What our critics are listening to
BOB DYLAN: GREATEST HITS. Dylan turns 70 on Tuesday, and to celebrate a collective of local musicians perform his music Saturday at the Village Gate Square. The greatest Dylan album? There's a window in your life -- mid to late teens -- when music often makes the biggest impact. I was walking home from baseball practice one afternoon and stopped in the little record store along the way. I can still remember seeing this album on the wall; something about the cover, with that halo of light around Dylan's head. I bought it, and my life was never the same. It felt important ("Like a Rolling Stone") and irreverently daring ("Rainy Day Women #12 & 35"). Even today, when I look at that cover, I feel a little electric chill of a thrill. -- JEFF SPEVAK
ERIC BENET: LOST IN TIME. While the irony of Eric Benet singing "Start mixing it up a little, change the scenery" on "Stir It Up" doesn't escape me -- the guy croons about love on every album -- Lost in Time is a change for him. This vocal journey of love is classic; in fact, it's an ode to '70s soul. The way he climbs the vocal scale puts me in the mindset of Curtis Mayfield when I listen to "Take It" featuring Chrisette Michele. There's passion on this CD, but there is nothing lascivious about it. This is just good old-fashioned love music. But it's modern enough that it's not your grandfather's do-wop sound. -- SHEILA RAYAM
BLACK 47: BANKERS AND GANGSTERS. I love Irish music (traditional and rock), and Black 47 makes some of the best. Catch them at the Rochester Jazz Festival next month. They're a New York band, famed for raucous shows and impassioned music. This latest disc is typical, with rockin' knocks of Wall Street financial gangsters, praise of W.B. Yeats, a tale about a Jewish guy whose red-headed love is known as "Izzy's Irish Rose," and more. More on Moody: In last week's review of James Moody's 4B, I put the wrong guy on drums. It's Lewis Nash. -- JACK GARNER
MIKA POHJOLA: NORTHERN SUNRISE. Pohjola is a Finnish musician, who relocated to New York City and has become a well-known voice in jazz piano. In his latest project, Northern Sunrise, he shows a lot of diversity in style. My favorite tracks are the introspective ones that flaunt not only his classical trained piano playing, but also a deep soul in composing, including "Northern Sunrise," "Ebb & Flow" and "Peasant's Song." He even does a percussive version of "Have You Met Miss (Mrs.) Jones" that's extremely creative. I'm not such a fan of his fusion songs, where electric guitar and an '80s saxophone sound make appearances. Even so, I think he'll be welcomed at this year's Jazz Festival. -- ANNA REGUERO