Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Like Canada’s Bruce Cockburn, England’s Richard Thompson is a fretboard genius and a gifted songwriter who enjoys more acclaim than fame. Thompson’s latest recording won’t make him rich either. But it’s an admirable album that bridges old-world sounds with contemporary subject matter on songs like the tortured “Jealous Words” and the jaunty “One Door Opens.” Similarly, the wrenching “A Love You Can’t Survive” could easily have been written during the Middle Ages—until it becomes clear that the bitter ballad concerns cocaine smuggling.

Montreal’s Sam Roberts is already a Canrock success story: his six-song EP, The Inhuman Condition, spawned three hit singles with “Brother Down,” “Don’t Walk Away Eileen” and “Where Have All the Good People Gone.” Now Roberts is going global with his album debut, which includes those three memorable pop tunes and a dozen others. Best new songs: the chugging “Hard Road,” the chiming “Climb Over Me” and “Canadian Dream,” a wry dig at socialism in the Great White North. “Everything moves real slow,” sings Roberts, “when it’s 40 below.”

Like a hip scientist, Roy Hargrove mixes jazz and funk with soul and hip hop on this experimental, 14-track collection. The trumpeter, who won a Grammy in 1997 for his Habana album, brings cutting-edge jazzbos into his laboratory, including pianist Marc Cary and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello. The alchemy works best on “Common Free Style,” featuring rapper Common, the sensuous “I’ll Stay,” with singer D’Angelo, and the laid-back “Poetry,” featuring singer Erykah Badu and rapper Q-Tip. But all of it cooks, making Hard Groove a highly combustible fusion.

Vancouver’s Shocore are hard-core party animals. With scary vocals, screaming guitars and thundering percussion, Shocore earned a reputation as a Limp Bizkit-style band with a sense of humor, touring on the strength of arena-rockers like “Bonecracker” from the group’s debut album Devil Rock Disco. The band’s followup features more horror-rock tunes like the crunching title track and the apocalyptic “Road to Destruction.” Guests include Holly McNarland and the Headstones’ Hugh Dillon on the hilarious cowboy-rocker “Fist Fight at Dawn.”

Quizzical looks greeted Steely Dan’s win over Eminem and Radiohead for Album of the Year at the 2001 Grammys. After all, it had been 20 years since Walter Becker and Donald Fagan’s last studio recording. But Steely Dan, named for a dildo in William Burroughs’ Naked Lunch, has never followed trends or timetables. Trumping Two Against Nature’s success is this latest slice of Becker and Fagan’s sassy jazz-pop, full of sardonic lyrics and impeccable playing. An artful addition to a subversive oeuvre.

The celebrated U.S. jazz guitarist delivers something unique: an entire album with a single acoustic guitar—no overdubs or extra parts. Using what he calls a “low Nashville tuning” and a baritone guitar made by Canadian luthier Linda Manzer, Metheny creates an intimate, meditative showcase for his expressive playing. For repertoire, he performs new compositions like “Song for the Boys” and such tasteful covers as Norah Jones’ “Don’t Know Why” and Gerry & the Pacemakers’ “Ferry Across the Mersey.”

Veterans of numerous Vans Warped tours (they’re on again this summer), these dudes from Gainesville, Florida are both prolific and melodic—qualities that set them apart from most of their ska-punk peers. The hooks come fast and furious on tunes like “Short Fuse Burning” and “She’s Gonna Break Soon,” about a reckless debutante. Themes of loneliness and seeking solace in a “six pack of confidence” dominate. But the album, produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Butthole Surfers), is nonetheless a giddy romp.

Tied to the Norah Jones juggernaut, Harris—who wrote five songs on her Grammy-sweeping Come Away with Me, including the massive hit “Don’t Know Why”— gets his own major-label debut. Jones returns the favor, joining him on the gentle “What Makes You.” Harris’ songwriting is so steeped in Tin Pan Alley that originals such as “Long Way from Home” sound uncannily like standards. Not a bad thing, but only “You Were On My Mind” (not Sylvia Tyson’s Canfolk classic) has a distinctly contemporary feel.

In the wake of Norah Jones’ chart-topping, jazz labels are seeking singers with greater crossover potential. Wright, who blends r&b, folk and especially gospel, could be the next break out artist. She covers a traditional gospel number, an ill-advised song from The Wiz and such jazz standards as Mongo Santamaria’s gorgeous “Afro Blue.” But Wright’s soulful alto shines brightest on her own compositions, including the sensual “Fire,” the spiritual “Silence” and the memorable title track. That’s the Wright stuff.

Tuneful pop-rock is what this five-piece band from Los Angeles peddles. They’ve opened for Weezer and the Strokes and drawn comparisons to the Beatles and the Cars. Admittedly, singer Robert Carmine has a strong voice suited to retro genres and eras. But aside from the catchy power-pop of “Blue Side,” there are no memorable songs on this slick debut album. Even “Blue Side” has an eight-bar section that bears an unfortunate resemblance to the Turtles’ mindless ‘60s hit “Happy Together.” Best avoided.