The 's 2009 return was cause for celebration for fans, so it's heartening that -- which was released the same year as 's 80th birthday -- picks up pretty much where that album left off. Once again working with her son and a crack team of collaborators including , , and ' sings about the things that matter -- peace, war, New York, dancing -- over sounds that are nearly as diverse as . immediately throws listeners into the deep end with a pair of songs so potent, they could have come from the band's heyday: "Moonbeams" is mystical and fierce, with sheets of raw guitars supporting her as she intones "My spirit appears like the sun at dawn" and vocalizes with her one-of-a-kind intensity. Meanwhile, the funky takedown of the American dream "Cheshire Cat Cry" sounds even more like 's early-'70s work, but its rallying cry "Stop the violence/Stop all wars" -- as well as the way implores "Who needs it?!" at the end of the song -- is urgent and timeless. spends equal time with the playful electronic direction pursued in the 2000s, and "Bad Dancer" and "Tabetai," a collaboration with , are standouts. However, often feels sadder and more reflective than . Some of its finest moments are as harrowing as they are beautiful: a ghostly loneliness pervades the title track, and on "Little Boy Blue Your Daddy's Gone," 's despairing attempts at comfort become increasingly wrenching until her wails ring out after the music ends. Even some of the more lighthearted songs here have a remarkable poignancy, whether it's the bittersweet love song to 's adopted city "N.Y. Noodle Town" or the charming breakup song "Leaving Tim," where she sings, "Let's throw that past in the biggest trash can/Our life spent, a lifetime." By the time "Shine, Shine"'s white-hot dance-rock brings the album to a triumphant close, delivers performances with the kind of weight -- and lightness -- that can only come from an artist entering her ninth decade. ~ Heather Phares