Gov’t Mule Live... With a Little Help From Our Friends Vol. 2 (Evangeline/EMI)
This 1998 live concert has this incredible trio laying down a Southern groove with a serious debt to the Allman Brothers, backed by friends like the Black Crowes’ Marc Ford and Funkadelic’s Bernie Worrell. If you are familiar with the Mule, you know they like to let it all hang out live, with each song clocking in at just under 10 minutes, latching onto a groove and punctuating it with some serious playing. Their 20-minute take on “Spanish Moon,” by Lowell George of Little Feat, is nothing short of jaw-dropping, but it’s on Albert King’s classic “The Hunter” that Mule-man Warren Haynes proves himself one of the greatest living guitarists around. There’s a special bonus studio cut too, a cover of Frank Zappa’s “Pygmie Twylyte.” Noting the current fascination with jam bands, Gov’t Mule prove to be miles ahead of the game. 9.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Heather Nova South (V2/BMG)
This Canadian-born, Bermuda-based songstress keeps it interesting on album four, employing the talents of several guest producers and collaborators, among them the dreaded Bryan Adams and guitarist Bernard Butler, whose Motown pop sensibility takes “I’m No Angel” skyward. Nova’s folky vocals get support from a full band, including keys, strings and mecha-beats, when the mood strikes (and who knew she played theremin?). Harmonious, substantial and varied, Nova makes good as a female singer-songwriter, a genre that has been sullied by a procession of semi-talented squawkers in tight pants. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Rialto Night on Earth (Eagle/Koch)
Suede, Pulp and Depeche Mode may want to seek legal advice. Typical suave ’n’ elegant Britpop bands take after Bowie, but Rialto take after those who take after Bowie, reducing this disc to an inside joke of sorts for the fop-pop savvy. These guys have studied every clichéd turn of phrase, whiny affectation and hairdo, and the brashly ’80s programming doesn’t shuffle the deck enough to hide their derived, contrived strategy. Some good tunes, sure, but just try and keep a straight face during: “London crawling/through a sodium glow/just like lovers again/slipping between the sheets/of dirty rain.” Why? 6/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Various Blade 2: The Soundtrack (Immortal/EMI)
What is usually a hit-and-miss situation (anyone remember the forward-thinking Judgement Night soundtrack?) can work out with some damn good results—case in point, the Spawn soundtrack that mixed drum & bass artists with metal and hip hop. That said, Roni Size jumps into the ring here for round two with Cypress Hill, plus another street banger with Volume 10. Other unlikely but suprisingly good team-ups are Mystikal remixed by Moby (no, seriously, the shit’s funny as hell), the Roots and BT, and Mos Def and Massive Attack on some next. Redman seems to be the ghost member of the Gorillaz and Trina and Rah Digga are “Gangsta Queens” with Groove Armada. A worthwhile collection—let’s see if the movie can match it. 8/10 (Lateef Martin)

Earl Zinger Put Your Phazers on Stun Throw Your Health Food Skyward (K7/Fusion III)
Introduced by an emcee trying to calm rapturous applause, this disc explores the fictitious world of Earl Zinger, whose magic musical touch allegedly enlivened every genre from reggae to punk to techno. Such diverse schooling lets Zinger’s solo debut run the gamut from lazy reggae-pop to sleazy, beat-driven crooning to big bossa nova to some Chipmunks MC rapping and toasting it up. Covers of Blur’s “Song 2” and Badly Drawn Boy’s “Go Round,” along with little narratives about bassline hunting and frenzied record collecting, up the comedy factor of this loosely assembled labour of love. 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Ol’ Dirty Bastard The Trials and Tribulations of Russell Jones (WuTang/Riviera)
Poor Ol’ Dirty. As much as I love the bipolar antics of our favourite Wu member, no amount of senseless babbling and throat-singing can save this record from the curse of the clearance bin. You know ODB. He can come off even if he ain’t making no sense at all, but the keyboard-driven production on this record definitely makes it a little harder to swallow. Tracks with yawners like Mack 10, Insane Clown Posse and E40 do nothing to help the album’s inevitable downward slide. But it’s the charmingly candid interludes of Ol’ Dirty taking a shit in a bathroom stall, meeting his ol’ lady on visiting day or greeting a cute little “white devil” on the street that’ll make you smile. 5/10 (Scott C)

Herbaliser Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ninja Tune/Outside)
Something wicked is right. Ninja stalwarts Herbaliser are the U.K.’s heralds of hip hop, marrying the decknical skills of core duo Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba with top-shelf, cinephonic jazz-funk jams c/o their live band. One cannot overstate the excellence of the Easy Access Orchestra, their bold and inventive horn section, unless it detracts from comparable props for their guest MCs. The album flips between astounding and evocative instrumental episodes and platforms for the vocal contortions of MF Doom, Iriscience, the laudable Wildflower (when she’s good, she’s oh so solid), and the dangerous Phi Life Cypher on “Distinguished Jamaican English.” Standout tracks? Too many to list. 9/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Freaky Flow With MC Flipside Keep It Live (Moonshine/Koch)
On this second part of a three-album deal with Moonshine, Toronto’s preeminent junglist Freaky Flow offers party-going patrons a good, healthy dose of speedy jungle, drum & bass, hip hop and scratching. Recorded live at a club in T.O., MC Flipside attempts to get the crowd more hyped by his “make some noise!” antics, and in turn you get the live experience of the cheering crowd. He should just stick to his rapping. With the pace of these tracks leaving them sounding ever so similar to each other, check out Freaky’s TITS (Obscene Underground Vol. 1) album instead. 7/10 (Heidi Chapson)

Various Sounds of Om Vol. 3 (Om/Fusion III)
Om has played a principal role in helping the West Coast club music scene flap its wings. Many of their 12-inches have adorned the playlists and flight cases of the best and brightest spinners, including their point man Mark Farina. Some rare and sought-after gems in Om’s jewel box can now be savoured thanks to this third catch-up compilation from the label, strung together by Kaskade. Listeners are reminded of the authenticity and buoyancy of San Francisco’s deep house scene. Seventeen bumpers, covering an enticing gamut of soulful vocals and minimal jazz, are represented by talents like Soulstice, Jay Denes, Johnny Fiasco and Afro Mystic. 8.5/10 (Peter Lightburn)

Soulive Next (Blue Note/EMI)
Looks like the boys from Vermont have locked on to a good thing. With this, their third album (their second on Blue Note), Eric Krasno and brothers Neal and Alan Evans are joined by alto sax-man Sam Kininger, filling out an ambitious quartet. Proving that you can hold down serious jazz licks and still make sure that your hip hop sensibilities are front and centre, it’s nice to hear these guys doing their thing. It doesn’t hurt that they’ve managed to snag Black Thought for the lovely neckbreaker “CLAP!” or Groove Theory’s Amel Larrieux to woo “Whatever It Is.” Soulive and bredren Dave Matthews even flip an Ani DiFranco song called “Joyful Girl,” with surprising results. But the real payoff comes in the bass. Keyboardist Neal Evans beefed up the bottom end for this record with sonic results, and you can feel it in every cut. 8.5/10 (Scott C)

Gabrielle Dreams Can Come True (Universal)
A greatest hits collection? Might seem like a bit of a stretch on this side of the Atlantic, where this British vocalist is best known for her massive pop hit “Dreams.” But in her native land she’s actually scored quite a few big ones. Most of Gabrielle’s material is Britpop, textured with hints of soul, like her collaboration with British boy band East 17 on the cover of Shai’s “If You Ever,” or latest single “Don’t Need the Sun to Shine.” Call it a greatest hits or an intro, it’s all good. 7/10 (Gerard Dee)

Fredric Gary Comeau
Hungry Ghosts (Audiogramme/Select)
The first thing to hit you when you hear this CD is Comeau’s almost catatonic vocal delivery. Sounding like Leonard Cohen or Swell’s David Freel, Comeau’s whispered vocals get the goosebumps standing at attention with his tales of rejection, loneliness and the perils of drinkin’ by yourself. If anybody can make a sorry title like “Rainy Day in Istanbul” work, it’s Comeau. There’s just something in his laissez-faire voice that really takes you by the ear and drags you through each line. Multi-instrumentalist/producer/arranger Yves Desrosiers proves to be no slouch either by really dressing up each song and giving them all of the depth and density they deserve. Canada may have a new songwriting champ. 8/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Liu Fang Chinese Pipa Music From the Classical Tradition (Philmultic)
Since ’96, Montreal has been home to Fang, her pipa (the Chinese lute) and the stack of awards and honours she picked up in her native China. The woman is a virtuoso player of the pipa (and no slouch on the guzheng zither), as ably displayed on this CD of time-worn compositions from back home. She shifts nimbly from sparse passages that allow the pipa’s sharp tones to blossom and breathe, to blistering runs that, in their density, would make flamenco masters weep. Only part of her rich repertoire is showcased here—for a fuller picture, catch her show. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) At Centre Pierre-Péladeau, Wed. Mar. 27

Jane Bunnett Spirituals & Dedications (Justin Time/Fusion III)
Back from Havana, Ms. Bunnett returns to her jazz roots for this outing, where Canadian musical friends Larry Cramer, Kieran Overs, Mark McLean and Dean Bowman are joined by Dewey Redman and the unsung pianist Stanley Cowell. The settings are varied, from duets, Bowman/
Cowell or Bowman/Redman, through tracks featuring the septet. Bowman’s voice shines here, particularly on pieces like “Shadrack” and Clifford Jordan’s “Powerful Paul Robeson.” Ten tracks in all, four spirituals plus music by Bunnett, Cowell, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Bunnett’s original inspiration, Charles Mingus. Music of the first order! 9.5/10 (Len Dobbin)