Review: Feist, Patrick Wolf, Joni Mitchell Tribute

Review: Feist, Patrick Wolf, Joni Mitchell Tribute

Feist 'The Reminder': Aidin Vaziri | It's only a matter of time before Leslie Feist's music comes at you every time you walk into a coffee shop, turn on the television or buy a pair of shoes. Might as well submit now. The drowsy-voiced Canadian singer's third studio album offers plenty of convincing reasons to do so, starting with the deceptively simple, imponderably beautiful ballads "So Sorry" and "The Park." Better yet, try the throbbing "My Moon, My Man," which builds and builds and builds until all parties concerned are left breathless. And the one time Feist dips into cover territory is for "Sea Lion Woman," a traditional melody made popular by Nina Simone. That Feist so effortlessly pulls it off is a given -- this woman goes well with everything.

Various Artists 'A Tribute To Joni Mitchell': Aidin Vaziri | To properly fete Joni Mitchell, you have to be stupid, brave or just plain crazy. While acts such as the Counting Crows, Frank Sinatra and Claudine Longet have the first two categories covered, this tribute album makes the case for those who mostly fall into the last. It opens with an unrecognizable acid-dipped version of "Free Man in Paris" by Brooklyn indie-rock eccentric Sufjan Stevens and follows with a one-two punch of more weirdness thanks to Björk's lullaby-like reworking of "The Boho Dance" and Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso's bossa-edged treatment of "Dreamland." You expect Prince's "A Case of You" to be good, and it is. But it's also awkwardly restrained, much like Annie Lennox's icy "Ladies of the Canyon," which sounds like a Eurythmics outtake from 1983. Mitchell's native Canadian disciples Sarah McLachlan ("Blue") and k.d. lang ("Help Me") seem to follow suit with their similarly pleasant but dull offerings. Unexpectedly, it's James Taylor who manages to catch the songwriter's feather-light touch on his stripped-back version of "River," and Cassandra Wilson makes the bitter jazz of "For the Roses" sound more deceptively beautiful than ever. Emmylou Harris ("Magdalene Laundries") and Elvis Costello ("Edith and the Kingpin") manage to captivate as well, by smartly picking less familiar tunes that they make sound like their own. So, despite the promising cast, the results are mixed at best. But it's OK. If you've heard Mitchell do these songs lately, you know that she can no longer do them justice either.

Patrick Wolf 'The Magic Position': Aidin Vaziri | Here's everything you need to know about Patrick Wolf: 1) He grew up in London, 2) has bright red hair, 3) dresses like he just walked out of a Mother Goose nursery rhyme, 4) likes carousels, 5) probably likes animals, 6) is sexually "ambiguous," 7) meaning it's not really all that ambiguous, 8) has released a bunch of albums nobody's ever heard, 9) hates Mika, 10) is getting a lot of comparisons to Mika. Up to date? Good. Then we can skip straight to "The Magic Position," the brilliant title track from his latest album. The rest of the songs are fine but hardly compare to the ABC-inspired, orchestral pop rush of the opening tune that spews rainbows, handclaps and pearls of wisdom such as, "You put me in the magic position/ To live, to learn, to love in the major key."