Alice Cooper

With his twenty-fifth album, Alice Cooper proves he's still the king of shock rock. Themes of murder, giant spiders, and forbidden love intertwine in Along Came A Spider, which spins a thick web full of garage rock, heavy metal, and the always-satisfying power ballad. Featuring guest appearances from legendary guitarist Slash, KISS drummer Eric Singer, and Ozzy Osbourne (on harmonica!), Along Came A Spider is hard-hitting, twisted rock.

Carla Bruni

Carla Bruni is best known for her career as a supermodel and her marriage to current French President Nicolas Sarkozy. But it was before she met Sarkozy, in 2002, that she launched her music career with the critically-acclaimed Quelqu'un m'a dit (Someone Told Me), which sold two million copies. In 2003 she was awarded the Victoire de la Musique for Best Female Artist. Her most recent album, Comme si de rien n'était (As If Nothing Happened), features ten original songs as well as an adaptation of a poem by Michel Houellebecq, a transcription of a lied by Robert Schumann, and a cover of Bob Dylan's "You Belong To Me." The arrangements range from jazzy French pop to bluegrass and even flamenco, all with Bruni's breathy, romantic voice leading the way.

Ida

My Fair Dark is a collection of songs recorded during the sessions for Ida's most recent album Lovers Prayers. This EP contains two unreleased tracks, covers of songs by Anne Briggs, John & Beverley Martyn, Dolly Parton, and David Schickele, and a live version of "Late Blues," recorded with Levon Helm at one of his Midnight Rambles. These are some of the songs that the band was playing when they thought the tape machines were turned off; they're loose, rootsy, and wonderfully organic.

Stray Cats

The Stray Cats were formed in 1979 by high school buddies Brian Setzer (Bloodless Pharaohs/Brian Setzer Orchestra), Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom. Rumble in Brixton features 24 outstanding live tracks from The Stray Cats, including their breakout hits "Runaway Boys", "Rock This Town," and "Stray Cat Strut." All Music Guide says "the Cats' manic enthusiasm bursts out of the speakers" -- just what you'd want from a great live album!

BRT Philharmonic Orchestra

Named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the twentieth century, Igor Stravinsky was an extremely daring and controversial composer. His ballet The Rite of Spring caused riots upon its 1913 premiere in Paris, due to its pagan symbolism and nontraditional instrumentation, and, along with the Firebird Suite, ushered in the era of Modernism in Western classical music. Both ballets are performed here by the Belgian Radio and Television Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Rahbari.

XL Recordings

Rave kids, dig it: XL Recordings collected some of their biggest club hits from 1990-1995, and it's just as fun as you'd expect. Not even a minute into the first track you get a big "How's everybody feeling?!" from the DJ, and from there the compilation feels like a party straight out of Hackers. Featuring tracks from The Prodigy, Liquid, and Nu-Matic, The First Chapters is a throwback to a great era of dance music.