By Gregg Shapiro

Contributing writer

Bi-identified artists don’t get the recognition they deserve.

With that in mind let’s take a look at the latest by Joe Jackson and Meshell Ndegeocello. Jackson, who started out in the wave of British punks that followed Elvis Costello, proved himself to be something of a chameleon, dabbling in various musical styles ranging from pop to orchestral and from jazz to film music. And on early songs such as “Real Men,” “It’s Different For Girls,” “Biology” and “Fit,” and later ones such as “Fairy Dust” and “Glamour and Pain,” Jackson addressed the issue of queer sexuality. “Rain” (Rykodisc), Jackson’s first new studio album of original material in five years will please fans of his mid-1980s pop period. With “Rain,” this “Diva with the tragic touch” showers us with a collection of catchy piano-driven songs, the best of which include “Too Tough,” “Citizen Sane,” “A Place In the Rain” and the Laura Nyro-esque “The Uptown Train.”

With “The World Has Made Me The Man of My Dreams” (Emarcy), Ndegeocello has found a way to balance her increasingly religious Muslim life with music that is both accessible and true to her experimental jazz nature. “The Sloganeer: Paradise” is a perfect example, as are “Article 3” (featuring Pat Metheny on guitar) and “Michelle Johnson.”

Leave it to Jamie Stewart, the openly bisexual front-man of Xiu Xiu, to have a song that makes reference to the late gay classical composer Lou Harrison on the band’s latest disc “Women as Lovers” (Kill Rock Stars). In the same song, “No Friend Oh!,” Stewart sings “Tommy and Dan you can’t hold hands/down your street/ who cares, you’re gay but it’s your age,” over a provocative beat. As always, Xiu Xiu’s music is an acquired taste that is worth tasting.

It’s not exactly a newsflash that LGBT people like to dance. Thank the goddess that new discs by the B-52s, Ssion, 46Bliss, and God-Dess & She have that business well in hand. “Funplex” (Astralwerks) the first new studio disc by the ageless, half-gay quartet The B-52s is the kind of comeback effort that fans (and musicians) often dream about, but few deliver. Fred Schneider’s unique singing style still plays well off Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson’s distinctive and powerful vocals. Wasting no time in dancing this mess around, the B-52s set the tone with “Pump,” and keep the party out of bounds with “Ultraviolet,” “Juliet of the Spirits,” “Eyes Wide Open,” “Love in the Year 3000,” “Dancing Now” and, naturally, the title track.

While the B-52’s have returned in good shape to face the challenges of the 21st century, Ssion (pronounced “shun”) whip up a bit of 1980s nostalgia on “Fools Gold” (Sleazetone). Album opener “Clown” owes a debt to early Madonna, while “Bullshit” borrows a page from the vintage Prince pamphlet. “Street Jizz” is as naughty (and irresistible) as you might expect and the album’s centerpiece, “The Woman,” featuring lead vocals by Shannon Michaels, goes the distance for the funk. “Day Job” flips the electro switch as “Warm Glove” goes glam and “Heaven” is just heavenly.   

The electronic energy of 46Bliss also has a nostalgic quality to it on the disc “Wish Me Away” (Pistachio). That shouldn’t prevent anyone from dancing to tunes such as “2B1,” “You’re Not God” and “Calling.” Not surprisingly, a hip-hop artist knows the value of a good beat.

And when it comes to lesbian hip-hop duo God-Dess & She, you know those beats will be nothing if not fierce. The proof is in songs such as the hilarious “Hollywood,” “Lick It” (about “pleasing a girl”), “Give Them What They Want,” “Top of the World” (with its well-placed shout-out to Logo) and “Love You Better.”

Speaking of lesbians, Beth Ditto of The Gossip is currently one of the most visible (did you see her in the doc “Girls Rock!”?) and valued performers in the queer music scene. She and her bandmates have amassed a following that has transcended sexual identity and when you listen to The Gossip’s live album “Live in Liverpool” (Music With A Twist/Columbia), the response from the audience will give you goose-bumps (wait until you hear the reaction to “Standing In The Way of Control”). Ditto dedicates “Yr Mangled Heart,” from their most recent studio effort, to “the faggots, the G-A-Y.”  In fact, there are live versions of songs from all of the band’s full-length studio albums. Concerts are often a good place for an act to stretch out a bit, and The Gossip does so on sizzling covers of Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody?” and Wham’s “Careless Whisper.”

Urban folk is the operative phrase when it comes to describing the music of LVNMUZIQ. Liz Snavely (a.k.a. LVNMUZIQ) has a distinct vocal sound that can warm up the chilliest spring morning and her songs have a way of working their way under your skin and making themselves a part of your being. “River,” on which she is joined by violinist Step DeJong, has a comforting flow, and the appearance of a harmonica on “Disappear” is a welcome addition. Snavely makes the void worth contemplating on “Contemplating the Void” and makes “Growing Pains” a painless experience.

“Live at Blue Moon” and “The Awakening EP” (www.myspace.com/billisbell) are a pair of EPs by trans artist Beth Isbell. On “The Awakening” she takes a shot at Dick Cheney in “Vice-Presidential Blues,” with amusing results, and then shows off her guitar-playing skills on the instrumental “Katrina.” A live version of “Katrina” can also be found on the “Live at Blue Moon” EP.

LVNMUZIQ a.k.a. Liz Snavely performs April 15 at Homolatte at Big Chicks/Tweet, 5024 N. Sheridan. Call (773) 728-5511. 

The B-52’s perform at the House of Blues Chicago, 329 N. Dearborn, on May 1.  Call (312) 923-2000.