Evolution is scheduled for release on March 25.

Ruthie Foster The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster
Gause, Texas native Ruthie Foster's fifth album came out about a year ago, and it's a gem. She carries over her well-honed skills in blues, folk, and gospel and injects a little soul in it. With a mix like that, it was only natural that Eric Bibb would ask her to come co-sing on a track from his latest offering Get OnBoard, which I profiled here recently.

The Phenomenal pays homage to the blues and spirituals of the past ("People Grinnin' In Your Face, "Up Above My Head"), while her own offerings like the carefree "Beaver Creek Blues" sit comfortably beside them. Her take on Lucinda Williams' "Fruits Of My Labor" is simply sublime. Bibb's own "A Friend Like You" is also covered. "Cuz I'm Here" is a warm, soothing slice of jazzy soul that Foster gently wraps her Aretha-like pipes around. Perfectly produced by none other than my homie Malcolm Welbourne, a.k.a. the irrepressible Papa Mali, there might be fault with this release, but I haven't found it yet.

Kevin Ayers Unfairground
The last time we chatted about Ayers it was to opine about an early Soft Machine live document from 1967. But the bassist/guitarist/singer went solo right after their 1968 debut album and quickly established himself as a kinder, gentler version of another founding leader of a groundbreaking British rock band: Syd Barrett. Ayers the solo artist eschewed much of the prog pretensions of his former band while retaining all the folky, psychedelic charm.

Despite not being active in the music business since the turn of the millennium, Ayers has lost none of his penchant for the catchy melodies, imaginative yet unadorned arrangements and his relaxed wit. In those ways, he's a lot like his old Softs cohort Robert Wyatt, who appears with a backing vocal on one track. One listen to Unfairground can make any listener understand that Ayers is still the boss of that baroque, often wistful style of pop. Sufjan Stevens can step aside, now; the Original is back.

"Quickies" are mini-record reviews of new or upcoming releases, or "new to me." Some albums are just that much more fun to listen to than to write about.