ “Fell in Love with a Boy,” backed by the Roots, and you’ve got a stunning, unforgettable debut.

He may be prolific, but Ryan Adams can also be pretty pathetic—witness the hissy-fit he threw when a concert-goer joked about his near-namesake Bryan Adams. Then there’s the public feud he’s waging with Jack White, calling the White Stripes’ frontman a “little girl.” It’s too bad because Adams can turn out dozens of above-average tunes with ease. Check out the tender piano ballad title track or the sneering garage rocker “Note to Self: Don’t Die.” Guests include Melissa Auf der Mau and Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong.

The Iggster is in good form here, collaborating with original members of the Stooges on their first new music together in 30 years. The punk icon also teams up with nouveau punks Green Day (on “Private Hell” and “Supermarket”) and Canada’s Sum 41 (on “Little Know it All”). But the inspired pairing is with Peaches, the electro-punk bad girl a.k.a. Toronto’s Merrill Nisker. On and “Rock Show,” Pop ’n’ Peaches try to out-shock one another with shouts of “cock show” and rapping of a generally lascivious nature.

Aqua’s former Barbie Girl can be commended for successfully taking on Mattel. But Lene Nystrom’s committed an unpardonable sin with her solo debut. Where Aqua reveled in harmless Euro bubblegum, Nystrom is a scary disco dominatrix, wielding mind-numbing beats and vulgar sexual come-ons. Especially icky is “It’s Your Duty,” with lines like “Shake that booty booty/small fat or round or juicy,” and “Bite U” in which she declares “Just cuz I have red hair/don’t mean that I’m red down there.” Really.

Is it any wonder that Irish lads are obsessed with America’s West Coast? Dublin’s Thrills are clearly infatuated with all things California, from the Beach Boy harmonies of the opening “Santa Cruz (You’re Not That Far)” to the Byrdsian jingle-jangle of “Big Sur.” There are also echoes of transplanted Torontonians Neil Young and The Band on “’Til the Tide Creeps In” and “Say It Ain’t So.” With banjos, falsettos and faux pedal steel, they’re like giddy school kids—tickled by the novelty of having sand between their toes.

The latest contestant in the r&b queen sweepstakes, Maria has more going for her than most pretenders to the throne. On her debut, the Danish-born singer served as executive producer and co-wrote all the songs. And while her sultry voice puts her in league with Brandy and Beyoncé, Maria’s material lacks the distinctiveness to set her apart from the pack. Songs like the title track and the ballad “I Give, You Take” suffer from the same moody strings and ponderous beats, suggesting Maria’s just a one-note diva.