Shopping List: The New and the Notable
The Dynamites, Kaboom! (Outta Sight); Soul Sides Volume Two: The Covers (Zealous/Velour)
Covers to covet on the spotty Soul Sides Volume Two include Esther Phillips's female take on Gil Scott Heron's sadly knowing addiction classic, "Home Is Where the Hatred Is," and reggae singer Marcia Griffiths's loping and Antibalas's afrobeat version of salsa singer Hector Lavoe's "Che Che Cole." The Dynamites raise the proverbial roof on Kaboom!, a sweltering slab of hard Nashville funk.
Tord Gustavsen Trio, Being There (ECM)
Being There is the slow and stately conclusion to a trilogy this Nordic piano trio began in 2001 with Changing Places. Inspired as much by hymns, gospels, and chamber music as by jazz, Gustavsen's rapturous meditations evoke stony cliffs, roiling seas, and the ceaseless crawl of history.
Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons, Jersey Beat (Rhino)
Admit it. There's something a little disturbing about Frankie Valli's exaggerated doo-wop falsetto, especially in the perfect yet overly size-conscious pop of, say, "Walk Like a Man," "Little Boy (In Grown Up Clothes)," "Big Man's World," and "Big Man in Town." This three-CD (plus DVD) box is a fitting tribute to a group that brought weird 1960s New Jersey to the masses.
Marva Wright, After the Levee Broke (AIM International)
"I got outta my bed, stepped in water to my knees," sings blues belter Marva Wright in the autobiographical "The Levee Is Breaking Down." Wright lost everything in the post-Katrina flood and this emotional album is her testament to dashed dreams, the memory of good times, and hopes of returning to New Orleans.
Pegi Young (Warner Bros.)
Talk about late bloomers. The longtime Neil Young backing singer—and longer-time spouse—took her sweet time before recording a debut album of bittersweet originals and simpatico covers. And it ain't half bad. The band's predictably solid, and Neil's an understated background presence as well as a psychedelic standout on electric sitar in "Love Like Water."