Album

Welcome compilation from passionate and expansive south Londoners

Ripples of excitement from Cleveland's neglected power pop masters

The Gentle Soul THE GENTLE SOUL BOTH SUNDAZED The Cyrkle's last outing was the soundtrack for a soft-porn spy movie. Made in 1967, it took another couple of years to get released, and by then must have sounded woefully dated, since what you get here is an uneasy blend of mid-'60s sounds:so-so beat group pop, bossa nova and surf instrumentals. Odd, but not quite odd enough. The Gentle Soul, however, are a find.

Russ Meyer meets The White Stripes

Brilliant futurist upgrade of the hip hop aesthetic

Second LP from Minneapolis native

Simmering sophomore outing from New York alt.country trio

Excellent post-punk-influenced vocal electronica

The 10 individual CDs from 2001's box set, documenting the rise of the Dead from folky beginnings to fully-fledged masters of the cosmos

While hanging out with calypso stars Mighty Sparrow and Lord Invader on the Trinidadian set of 1957's Fire Down Below, Mitchum hit on the idea of a cash-in album for Capitol execs eager to tap into the next big thing. Harry Belafonte aside, the craze didn't quite sweep, but old sourpuss' unlikely stab is commendable for its gusto, rum-cocktail swing and gentle innuendo (see "Tic Tic Tic"). Sinatra it ain't, but it sure beats Richard Harris.