The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page H09

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER www.philly.com H9 Sunday, November 25, 2007 New Recordings Ratings: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor ALBUMS from H6 "Midvale" and "Mermaid Loop" are highlights. As opposed to Your Secret Safe's bright electricity, Luzerne is a late-night, earthbound affair, beautifully dark, seductively stark. Steve Klinge Jordin Sparks Jordin Sparks (19 RecordingsJive 'Commarce A tin Hi ir ffui ll-Orlu Rrari ft i Q-GTW nUflff 1 I i nonon -T Vf lfi? CBAC: M-F SataO-ZprrflTl KetlM aSICr. 0171 mid-1980s, has been dallying with swing for the last decade. His riff here is to take classical chestnuts like "The Flight of the Bumble Bee" and run them through a Rat Pack blender.

Grieg's Hall of the Mountain King grows fangs and resembles Benny Goodman's "Sing Sing Sing." Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture starts out Latin, while Rossini's William Tell Overture gets downsized into a jaunty swing number that cries out for Frank or Dean. Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner all get worked over into various states of boogaloo. The madcap endings are especially humorous. If this offends you, consider more roughage in the diet. KS.

Liraupsinro! asa ttyu NOW- JAN. FOR TICKETS VISIT: Wa I utStreerTh eatre org ticketmaster OR CALL 21 5-574-3550 or 215-336-1234 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 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. Philip Roger Roy, Dana Mattlww Second Generation LLC present Vivaldi Atenaide Sandrine Piau, Vivica Genaux, Guilemette Laurnes, Nathalie Stutzman, Paul Agnew, Stefano Ferrari and others; Modo Antique, Federica Maria Sardella cond. (Naive, three discs, Direct from New York Starring Jake Ehrenreich! nA77imm eiimmvi Tfiiinuium ufuuinu: rumii: luuuninu: LIKE BILLY CRYSTAL'S 700 SUNDAYS!" et me .1 IPJl9 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.

i i tM jaice enrenreicn A tW GROWS IN BROOKLYN There are some notable firsts associated with the winning debut of this year's American Idol. Sparks, who is nearly 20, is the first victor to join the producer's label rather than SonyBMG with a championship disc not exec-produced by Clive Davis. Maybe Clive's scared to get into a Kelly Clarkson catfight with Sparks. Maybe the one-time Christian balladeer with the powerful lungs and the relaxed melodic style had her own ideas. Everything from the tender trap of "See My Side," with its subtle vocal harmony flourishes, to the tremors of "God Loves Ugly" shows Sparks' mark.

Her debut's most potent display she was 17 when she recorded this is the teen-pop-hop of "No Air," a breathlessly silly thing she did with Michael Jackson clone Chris Brown. Then there are dear electro-pop tracks like "Shy Boy" (produced by the same team that did most of Britney Spears' Blackout) that manage to show the soulful sweet side of Euro-dance that Britney can't ever entertain again. It's a charming effort. Sparkly, even. A.D.

Amorosi Cassidy B.A.R.S.: The Barry Adrian Reese Story (Full SurfaceJ Freeway Free at Last (Roc-A-Fella Philadelphia MCs Barry Reese and Leslie Pridgen Cassidy and Freeway to you cover this town's hip-hop waterfront. Cassidy is smooth, giddy, freaky and Plays 'lays Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey www.AJewGrowslnBrooklyn.com Tix: 215-279-8460 or www.TicketWeb.com Groups 215-925-3769 Wed Th 7 pm; Fri Sat 8 pm; Wed, Sat, Sun 2 pm (Orch $55 Bale $45) The Musical The Hilarious Celebration of Women and The Change! II Teuzzone Mauro Pagano, Maurizia Barazzoni, Fernarda Piccini, Susanna Bortolanei, Angelo Manzotti and others. (Brilliant, three discs, Vivaldi Double concertos Akademia fur Alte Musik, Berlin. (Harmonia Mundi, In this age of increasing attention to 'Vivaldi operas, the recordings can be divided into pre- and post-Turin. The latter are typified by the Naive-label series produced in collaboration with Turin's National University Library, home of some 450 Vivaldi manuscripts and heaps of governmental support.

This latest disc, Atenaide, is among the best yet: The opera itself shows the composer at his most dramatically ambitious; the music, particularly in the second half, shows his invention at its peak. Each role is like a Olympic event, and most of the singers in this knockout cast deserve a gold medal. The recitatives crackle, the orchestra playing is scintillating, and the recording was made in See ALBUMS on H12 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 Performances: Wed-Fri 8 pm, Sat 2 6 pm, Sun 2 5:30 pm Added Wed. 2 PM Matinee, Jan. 30, 2008 II Lovplfll 11 Hilarious. Co See It." -JoyBehar, Top Albums in the Region The View Locally Nationally Locally Pennsylvania Ballet and P1MC Present THE George Balanchine's NUTCRACKER 1 1 Alicia Keys As I Am 2 2 Josh Groban Noel 6 3 8 Jay-Z American Gangster 1 4 3 Celine Dion Taking Chances 5 4 Various Artists Now That's What I Call Vol. 26 6 7 Led Zeppelin Mothership 7 10 Chris Brown Exclusive 2 8 9 Carrie Underwood Carnival Ride 7 9 1 2 The Killers Sawdust 10 11 Dane Cook Rough Around the Edges SOURCE: SoundScan based on purchase data from Philadelphia and Montgomery, Delaware, Bucks, Chester, Camden, Burlington and Gloucester Counties).

Billboard Magazine 12107 2007 NEW Production! As you've never seen it before! 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. This live trio session, recorded at New York's Birdland in 1997, was not released until late last month. It features the rich flutterings of Bey's vocal style along with the unexpected bonus of his fine piano. Bey's efforts with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington drummer Vito Lesczak appears on two cuts create a memorable trio, especially on ballads. It's tempting to compare him to another great pianist and singer, Nat King Cole, but Bey is more unpredictable and more the creative horn player with his voice.

Even hearing him count down the intro to "All The Things You Are" qualifies as an aural experience. Bey's take of the tune is a high-wire act of scatting. He treats this most melodic of songs as percussive at first, and that makes his initial stride through the melody more evocative, as he reveals facets of his falsetto and mid-range voice that other singers just don't have. Karl Stark The Brian Setzer Orchestra Wolfgang's Big Night Out (Surfdog This big-band recording is a crack-up. Guitarist and leader Brian Setzer, who's probably best known for leading the Stray Cats, a rockabilly band of the In Stores Tuesday Pitbull, The Boatlift; Phillip Glass, Book of Longing; Michael Ball, Back to Bacharach; Skye Sweetnam, Sound Soldier December 1431 Academy of Music Groups of 10 or more save! Call 215-587-6921 for details.

Visit www.pabaDet.org for information on special Nutcracker events and promotions. World's Greatest New Year's Concert! The Strauss Symphony of America 1 Andras Deak, conductor (Budapest) Luisa Albrechtuva, soprano (Vienna-Prague) Zrinku SuCO, tenor (Vienna) with dancers from: Vienna City Ballet THE KIMMEL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Sunday, December 30, 2007 2:30 pm Rediscover the MAGIC! Order Your Tickets Now! 215-893-1999 ticketphiladelphia.org kimmelcenter.org Presenled by Allila Glalz Concerl Productions Inc. Prices, arlisls, program and dales subjecl lo change wilhoul nolice..