k.d. lang
?Recollection?
Nonesuch/Warner

?Few singers command such perfection of pitch,? New York Times music critic Stephen Holden once described k.d. lang?s voice. No less than the legendary Tony Bennett referred to lang as ?the best singer of her generation.?

That generation includes Celine Dion and Whitney Huston, two pop megastars with vocal chops that require the listener to go to work with them when the singers climb up those giddy octaves on pure cheese-camp and undiluted helium.

But while an overdose of these two often result in auditory migraine, lang rarely crosses vocal registers beyond modal; her brief and infrequent intrusions into falsetto range are quiet acts of emotional chivalry?of putting a sentimental foot down gently because she?s wearing combat boots.

From her chart breakout pop-standard ?Miss Chatelaine? to her soul-bracing rendition of Leonard Cohen?s classic hymn ?Hallelujah,? all 22 tracks in ?Recollection? chronicle lang?s 25-year pursuit of the human voice as primary instrument in the construction and resolution of narrative.

This 2-disc collection more aptly functions as celebration rather than ?Best Of? in the commercial sense, because while only ?Miss Chatelaine? is a certified chart-climber, all the other tracks, minor hits, comely covers (Neil Young?s ?Helpless?), torch songs (of which ?Constant Craving? from the ?Ingenue? album stands out), and collaborations classic and curious (Roy Orbison, Tony Bennett, Jane Siberry) are musical chapters that complete a book of Songs, as told by a pure and singular voice.

That voice takes you by the hand, soaring right up to zero gravity without a single loss of breath, like Superman without Clark Kent having to whisk off to some phone booth to put away his glasses and monkey suit to reveal his blue, red, and yellow spandex costume. Manny Espinola, contributor

Sergio Mendes
?Bom Tempo?
MCA/Universal

Making music for over 50 years is no mean feat. But, like the age-old adage, if you love your job, you?ll never have to work another day for the rest of your life.

Sergio Mendes must love his job. He?s held the same one for as long as anyone can remember. His very name is synonymous with bossa nova. And though his music has become stylistically diluted over the years, he hasn?t completely sold his soul for commercial considerations.

?Bom Tempo? is his (give or take a few Best Of/Greatest Hits collections) 39th release.

Keeping with the times, much like 2006?s ?Timeless,? Mendes treads the mainstream with easy-on-the-ears dance rhythms with exotic titles, such as the album-opener ?Emorio.?

Noteworthy tracks are ?Maracatu Atomico,? which has an accessible vibe, nifty clavinet work, and island-flavored rap. The other, more resort-friendly ?Maracatu? pumps the brake and slips comfortably into more familiar bossa nova.

The set?s obvious standout has to be the lovely ?Caminhos Cruzados (Crossroads),? featuring Mendes? longtime singer (and significant other) Gracinha Laporace. Manny Pagsuyuin, contributor