Love Is Everything: The Jane Siberry Anthology
Eschewing strict chronology, this 20-year Jane Siberry retrospective  leans toward more thematic concerns with compelling results. Thus 1996's  whimsical flying-cow tale "Bessie" is paired with "The Mystery at Ogden's Farm,"  its '81 inspiration from the Canadian chanteuse's self-recorded debut; her '99  live song "Mimi Speaks" retorts "Mimi on the Beach" from her '84 major-label bowNo Borders Here; and the  epic, transgenre cycle "Map of the World"--including a newly recorded "Part  IV"--spans virtually her entire career. While "Temple" may draw an easy  comparison toKate Bush,  there's a deceptively effortless sense to much of Siberry's ethereal musical  adventures that only underscores their power; jazz, folk, classicism, and techno  inform her work, yet seldom call attention to themselves. FollowingWhen I Was a Boy, her  successful collaboration withBrian EnoandMichael Brookthat  yielded the enduring "Calling All Angels," Siberry further insulated her work by  taking over sole production chores on her recordings, then launching her own  indie label. This 30-song, double-disc set serves as an appetizing sampler to  her rich, evocatively unfettered body of music.--Jerry McCulley