On the record - Flaming Lips deliver new baby

What's hot and what's not in this week's new releases.

By Andy Welch

After disbanding The Distillers, Brody Dalle seems to have finally found her feet with new project Spinnerette. Elsewhere, with Father's Day in mind, there are a number of soul compilations to look over, a Black Sabbath reissue and a Meat Loaf 'Best Of', which all come highly recommended.

Spinnerette - Spinnerette

While this band may not sound familiar, the musicians involved will. Fronted by Brody Dalle of The Distillers fame, the line-up also includes her former bandmate Tony Bevilacqua on guitar, ex-Red Hot Chilli Peppers drummer Jack Irons and Queens Of The Stone Age's Alain Johannes. Given their history, you could be forgiven for thinking this is a heavy-rock outing. However, it's a lot less punk than you'd think. More commercially viable than Dalle's previous projects, it appears she has mellowed from her days of screeching Drain The Blood with The Distillers. As for the new tracks, Ghetto Love is a cool, rock opener while Baptized By Fire is a strong single and Distorting A Code shows the QOTSA links. A strong release from an exciting new band.

Rating: 8/10

(Review by Polly Weeks)

Meat Loaf - Hits Out Of Hell

Billed as the definitive greatest hits, this single CD promises all the Meat Loaf you could possibly need. It's hard to argue with the summation too: all the ones you know are here, from Read 'Em And Weep and Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad to Dead Ringer For Love, I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) and of course, the hit that started it all, Bat Out Of Hell. Fans will own all his albums, but for those who couldn't stomach the drama of a whole one, this might be just the ticket.

Rating: 7/10

(Review by Andy Welch)

Various - To Dad From Motown

With Father's Day on the way, it's no surprise there are a few compilations knocking around. This one takes a different route to the 'Dad's Best Driving Anthems' box sets that you normally get. Granted, it has one of the worst titles of any album out there, but it is redeemed by some of the best songs ever written. Opening with The Temptations's Papa Was A Rollin' Stone, the album continues with Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops and, of course, Marvin Gaye. If your Dad is a fan of soul and is looking for a solid collection, you'll not go too far wrong with this. However, there are probably plenty more Motown collections out there of a similar quality, so shop around.

Rating: 7/10

(Review by Polly Weeks)

Bert Jansch - LA Turnaround/Santa Barbara Honeymoon/A Rare Conundrum

Anyone frequently name-checked by Jimmy Page and Neil Young as a key influence, as Bert Jansch is, has got to be something pretty special, right? These reissues of three of Jansch's mid-1970s albums don't in themselves give much away in terms of why he carries so much cred with top-shelf rock legends, except that he's a guitarist's guitarist (a subtle acoustic stylist rather than a shredder) and a pillar of British folk. Picks of the bunch here are LA Turnaround, which courts JJ Cale-style smooth country rock, and the stripped back A Rare Conundrum. These releases will be big news to existing fans, and well worth investigating for fans of Fairport Convention, John Martyn, et al.

Rating: 7/10

(Review by Steve Kerr)

George Harrison - Let It Roll: The Songs Of George Harrison

This album is a collection of solo hits from the Beatles's lead guitarist. Selected by his widow Olivia, it covers tracks from 1970's All Things Must Pass to 2002's Brainwashed, including live songs from 1971's Concert For Bangladesh. The quality of the songs is, of course, excellent. They include the inspirational My Sweet Lord and All Things Must Pass, the 1960s-inspired When We Were Fab and poignant Marwa Blues, written as he was suffering with cancer, and What Is Life, which showed off his rockier side. The problem is the selection of songs. It's ideal for new Harrison fans as it gives a good taster of what to expect from his solo catalogue. But it will disappoint long-standing fans, who might be expecting something along the lines of Paul McCartney's solo retrospective Wingspan, which featured his hits alongside rarities. Songs from 33 & 1/3, Gone Troppo, Extra Texture and Dark Horse have also been left out, but would have shown more of Harrison's versatility and humour.

Rating: 6/10

(Review by Laura Wurzal)

Johnny Cash - Johnny Cash Remixed

While the idea behind this album is noble - getting new artists to remix Johnny Cash songs to make them relevant to a new generation - the execution is unsuccessful. Count De Money's remix of Big River brings the jaunty classic up to date, but most of the other tracks both fail to capture the spirit of the original or to be stand-alone dance tracks. In Snoop Dogg's remix of I Walk The Line, Cash's voice is slowed down to a lazy drawl and, if you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of him turning in his grave in the background.

Rating: 4/10

(Review by Lisa Williams)

Black Sabbath - The Best Of Black Sabbath

Given that the Sabbath can count 22 former members among their perennially-changing line-up since the band's inception in 1969, it seems remarkable that this greatest hits album has any sort of consistency to it. Granted, that consistency is provided by concentrating on releases from the 1970s epoque. It unleashes a continual sensory assault, starting with the ubiquitous Paranoid (which, believe it or not, took only 25 minutes to write and record and remains the band's only UK top-10 hit) and ends with N.I.B. - a track written from the first-person perspective of Lucifer himself. Subtle, it isn't. Inbetween these feedback and distortion-addled book-ends are all the tracks you would expect to find on such an album, including Iron Man, War Pigs and Black Sabbath. While the music seems as out of touch as original frontman Ozzy Osbourne himself in the age of iPods and hip-hop, there is a certain sincerity and raw energy to the music that makes it impossible to ignore or disregard.

Rating: 7/10

(Review by Stefan Bonczoszek)

Enter Shikari - Common Dreads

A rousing call to arms for a disaffected musical generation, Enter Shikari's second album is a foray into uncharted territory for this intriguing band, still relatively unknown outside the rock scene. Can the Hertfordshire noiseniks capitalise on the formidable momentum generated by their self-released debut Take To The Skies a couple of years back? Once again, they weld dance beats to rock guitars in a way that has worked wonders for regional neighbours The Prodigy, though with the exception of lead single Juggernauts, this CD doesn't really have very much which climbs to the visceral heights of its predecessor. The band's energy levels remain commendable, however, as testified by teenage pandemonium at their legendary gigs.

Rating: 6/10

(Review by Patrick Gates)

Various - 101 Northern Soul Anthems

Compilations like this are hard to argue with. The title is a giveaway for starters: there are 101 Northern Soul Anthems spread over four discs. It starts well, with Dobie Gray's Out On The Floor, and features everything you might expect - Little Anthony & The Imperials's Better Use Your Head, Jackie Wilson's Sweetest Feeling, You Get Your Kicks by Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, and the original stomp of Gloria Jones's Tainted Love. Where this differs from, say, the benchmark Soul Survivors compilations, is in the lesser-known tracks included, making for a thorough look at the genre. Get out the talcum powder and start practising those back-drops.

Rating: 8/10

(Review by Andy Welch)

Tiny Masters Of Today - Skeletons

Extraordinarily, Ivan and Ada of the Brooklyn-based Tiny Masters Of Today released their debut album (featuring guest spots from members of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Moldy Peaches and B52s) at the ages of 11 and 13. Two years later they follow it up with more immaculately-executed, back-to-basics garage punk - very much like early YYY stuff. Beyond the obvious New York hipster novelty factor, these kids have got a great ear for a tune and for loud, fast rock dynamics. All of which begs the question: should we be concerned about hot-housing by indie-rock parents?

Rating: 8/10

(Review by Steve Kerr)

Singles by Andy Welch

:: La Roux - Bulletproof

Bringing the 1980s to a disco near you, La Roux's latest single Bulletproof continues her Eurythmics and Erasure-esque assault on the charts. There's a powerful verse and a memorable chorus, and the video looks like a cross between Tron and a game of Tetris. What's not to love?

:: Goldheart Assembly - So Long St Christopher

Had Fleet Foxes been raised in England on a diet of Traffic and George Harrison's solo material, rather than the Washington countryside, they may have sounded a bit like Goldheart Assembly. This, their debut single, is a pastoral gem, and the Zombie-esque B-side Oh Really is worthy of a closer look too.

:: Jack Penate - Be The One

On his first album, Jack Penate sounded like he was covering The Housemartins's Happy Hour over and over again. It was annoying. For his second album, he's changed his ways, and what a transformation. This, the second single from his forthcoming long-player, is positively infectious.

On the road

Upcoming tours

:: Miley Cyrus is leaving Hannah Montana behind to tour the UK in December. The tween sensation kicks off with two nights in London on December 13-14, before moving on to play a pair of shows each in Dublin, Birmingham and Manchester. For information, go to www.ticketmaster.co.uk

:: Jack Jones was once described as the world's best singer by Frank Sinatra. High praise indeed, and a reason to check out one of his live shows when he tours later this year. The veteran crooner begins in Newcastle on November 16, and ends up in London 10 shows later on November 29. For more information, go to jackjones.org