teasing. Freeway is salty, gruff, frank and taunting. Cassidy pop-hops all over the place, while Freeway keeps a steady, even flow, with his Muslim beliefs acting as a counterweight to his well-known lyrical mean streak. This doesn't mean Cassidy isn't capable of banging. His easy vocal flow and simple, money-hungry rhymes make it possible to fit into the hard Swizz Beats-produced "I Give My Paper" as well as the dippy dancehall dramas like "Innocent Man." But while that track chatters with Cassidy's pleas for justice (he was jailed for involuntary manslaughter), there's a ruminative lyrical soul within even-sweeter songs like the gospel-ish "Leaning on the Lord," with Angie Stone, and the mellow "Celebrate," with John Legend. Freeway, on the other hand, is incapable of pop. His raspy, Black Adder approach to exec-producer 50 Cent's surprisingly lilting "Take It to the Top" is a mess. Luckily, it's the only mess here. Freeway's guttural mumble and his equally ardent looks at ultraviolence and devout spirituality are an acquired taste like fine triple malt scotch. That strong gulp goes toe-to-toe with more finessed MCs: label-boss Jay Z on the rugged "Roc-A-Fella Billionaires," menacing LiT Wayne on the slippery "Step Back" as well as shining on alone-time tracks like "Still Got Love." A.A. Dion Son of Skip James (Verve i2) With Son of Skip James, Dion DiMucci picks up where he left off on 2006's revelatory Bronx in Blue, when the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer proved to be a natural at the music that first moved him in the days before rock. That is, the blues. This time out, the 68-year-old singer is not going it alone there is keyboard and percussion accompaniment for his acoustic guitar and harmonica. But these exceptionally warm and intuitive performances make even clearer the connection between the blues and the music Dion is best known for: There's not much difference in style and attitude between "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "The Wanderer." And while delving into songs by Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson, Skip James, Bob Dylan and Chuck Berry, Dion again gets to meld his spiritual and street-wise sides. On the title song, one of two originals, he begins by stating that he wants to be more like Jesus before concluding, "I'm a lover not a fighter But I can kick your ass." No doubt. Nick Cristiano Levon Helm Dirt Farmer (Vanguard ) He's the last of the Band's three great voices and he's still around only because he has whipped throat cancer. The disease kept Levon Helm from singing for several years, but now he can, and the 67-year-old drummermandolinistguitari st has put out his first solo studio album in 25 years. The voice sounds a little pinched and ragged at times, but otherwise his unmistakably Southern instrument is almost totally back, and Helm sings with all the robust feeling of a guy who is relishing his second chance. The decidedly rustic Dirt Farmer features several traditional numbers Helm learned while growing up in Arkansas, and some of them, like "False-Hearted Lover" and "The Blind Child," have the ancient-folk air of another world. But a lot of the set, especially contemporary songs such as Steve Earle's "The Mountain" and Paul Kennerly's "Got Me a Woman," roll with a richly organic Americana vibe that would fit right in with the Band. - N.C. Andy Bey Ain't Necessarily So (12th Street records i2) Andy Bey, one of the great soul and jazz voices to emerge in the 1950s, still has startling pipes.