Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Like Dave Grohl, Pat Wilson has stepped out from behind the drums in a famous group (Grohl in Nirvana, Wilson in Weezer) to front his own band. Grohl succeeded with the Foo Fighters to escape Kurt Cobain’s shadow, but Wilson may have a harder time surviving without Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo. That’s because although Wilson’s Special Goodness shares Weezer’s punk-pop sense of fun, he lacks Cuomo’s originality. Ultimately, his banal lyrics sink otherwise catchy Weezer knockoffs like “Life Goes By.”

With song titles like “Pigs that Ran Straightaway into the Water, Triumph of,” it’s no surprise that this album is a little left field. But chief Mountain Goat John Darnielle crafts punk-folk numbers about dark moments that are refreshingly smart and literate. The gentle “Mole” takes a quirky look at a friend hospitalized in intensive care, while the anthemic “Against Pollution” deals, oddly enough, with church, rust and a shooting in a liquor store robbery. It all adds up to some skewed but compelling views of modern life.

The title could refer to how much has been written about Kylie’s bum, especially in Britain, where the Aussie pop singer’s pert bottom is a national obsession. In fact, it’s about movement, which Minogue’s record label hopes will happen at American dance clubs and cash registers. The album opens strongly with the sultry “Slow,” but shifts into ’80s-style Prince on “Still Standing” and then a dizzying array of styles and tempos. Too eclectic for U.S. dance-pop, Kylie remains, in the end, a distinctly European attraction.Feb. 10    

The jazziest thing here is “The Prettiest Thing,” a song she co-wrote. And “Don’t Miss You at All,” with her lyrics set to Duke Ellington’s “Melancholia,” also leans naturally toward jazz. Otherwise, the second album by the 24-year-old Jones is heartfelt adult pop, spanning folk, blues and country. There’s even a giddy bluegrass duet with Dolly Parton (“Creepin’ In”) and a gorgeous Tom Waits cover (“The Long Way Home”). Although guitars are more prominent than her own piano, Jones’ voice remains as sultry as ever.Feb. 10

A kinder Courtney Love? Judging by the cover, a Vargas-style pinup painting of the rock star as a guitar-slinging (fallen?) angel, you might think so. But on her long-awaited solo debut, the always controversial Love is anything but sweet. Tracks like the ferocious single “Mono” and the tortured “Julian” exemplify the former Hole leader’s new solo sound, assisted by legendary MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer. Aside from the wistful ballad “Hold On to Me,” Love’s latest is mostly a fierce, fuzzed-out homage to garage rock. Feb. 10        

Jason Stollsteimer sure knows how to launch his Detroit garage-rock band. Last December, he got punched out in a bar brawl by the White Stripes’ Jack White. The resulting news (White was subsequently charged) has given Stollsteimer’s band valuable notoriety. The Von Bondies’ new album, produced by ex-Talking Head Jerry Harrison, features energetic rave-ups like “C’mon C’mon” and “”The Fever,” although “Broken Man” might now be a little too close to the bone for the badly injured Stollsteimer.

It takes conviction in these days of George W. Bush to open an album with a medley of union songs. But the biggest challenge faced by Peter, Paul & Mary is being taken seriously since the mockumentary A Mighty Wind lampooned the earnestness of the folk era. Hearing the trio perform “Union Maid” as cheerily as the movie’s squeaky-clean Main Street Singers or tackle a militant song like “Have You Been to Jail for Justice?” as vigorously as the straight-laced Folksmen provides for some unintentional hilarity.  

They’ve played with Shania, symphony orchestras and even shared stages with heavy-metal bands. Everywhere Leahy goes, the group of siblings from Lakefield, Ont. wins over audiences. And why wouldn’t they? Leahy’s infectious mix of singing, fiddling and step-dancing gives them a distinct edge over their more glamorous, pop-oriented Irish counterparts, the Corrs. Leahy’s latest expands their repertoire to include influences ranging from Quebecois (“Pointe au Pic Medley”) to classical (“Gzowski Medley”).

It’s unfortunate that the title of this Kitchener, Ont. rock group’s second album, and first for MapleMusic Recordings (the hit-factory home of Sam Roberts, Kathleen Edward and Gord Downie, among others), is overshadowed by Joe Strummer’s recent posthumous classic song “Coma Girl.” Songs like the buzzing “Little Bird,” the dreamy “Unusual Beautiful” and the peppy title track prove that the Miniatures are a talented, diverse band and that singer-guitarist Ian Smith is a songwriter with an obvious gift for melody.

As leader of the popular U.S. alt-rock/roots trio Grant Lee Buffalo, he chronicled mythic Americana. On his third solo album, Grant-Lee Phillips continues that tradition, crafting historical epics like the native Indian portrait “Susanna Little” and the Louisiana delta tale “Josephine of the Swamps.” Phillips, a former film student, also cast a cinematic eye on subjects in songs like the suicidal broken-hearted lover in “Dirty Secret.” And he tops off this fine solo outing with a mellifluous cover of Gram Parsons’ “Hickory Wind.”