Various

It appears that Ubiquity is onto a good thing with the second volume of this series. Featuring contemporary artists presenting their take on popular and obscure recordings of the past, Volume 2 features exclusive material alongside previously released fare, enjoyable whether you are familiar with the material or not. The songwriters drawn from are as diverse as before with Chrissie Hynde, John Coltrane and Sting among others getting the re-jigged treatment. While Madlib’s jazz project Yesterday’s New Quintet was heavily featured first time around, here he’s limited to one cut. Other noticeable differences include a tighter sonic focus to the compilation. The songs flit between jazz-funk, Brazilian grooves and acoustic vibes with highlights including Fruitbeard’s kinetic dub of "Private Life” taking their cues from Grace Jones rather than the Pretenders and Joseph’s Malik’s reading of Bill Withers’ "Take It All In & Check It Out.” However, special mention must go to the Platinum Pied Pipers, a combo featuring Slum Village affiliates Dwele and Waajeed. Their cover versions of Faze-O’s rare groove classic "Ridin’ High” and blue-eyed soul crooner Bobby Caldwell’s "Open Your Eyes” are almost worth the price of admission.