Ramsey Lewis The Beatles Songbook

Beatles covers are a dicey proposition at best. Even the most ingenious and unique rendition seems destined to suffer in comparison to the original, and the potential for failure is virtually limitless – either way, it's an idea as sound as remaking Citizen Kane with Pauly Shore in the title role. And yet artists are drawn to the Lennon/McCartney songbook like bees to honey, their desire to cover these songs best likened to a creative death wish – We Can Work It Out assembles 16 of these kamikaze missions, and believe it or not, despite the inevitable wreckage there's also a handful of survivors. Setting loose these familiar songs in jazz and funk modes far removed from the Beatles' original recordings enables greater room for personalization and innovation, and the artists featured here are hardly slouches, either – Ike & Tina Turner (who know a thing or two about making covers their own – ask John Fogerty) deliver a gritty, low-down version of "Come Together," Stevie Wonder invests "We Can Work It Out" with the boundless optimism and sensitivity of his own music, and Earth, Wind & Fire update McCartney's Motown tribute "Got to Get You Into My Life" in accordance with the updated rules of the soul handbook. A bonus-mix CD courtesy of 4hero's Marc Mac rounds out a set far better than it has any right to be. (AMG)

Ed Palermo may have gained an international following with his ingenious orchestral arrangements of Frank Zappa tunes, but he’s hardly a one-trick pony. Earlier in the year the saxophonist released an uproarious double album The Great Un-American Songbook Volumes 1 & 2, a project celebrating an expansive roster of songs by successive waves of British invaders, from the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Jeff Beck to King Crimson, Traffic, and Jethro Tull.