Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Lee’s been busy perfecting his pleasing soul-folk sound, sharing stages with the likes of Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. But rather than Dylan, Simon or even Norah Jones, who discovered him, the Philadelphia native resembles a bluesier James Taylor on his strong sophomore album. Whether singing about lost love on songs like “Careless” and the organ-drenched “Skipping Stone” or delving into jazz and country-tinged r&b on “Sweet Pea” and the catchy title track, Lee injects some Philly soul into that laidback JT sound.

Like French programming duo Deep Forest, Vancouver’s Delerium (Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber) mixes ambient and electronic sounds to create ethno-dance music. Best known for its 1997 club hit “Silence,” featuring Sarah McLachlan, Delerium branches out on its latest album to include Armenian-Canadian opera star Isabel Bayrakdarian, Punjabi-Canadian vocalist Kiran Ahluwalia and English classical group Mediaeval Baebes. Despite the blend of adventurous beats and ethereal voices, it reeks of new-age babble.

With last year’s Latin-flavored Guero and its remix cousin Guerolito, Beck paid tribute to his east Los Angeles roots. The Information is a return to his trademark mash-up style. Songs like the funky “1000 BPM,” are cautionary tales (hip-hop rants, really) about societal dysfunction, while “Think I’m in Love” and “Strange Apparition” are confessional and oddly uplifting pop gems. When he strikes a bemused pose, as he does on the observational “No Complaints,” Beck sounds like a younger, hipper David Byrne.