Cherry Poppin' Daddies Zoot Suit Riot (Mojo/Universal) Big-band swing, backlit by a neon martini glass. 8 (RB)

Jane Birkin Best of... (Mercury) Never flowered like Faithfull or Françoise, but a raw beauty anyway. 8 (CY)

Carole Laure Sentiments naturels (Sony) Great formalist sings over beats by Terry, Dimitri and DiSalvio! 7 (CY)

Pantera Official Live:101 Proof (Warner) They admit to being heavy metal and have the balls to sound like it. 7 (JC)

Big Mountain Free Up (Giant/WEA) America's "best" reggae band is still an American reggae band. 6.5 (RB)

Todd Terry Ready for a New Day (Logic/BMG) From the once-best producer ever. Money has soured Terry. 6.5 (MS)

Radio Iodine Tiny Warnings (Universal) Thanks, but I'll take my chances and slide down a razor blade instead. 4 (LE)

Alice Cooper A Fistful of Alice (Guardian/EMI) Alice destroys all of his old classics. Depressing. 4 (JC)

Arkarna House on Fire (Fume/WEA) Crappy English sing-along pop! Crappy jungle mix! Depressing! 4 (MS)

Colin James National Steel (WEA) Music for Budweiser-swimsuit-poster-owning bozos. 2 (JC) more discs...