Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

When he mixes high-powered rock and gentle ballads, Harper sounds like a strange hybrid of Lenny Kravitz and Tracy Chapman. Fortunately, the California native mostly sticks to his own brand of bluesy folk, with hints at other styles. “With My Own Two Hands” is progressive reggae, while “Brown Eyed Blues” is inventive funk. The sweetest tracks have spiritual overtones: “Blessed to Be a Witness” suggests a smooth Taj Mahal, while “Picture of Jesus” features the inspirational vocals of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

The loss of Joe Strummer launched the sort of revival that he despised—and tried to avoid, with his continual rejection of reunion offers. Despite his principles, Strummer was also practical and cared deeply about The Clash’s place in history. Before his untimely death, he agreed on the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and selected the 40 songs for this two-CD retrospective set. He chose wisely. From “White Riot” to “The Magnificent Seven,” it’s an impressive, vital body of work.

Toronto’s answer to The Strokes. Guitarist Yuri Didrichsons and bassist James Sayce paid their dues with local garage gods The Deadly Snakes, while drummer Marco Moniz did time with soul-punkers The Killer Elite. Together with guitarist Josh Reichmann, the band concocts a feisty sound that blends London’s 1960s’ mod style with New York’s ’70s punk attitude. Unafraid of harmonica solos or feedback, Tangiers really rock out on the frenetic “Here Come the Pieces” and the yelping “Keep the Living Bodies Warm.”

Ex-treeplanters from Nelson, B.C., the Tanyas revel in old-timey music, with Samantha Parton, Frazey Ford and Trish Klein mixing haunting harmonies with stark banjos and mandolins. Along with “Junkie Song,” Ford’s quivering tale of Vancouver heroin addicts, and “Dogsong 2,” Parton’s touching tribute to her late Labrador, the trio’s second album features covers of such traditional numbers as “House of the Rising Sun” and “In My Time of Dying,” made famous by The Animals and Led Zeppelin. Potent stuff.

MacIsaac’s roller-coaster ride has taken him from the heights of celebrity (collaborations with composer Phillip Glass and Talking Head David Byrne) to the depths of controversy (revelations about personal bankruptcy and kinky predilections). Now the virtuoso fiddler has bounced back with a new record deal and a confident album that features duets with Gaelic singer Mary Jane Lamond and Default’s Dallas Smith as well as his own impressive vocal debut on “Lay Me Down.” His fiddling, of course, remains dazzling.

One of the great discoveries of Cuba’s Buena Vista Social Club, the septuagenarian Ferrer shines on his second solo album. Full of romantic boleros and fiery Latin rave ups, the disc—produced by Ry Cooder—features a powerhouse band and stellar guests like pianist Chucho Valdés and  the Blind Boys of Alabama. But even they can’t steal the show from Ferrer, whose smooth, impossibly suave vocals are the album’s highlight. Proof that seniors don’t need Viagra—just a deep love of music and a good clavé beat.

If you believe the hype, this 25-year-old English-born, New York-raised singer is pop’s new princess and a challenger to Avril Lavigne’s throne. So far, all of the attention has been on the cute confessional track “Dumb Girls,” a feel-good anthem in which the brunette Woodward sings about the “blonde” in her, facing life’s “s---” and giving the world “the middle finger.” Her label’s touting her as blue-eyed soul, but Woodward’s just another pretty pop singer with plenty of ambition and an average set of pipes.

They call their sound “gay folk church music” and it’s an apt description: with leader Joel Gibb’s homo-erotic lyrics backed by heavenly, ecclesiastical vocals, guitars and organs, the sprawling Toronto ensemble has created a unique mélange. Up to now, the Cameras have been a local cult phenomenon. That should change on the strength of a deal with England’s Rough Trade label and such powerful pop fare as the ultra-sweet “Boys of Melody” and the rousing “Breathe on It.” Think Pet Shop Boys minus the disco.

Francophone hippies from Sudbury, CANO (Coopérative des Artistes du Nouvel-Ontario) were Canrock pioneers. Like Quebec’s Beau Dommage or Stratford, Ont.’s Perth County Conspiracy, CANO—fronted by the brother and sister team of André and Rachel Paiement—spent the 1970s espousing a strong sense of place through folk-rock gems like “Viens nous voir” and the ambitious “A la poursuite du nord.” Also includes the English hits “Carrie” and “Rebound,” recorded after André’s suicide in 1978.

Having dropped “Sound System” from the name, the U.K.-based worldbeat group now fancies itself more of a band than a collective. Still, the core remains producer Simon Emmerson and several English and Irish cohorts, supplemented by an African kora player and a percussionist. And the group, which has relied on past guests like Robert Plant and Sinead O’Connor to boost its profile, this time features experimental bassist Jah Wobble and Canadian flamenco guitarist Jesse Cook to stretch its acoustic, globetrotting sound.