The Beatles
Love (Capitol/EMI)
This soundtrack to Cirque du Soleil’s promising-looking production is about the most momentous release of this year’s Christmas season, and don’t count on a lot of re-gifting of this one. It isn’t unearthed apocryphal material, but rather an expansive spread of the Fab Four’s finest material. Thing is, no less than the Beatles’ brilliant producer George Martin himself handled this rich and vivid rearranging, reworking and intermingling of pop music’s preeminent catalogue (“Sgt. Pepper’s,” for instance, flares up with new life) into a sprawling mega-medley kicking off on an a cappella “Because” and closing, obviously and impressively, on “All You Need Is Love.” It’s almost a mash-up at points, as on the delightful collision of “Lady Madonna” and “Hey Bulldog.” 10/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Tom Waits
Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards (Anti/FAB)
Just in time for year-end critics’ pick lists, Waits drops this exhaustive and utterly brilliant three-disc set in our laps. Alongside 30 new songs, Waits also collects 16 rarely heard mongrels, covering swampy rockers, ballads, experimental stuff and spoken word. There’s little doubt that Waits and sparring partner Kathleen Brennan are two of the greatest living American songwriters, but with this, their inclusion in the pantheon of musical mavericks is guaranteed. As deft as he is with the pen, Waits further proves his genius in interpreting the work of the Ramones and Daniel Johnston. This record could prove to be the most fetching feather in his already well-plumed cap. 9.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Swan Lake
Beast Moans (Jagjaguwar)
Supergroup alert! B.C. natives Dan Bejar (Destroyer, New Pornographers), Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown) and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes) bring jagged edges to their respective bands, and lock together as a trio more easily than expected. They take turns laying their distinctive vocals on unwieldy beds of keys, guitars, drums, all manner of ornamentation, and reverb so weighty that your floor will turn to quicksand even before the shrooms take hold. As beautiful as it is bizarre, as disorienting as it is magical, the record’s unsettling psychedelic folk, shadow-bound anthems and hallucinogenic operatics offer something to please, and probably irritate, all fans of Swan Lake’s root bands. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
So Divided (Interscope/Universal)
Trail of Dead’s ace in the hole has always been pumping their anthemic pop up to epic proportions while making their dynamic transitions seem effortless. This new one hardly disappoints, and continues to push the envelope with the rockish “Stand in Silence” boasting a blindsiding middle-eight section. As farfetched as things get here, songs like the utterly epic title track manage to tie up all loose ends. Some songs, like “Life,” tend to meander a bit, and the anglophile tendencies of “Eight Days of Hell” sadly turn into a caricature, but all is forgiven with the rest of the album’s sense of exploration paying off in spades. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Les Trois Accords
Grand Champion International de Course (Indica/Outside)
With their previous album, this quintet shot up out of nowhere (okay, Drummondville) to provincial stardom, and this follow-up should sustain that. What’s impressive about les Trois Accords isn’t just their way with a snappy melody, it’s that they can pile on the snarky humour and still have their lively, roots-tinged crunch-pop come off as utterly guileless. The humour gets a bit broad, as on the clownish country number “St-Cyrille-de-Wendover,” but when it works, like on the nutty “Gratte-moi” with its cheeky Jackson 5 detour, it works wonders. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) With Caféine at Metropolis Fri., Nov. 24, 8 p.m., $18

The Magic Numbers
Those the Brokes (Heavenly/EMI)
You may remember this British quartet from Osheaga’s main stage, Saturday afternoon—the hippies with bobbing heads and shit-eating grins. Anyone without a sweet tooth in their head probably fled from their shiny, happy spectacle, but the Magic Numbers’ debut album was a hit, and this one follows its formula closely. The boy/girl harmonies, the pop/ballad balance and lead singer/songwriter Romeo Stodart’s particular turns of tune are certainly familiar, but the strings are new, as is their reach for Motown energy and epic grandeur. Unfortunately, they only grasp some Jacksons backwash and half-songs buffered by miles of meandering. 6/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Stefie Shock
Les Vendredis (Atlantis/Select)
The third album by Montreal’s Shock shows that while he hasn’t let go of his characteristic quirks and qualities—the cucumber-cool composure of his vocals, the wit and wordplay, the sleek ’n’ chic production, even the cha-cha horns on “Pixels flous.” But amid the calculated cleverness, Shock shows a newfound willingness to bear a few wounds, as on the patient, moving “En chute libre.” The strongest moment, however, has to be “Geyser,” a sultry, sweet-and-sore pop-reggae duet with Suzie McLelove of les Breastfeeders that can’t help but recall mid-’70s Serge Gainsbourg. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Snoop Dogg
The Blue Carpet Treatment (DoggyStyle/Universal)
Snoop Dogg albums aren’t concise musical statements anymore, but rather huge parties pressed onto plastic. Blue Carpet has a long guest list and attempts to unify people in the name of fornication, weed and good times. On a few tracks, Snoop attempts to play peacemaker between rival black and Chicano gangs in Los Angeles (“Gangbangin’ 101,” “Vato”). Musically, “Drop It Like It’s Hot” has invigorated him, and nearly every track tries to be another quirky yet infectious single (the most successful being “Candy” and “Psst!”). There’s nothing here that will resonate with the listener, except his reminiscing with Dre on “Imagine.” 6/10 (Erik Leijon)

Black Ice
The Death of Willie Lynch (Koch)
MC and poet Lamar Manson, aka Black Ice, is probably best known for his regular appearances on Russell Simmons’s Def Poetry Jam, but gets his share of respect in his home town of Philadelphia. With an LP produced solely by Eric “Booty” Greene, Black Ice is able to speak the truth to the young black youth on songs like “The Ugly Show,” where he dissects the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. His strong flow and decision to tackle heavy topics on record definitely set him apart, but he could benefit from some more varied production. Guests include a little help from Musiq Soulchild on the song “Takeyatime,” as well as some vocals from Natalie Stewart of Floetry on “Shine.” 7.5/10 (Scott C)

Various
Serious Times Ghetto Arc No. 1 (XL/Select)
This two-disc set requires a little explaining. You get one CD chock full of recent dancehall favourites, actually quite a good selection of tunes, from Sizzla’s lovely “Aint Gonna See Us Fall” to Perfect’s, well, perfect “Handcart Boy” and Turbulence’s massive “Notorious.” Then there’s the second disc, presented as a “dubplate mix by Federation Sound.” Problem is, there are only three dubplates in the mix, meaning it ends up sounding like a mix tape, but with sound effects. And the dubs aren’t even that special. 7/10 (Erin MacLeod)

Frankie J
Priceless (Sony BMG)
The fourth solo album by Mexican-born, San Diego-raised Frankie J once again plays to his strengths. He stays comfortably inside an MOR R&B setting, albeit with some superficial nods to hip hop courtesy of guests Chamillionaire (on the lead-single title track) and Krayzie Bone & Layzie Bone (“Never Let You Down”). But J’s ace up his sleeve remains his elastic falsetto, which is still particularly effective on slow jams, though his propensity for corny lyrics tends to bring him down. For instance, his skillful vocal delivery is wasted on the trite “Daddy’s Girl,” but fully complements the well-versed “Still.” An album full of tracks like the latter would really be priceless. 7/10 (Gerard Dee)

Various
Brownswood Bubblers (Brownswood/Goya)
BBC Radio 1 personality and U.K. tastemaker Gilles Peterson offers an intro to his new label, Brownswood Recordings, housing all things jazzy, soulful and danceable, from the uplifting retro R&B of Nicole Willis & the Soul Investigators’ “Feeling Free” to the nu-soul interpretations of Colonel Red’s “Blue Eye Blak” and Yellowtail’s “Over It.” Peterson has also fostered new projects from old standbys like underground hip hop producer Shawn J. Period and Morgan Zarate , who teams up with Steve Spacek for the lazy bump of “iiiii.” With further contributions from Choklate, Red Nose District, Ben Westbeach and Simbad, Gilles shows that his support for new artists and great music truly knows no bounds. 8/10 (Scott C)

Buck Clayton-Earl Hines All-Stars
Jazz From a Swinging Era (Lonehill Jazz/Trend)
Andrew Scott
Blue Mercer (Sackville/Trend)
Two fine examples of “mainstream” playing. The former’s a two-CD set from Expo year packed with, beside the leaders, the great players of that era, musicians like Roy Eldridge, Vic Dickenson and a second pianist in Sir Charles Thompson—27 tracks that will have your foot tapping. The latter is for the most part a tribute to songwriter Johnny Mercer, with guests Randy Sandke and Mike Murley adding much to the music laid down by the superb quartet, led by guitarist Andrew Scott with Bernie Senensky, Louis Simao and Joel Haynes. Recorded in Toronto in June 2005, this one keeps the “mainstream” flow alive—another foot-tapper! All-Stars 9.5, Scott 8.5/10 (Len Dobbin)

Mini CD Reviews

Charlie Mariano A Jazz Portrait of… (Regina/Fresh Sound) A rare portrait of a great player done 43 years ago, abetted by Jim Hall, Marvin Stamm and Don Sebesky in various groupings including strings. 9 (LD)

Various Strictly the Best #35, #36 (VP) Take your pick: the best in recent, straight-up dancehall on #35, or the best in roots and lovers on #36. Both live up to the titular “best.” Both 9 (EM)

The Exploding Hearts Shattered (Dirtnap) The van accident that claimed three-quarters of this band was indeed tragic, a loss further underlined by the sheer brilliance and potential of these posthumously-released Plimsouls/Buzzcocks-soaked hits. 8.5 (JC)

Kenn Starr Starr Status (Halftooth) Serious beats and rhymes coming from the infamous Halftooth camp, with butter goodness from Kenn Starr, Oddisee, Kev Brown, Asheru and Talib Kweli. 8.5 (SC)

Isobel Campbell Milkwhite Sheets (V2) From Belle and Sebastian to folk and orchestration, but still in the key of twee. 7.5 (LC)

Jenny Whitely Dear (Black Hen) Award-winning Can-country chanteuse reveals her inner banjo girl. 7 (LC) At the Green Room on Sat., Nov. 25, 7:30 p.m., $20

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