Album

Ex-Swell Map recruits famous mates for career-topping set

As a rule of thumb, most of those vertigo albums that didn't sell in the early '70s now go for silly money on eBay. The reason they didn't sell is that most of them were crap. Jade Warrior were a cut above. True, they couldn't make up their minds whether they wanted to be Cream or Jethro Tull, so they settled for a drum-free combination of both. The swirling flutes and abrasive guitars bring a certain restless beauty to "Dragonfly Day", "Psychiatric Sergeant" and "Sundial Song", although the carefully crafted textures are often let down by mediocre lyrics

Post-punk vets prove their staying power with self-selected best-of

Mixed bag from the leading man of manic MOR

More party-rocking heartbreak from the Shangri-Las of retro-punk

Anti-Bush manifesto from perennial protest singer

Now 78 years young and still crooning

Southern-boy sensations experience growing pains on difficult second album

Scintillating songs let down by clumsy visuals

Well chosen overview of the ultimate Cali troubadour