ALBUMS; singles and albums.

Byline: john dingwall

Jack PenateEverything Is New. .. .. Well done for being an experimental eccentric on an album that hops from house to soul to hip hop, gospel and reggae. According to Jack Penate, he makes aboriginal krautrock, which would be offensive if it wasn't quite so ridiculous. Perhaps he should have named the album Didgeridoowerk.

GossipMusic For Men. .. .. Beth Ditto and her posse teamed up with legendary producer Rick Rubin for their second album which features the single Heavy Cross and delivers a hybrid of soul, funk, punk and disco. Having forged her own fashion line, Beth has no intention of letting up and sounds as relevant as ever.

ALBUMTHE WEEK

Neil Sedaka Music Of My Life. .. .. He was a Brooklyn teenager when he found fame with songs such as Happy Birthday Sweet 16, Calendar Girl and Oh! Carol and hasn't let up since. This retrospective shows what a great song talent he is, and he is still going strong at 70.

Various Common People. The Britpop Story. .. .. To mark the 15th anniversary of the beginnings of the scene that blew the cobwebs off the British pop landscape and consigned a bunch of turgid dance acts to the dustbin, this double disc compilation includes plenty of classic Britpop tunes such as Babybird's You're Gorgeous, Suede's Trash and Pulp's title track. But there's not a single Blur or Oasis track. D'oh.

Dream Theater Black Clouds & Silver Linings. .. .. Their 10th album, pioneers of progressive metal Dream Theater are on course for a Top-10 album though their success is largely due to a loyal fan base than breaking any new ground.

Regina Spektor Far. .. .. Quirky songs such as Fidelity, Hotel Room and On The Radio should have put Regina on the map and this collection of well-wrought songs such as Laughing With reveal further her distinctive vocals and songwriting talent.

The Mars Volta Octahedron. .. .. Guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala have built the seven-piece group a reputation as the world's most manic prog-rock band but the Texas-based act have slowed things down this time. The new formula works and could earn them their best-selling UK album to date.