New on CD 3/21/03

'Buenos Hermanos'

Ibrahim Ferrer, the spindly septuagenarian from Havana who charmed the world as de facto frontman for the Buena Vista Social Club, brings another gleaming gem of Afro-Cuban playfulness and stunning musicality on his second solo release.

The spunky singer's textured but gentle vocal acrobatics are the bright splashes of color on producer Ry Cooder's earthy, hypnotic palate, the same formula that helped sell 1.5 million copies of Ferrer's solo debut, "Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer," four years ago.

The sounds of "Buenos Hermanos" will fall familiar on the ears of the faithful; the band absolutely sparkles, and Ferrer's voice only seems to get better with age. But there's a slightly edgier, more experimental tinge to this record -- Ferrer's up-tempo vocal riffs atop the swaying beats are more demanding and complex, and the melodies are less likely to hook without repeat listens.

Still, it's impossible not to be instantly charmed by anything Ferrer and Cooder create together, and "Buenos Hermanos" is no exception -- the two do make good brothers, it's true.

'Adventures in Lo-fi'

It's been a decade since Digable Planets introduced finger-snapping hipster jazz to hip-hop on the classic "Reachin"' album.

King Britt, the group's Philadelphia-based producer, has since been largely missing from the hip-hop scene, instead favoring jazz-house and funk-electronica blends through his plentiful remix work.

"Adventures in Lo-fi" is Britt's welcome return to his roots. Sort of.

It's a "concept" album, based on John Sayles' 1984 film "The Brother From Another Planet."

That presumably gives Britt license to bore listeners with bland narration by Rich Medina as "The Brother." He also lets in some overly ambitious, wordy rappers -- you'll cringe hearing "oculus" rhymed with "binoculars."

But the beats are too good to complain. High-quality drum loops are layered smoothly underneath subtle, chopped-up samples and staccato electronica grooves.

That formula propels the music, while the film's plot loosely inspires lyrics. Dice Raw's bouncy "Rise and Vibe" and Bahamadia's fun "Transcend" are highlights in this consistently high-quality 16-song collection. Other guests include Quasimoto and Pos and Trugoy from De La Soul.

Britt also inserts several very good house songs, including the funky, if predictable, "Superstar," and a soaring soul-jazz celebration on "Love's Time."

'Conception: An Interpretation of Stevie Wonder's Songs'

"Conception: An Interpretation of Stevie Wonder's Songs" is an album of old songs performed now at the hands of musicians whose artistic visions are as varied as Wonder's songbook.

They range from slow love ballads to funk-filled organ grinds. And it's surprising just how many artists jumped genre to be on the album honoring the 18-time Grammy winner.

While some of their interpretations stick true to course -- Eric Clapton on "Higher Ground" and Glenn Lewis' recording of "Superstition" -- the real meat of the album is when the original comes closer to the artist's own style.

Marc Anthony performs a vocally sweeping "All in Love Is Fair," and John Mellencamp's "I Don't Know Why I Love You" sounds more rock 'n' roll than R&B.

Others on the album include Stephen Marley, India.Arie and Mary J. Blige, each with an interpretation that brings new life into songs that have, in some instances, been stale for years.

'Chinatown'

With not one Tanya in the group, this trio of women from Vancouver continues their singular approach to urban folk with "Chinatown," their second full-length release.

The Be Good Tanyas combine fine guitar, mandolin and banjo picking with splendid vocal harmonies. However, their lyrical landscape is dark. The songs take us on a tour through society's underbelly; a place with drug addicts, criminals on the lam, the homeless and the desperately lonely.

"Waiting Around to Die" is a moody account of life on the road and the promise of redemption that the next town holds. The banjoes on this track are more ethereal than what might normally be associated with the instrument, lending a dreamy quality to the tune.

With song titles such as "Junkie Song" and "I Wish My Baby Was Born," the album hovers perilously close to becoming overly bleak. But the tension created by somber song narratives paired with stunning vocal work is compelling. The trio provides a warm and inviting entry into a world often passed by.

'The Essential Sly & The Family Stone'

"The Essential Sly & The Family Stone" is a collection of 35 songs on two discs recorded from 1968 to 1975 by Sylvester Stewart's pioneering funk band from the San Francisco Bay Area.

The album contains dance floor diamonds such as "Everyday People," "Family Affair," "Dance to the Music," "I Want to Take You Higher" and "Stand!" However, lesser-known tracks -- "Underdog," "Frisky," "If It Were Left up to Me" -- are just as vital, from the female vocals on "Runnin' Away" to the wah-wah guitar on "Luv N' Haight."

Tenderness in "Poet" and "Just Like a Baby" cool it down from the hottest jams of "Brave & Strong," "Loose Booty," "I Get High on You" and "Love City."

This album stands as a crucial time capsule of motivated funk and serious soul; the bridge between James Brown and George Clinton's Funkadelic. Are you ready?

Wheels Within Wheels'

Though most remembered for his amplified rocking, Rory Gallagher had a love of traditional folk and blues, recording much acoustic-only music over the span of his career.

This album, "Wheels Within Wheels," compiled by his brother, Donal, highlights the bright spots in the late guitarist-singer's acoustic body of work.

The CD shows how Gallagher breathed life into the styles and moods of traditional songs, making them sound brand new. He strums a lonesome, steel-edged blues on "As the Crow Flies," coupling it with his rough, spare voice. On "Bratacha Dubha," Gallagher lightly picks the strings of his guitar, making folk as delicate as chamber music.

Guest musicians add color to many songs. Juan Martin meshes his Spanish-tinged guitar with Gallagher's on "Flight to Paradise," while Bela Fleck plucks banjo on three live cuts.

Gallagher plays with strength and nuance, shaking the dust off these old tunes. It proves his reverence of traditional music was not mere lip service.

'Jillbilly'

Two bars into the first song, and you know Jill King's "Jillbilly" is an appropriate title, if a little cutesy. King twangs, the steel and fiddle whine, and the guitar and drums join in for a delightful blend of swing, honky-tonk and plain old country emoting.

King culled some 3,000 songs down to the 11 on the album, producing a variety of tempos and moods with a recurring theme of romance on the rocks.

Her first single off the album, "One Mississippi," is a catchy reflection on the preacher man she maybe shouldn't have let go. The rocking "Down 'n' Out" and the poignant "Three Months, Two Weeks, One Day" -- two of three songs written by King -- are autobiographical recollections of a relationship.

King's mentors include Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams and Patsy Cline, and it's hard not to make comparisons as her adaptable vocal style changes from rockabilly to wistful in the space of 11 very listenable tracks.

'The Good The Bad The Ugly'

As a teenage guitarist living by riff and wit on the mean streets of New York in the mid-1970s, Sonny Vincent and the Testors helped punk rock explode at CBGBs and Max's Kansas City.

Vincent's rock 'n' roll rap sheet grew in the following decades with bands The Don and Shotgun Rationale, plus collaborations including a stint with Moe Tucker of Velvet Underground.

Now, with a rhythm section of the Damned's Captain Sensible and Stooges' Scott Asheton, Vincent tops his rock saga with "The Good The Bad The Ugly," an album of rawboned songs filled in by a who's who of punk guitarists.

On these Stooges-sounding tunes, Lou Reed guitarist Robert Quinne gets "Busted" and a Sonic Youth commando unit (Thurston Moore, Don Fleming, Jim O'Rourke) joins Voidoid's Ivan Julian in "South Beach."

Vincent kicks dust with Walter Lure, whose Heartbreakers bandmate Johnny Thunders is saluted in "Scratchin' on the 8 Ball." "My Guitar," "That Sound," "Tired of the Telephone" and "Animal Farmers" are more MC5-ish rockers that evoke Stiv Bators' Dead Boys, whom the Testors toured with back in the day.

Other guest guitarists include MC5's Wayne Kramer, the Damned's Brian James, Black Flag's Greg Ginn, the Muffs' Kim Shattuck, Detroit's Scott Morgan and Dexter Holland and Noodles of Offspring.

-- From wire reports