Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

The movie has a gay wedding and a trip to the Middle East, so it’s no surprise that its soundtrack features a men’s choir and Arabic exoticism from singer Natacha Atlas. The best moments come from Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson and Ricki-Lee’s energized “Can’t Touch It.” But the “I Am Woman” karaoke by Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda, shouted rather than sung, and Liza Minnelli’s dreadful version of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” make this something less than a perfect desert island disc.

Jewel has mastered the art of reinvention. In the ’90s, the former Alaskan folkie switched formats and became a top-selling pop artist and a Lilith Tour favorite. Now Jewel, who lives on a Texas ranch with her bull-riding superstar husband Ty Murray, has morphed into a Nashville-style singer. Her sophomore country album features such radio-friendly tracks as the banjo-fueled “Ten” and the charming “Stay Here Forever.” But Jewel can also write honest songs like “Fading,” which deals movingly with the issue of aging.

He’s lived in the shadow of his hero Bob Dylan, but Tom Petty has long proven himself to be one of rock’s most consistent hitmakers. A master synthesist, the Florida native affected a Dylanesque nasal sneer and, together with his band the Heartbreakers forged a sound that combined chiming Byrds riffs and Rolling Stones swagger. Tom’s ultimate aim has been to craft memorable songs. “To write a good song is enough,” he once said. “That was the loftiest ambition I had: to write a song that would endure.”     Tom’s tunes have certainly endured. His hits with the Heartbreakers, including “Refugee,” “Free Fallin’” and “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” are staples of classic-rock radio. Dylan paid tribute ...

This reviewer was a friend of Paul Quarrington’s and played on two of the tracks included here. That personal connection should make a review off limits. But this solo debut album by the award-winning writer-musician, who succumbed to cancer in January, is simply too good to pass up. Confessionals like “All the Stars” and “This Old Body” and the wry talking-blues numbers “Big Ol’ Bass” and “Hello Jim,” the latter recorded just three days before he died, trigger a mix of tears, laughter and reflection—just like the best of Paul’s novels.

If your idea of Hawaiian music is Don Ho, then you don’t know Jack. A former pro surfer (he quit after an accident left him with 150 stitches and a few less teeth), Jack has been releasing breezy, sunkissed songs ever since 2001. Jack’s fifth album is another laidback gem, with ruminations on about love (the funky “You and Your Heart” and the dreamy “From the Clouds”) and fatherhood. “My Little Girl” is his sweet ode to his daughter, while “Only the Ocean” pays tribute to his surfer dad, Jeff, who died last year.

The 16-year-old daughter of Kim Bullard, ex-Poco member and keyboardist for Crosby, Stills and Nash, Rose grew up in the rarified world of rock ’n’ roll. “My friends and I were little adults at five,” she admits On “Overdrive,” she takes an unvarnished view of her hometown of L.A.: “They all come here to find a scene/But end up girls on methedrine/Naked on a TV screen.” On the garage-rocker “Vacation,” she employs the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ term “Californication.” So young, so cynical. A precocious debut.

His bio cites James Taylor and Tracy Chapman as childhood influences. But on Teitur’s debut album, the native of Denmark’s Faroe Islands, a small group of islands between Iceland and Scotland, the singer-songwriter sound far more like Paul Simon on gentle ballads like the title track, “One and Only” and “I Was Just Thinking.” Working with producer Rupert Hine, Teitur’s debut displays real talent—a pretty voice and sensitive songs all pleasantly performed. But ultimately, lacking an edge, it’s a bit of a snore.

With their sister-close harmonies, the Nields are America’s answer to Canada’s McGarrigles. Their second album as a duo is a soundtrack to Nerissa’s soon-to-be-published novel of the same name, about two musically aspiring 13-year-old girls. The title track and the chiming “Glow-in-the-Dark Plastic Angel,” are written from the girls’ perspective, while some, such as the twanging “The Day I Let Glory Steer,” stem from other characters in the novel. But all hold up as vibrant and witty songs on their own.

The Lost Patrol is the side project of Dennis Lyxzen, of Swedish punkers (International) Noise Conspiracy, who’s clearly hurting from his breakup with fellow Swede Lisa Miskovsky, a budding pop star. “Walking all by myself, while my baby is calling someone else,” Lyxzen sings on the jazzy, flute-filled “Out of Date.” Strangely, Miskovsky joins him on vocals on that track and the catchy “Alright.” Although some songs are appealingly acoustic, this is mostly a maudlin and very unpunk-like album.

Led by Nardwuar the Human Serviette, the Evaporators take their garage rock to absurd lengths. The Vancouver band’s last album featured the frenzied “I Gotta Rash” (“Gimme some ointment, I need an appointment”). Here, Nardwuar sings the shambolic “(I’ve Got) Icicles on My Testicles,” a suitable affliction for a Canuck culture freak who writes about Canada’s alleged KGB spy Gerda Munsinger, and covers “Barney Rubble is My Double” by Liberal Party hack Warren Kinsella’s ’70s teenage band the Hot Nasties. Wacky.