Our usually self-destructive city's been drafting love letters to itself all year, but nothing's as romantic as this Plain Parade Philly-covers-Philly MP3 compilation. Mostly, it's indie kids paying homage to indie kids. Hail Social caffeinates Mazarin. Evil Janet turns a Cynthia G. Mason favorite into peppy bliss. Cordalene does a heroic Bitter, Bitter Weeks, who in turn strip a She-Haw tune down to its desperate core. Of course, soul is Philly's soul, which is probably why The A-Sides' cover of the Gamble/Huff classic "Expressway to Your Heart" feels like the most natural thing in the world. And Robert West conjures a sultry croon on Walker Lundee's faithful remake of The Intruders' "Cowboys to Girls." It's uncanny and captivating. Meanwhile The Method and Result turn "Private Eyes" into a sparse robot love song that mixes canned beats with warm bass tones. It's miles from Hall and Oates' complicated stalker anthem, but still catchy. The comp's most inspired reinvention comes from everybody's side project, Rifle Nice, who stitch the unforgettable Action News horn progression to Ween's simple slacker's anthem "What Deaner Was Talking About." Fits like a glove. And therein lies the value of The Sixth Borough, the clever unlocking of pop potential. Hear that, Philadelphia? It's yourself saying you love you. It's what everybody—every band, booker, blogger, Dummytowner, crewcial poster, wheat paster, rock writer and rumor miller—has been trying to say. Move closer to your world my friend and you'll see.

-Patrick Rapa

Songs From the Sixth Borough listening party, Sat., Nov. 19, 10 p.m., $3, Tritone, 1508 South St. The album will be available for download at www.apolloaudio.com on Tue., Nov. 22. More info at www.plainparade.org.

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ROCK/POP

Neil Diamond
12 Songs
(Sony)

It's been generations since the heart rejoiced at the arrival of a Neil Diamond record. But such is the pedigree of producer Rick Rubin, the architect of Johnny Cash's American Recordings series, that one suspects this could be a winner. Rubin's approach here is deceptively simple: Get the right batch of songs; keep the ensemble small, tasteful and out of the way; then put Neil and his guitar in front of a mic and let him rip. Well, perhaps not rip. Seldom does the mood move beyond a soulful simmer. When it does, as in the rousing "Delirious Love," flashes of the old Neil, the one who wailed through "Cherry, Cherry" and penned a pair of stellar Monkees tracks, break through. No less rewarding are the spare, delicate ruminations on a long life, like the world-weary "Oh Mary" and steadfast "Captain of a Shipwreck." There are a few misfires here, most notably "Hell Yeah," a ham-fisted anthem of self affirmation in the mold of "My Way." But there's an awful lot to love too, and 12 Songs is bound to find a happy home on the shelf between modern late-night gems like Alex Chilton's Clichés and Nick Lowe's The Convincer.

-Bret Tobias

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JAZZ

Sepia Trio
Cleft
(Utrecht)

Seth Meicht wasn't even born when Albert Ayler drowned in New York's East River, but he screams into his horn as if exorcising Ayler's spirit. The Philadelphia tenor saxophonist reunites with expat drummer Brendan Dougherty (sure, local jazz guys leave all the time for NYC, but Berlin?!?) for a batch of old-school free jazz. Old school in the sense of full-throttle blowing, with Meicht howling at the very moon that hangs in Coltrane's Interstellar Space. The disc begins with a memorable AACM sound that acts as a rubber band to launch the trio head-first into hurtling improvisation. Bassist Akira Ando dances around the melody while Dougherty batters his kit. The final 17-minute track allows all three to stretch a bit, with Meicht's melodic twists walking the tightrope of Ando's bowed bass. The only modern touches are a pair of brief electronic interludes, allowing listeners a rare chance to breathe.

- Shaun Brady

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ROCK/POP

Wilco
Kicking Television: Live in Chicago
(Nonesuch)

This two-disc set has arrived just in time for flu season. Head straight to "Handshake Drugs." Those rippling guitar shrieks will clear your sinuses faster than even the Thai lemongrass soup at the Reading Terminal. Thanks to the addition of Nels Cline, a 49-year-old avant-jazz guitar hero, Wilco have rediscovered energy, rhythm, drama—all the things producer Jim O'Rourke managed to extricate on last year's A Ghost Is Born. Recorded over four nights, Kicking does include some set-list deadweight like "Wishful Thinking" and "Muzzle of Bees." But dig the mighty power chords of "The Late Greats." Marvel as Jeff Tweedy and pals out-Band The Band on "Hell Is Chrome," "I'm the Man Who Loves You" and "One by One." It remains to be seen if they'll remember to bring this mojo to the recording studio next time; for now though, Wilco are back to being awesome.

-Michael Pelusi

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ROCK/POP

Cyndi Lauper
The Body Acoustic
(Epic)

It's easy to be cynical when an aging pop star re-records her biggest hits with a slew of hip-meisters like Ani DiFranco, Shaggy, Vivian Green and Sarah McLachlan. But though it sounds like a conceptual nightmare, Cyndi Lauper's The Body Acoustic is a surprisingly sharp and cohesive record, proving again that she's an underrated talent whose singing has ripened (and strengthened) nicely with time. Big Lauper hits and more obscure numbers get a nice working over, with the help of co-producer Rick Chertoff. Highlights include the ever-so-quirky ode to female self-pleasuring, "She Bop," now transformed into a bluesy, erotic ode; and "Time After Time," a duet with McLachlan where the high drama of the original version has been scrapped in favor of vocal intensity and muted instrumentation.

-Nicole Pensiero