Self-professed skate punk Avril Lavigne sings that she'd "rather be anything but ordinary" on her debut. While the fact that she had a record deal by the age of 16 separates her from the pack, too often Let Go's lyrical shortcomings drag the teenager's musically impressive recording entrée into the realm of the typical. The catchy choruses of Let's Go are substantial, though, thanks to Lavigne's riff-driven melodies and powerful vocals, which at times adopt the unorthodox intonation quirks of fellow Canadian Alanis Morissette. The nuanced, dynamic "Losing Grip", "My World" (which perfectly captures the ennui of suburbia) and the buoyant power-pop blast "Sk8er Boi" are the collection's highlights. But Lavigne's honest yet awkward words weigh down the likes of "Mobile", "I'm with You" and "Naked". "Nobody's Fool", which displays her Pink-like take-me-as-I-am credo, hints that someday Lavigne's lyrics will match the strength of her music. -Annie Zaleski.

Radiohead may well be the most courageous band in Britain. Their second album, The Bends, was a success both critically and commercially, and they followed it up with an album of epic prog-rock, OK Computer, that would have destined a lesser band to commercial failure and, eventually, obscurity. Instead, it was almost universally hailed as one of the finest albums ever recorded. So it should come as no great surprise that their fourth album, Kid A, is even more experimental, owing a debt to the studio-born soundscapes of Brian Eno, Aphex Twin and even later Talk Talk. Kid A is an album that would not sound out of place on the Warp Records roster, as keyboards, sequencers and electronic effects take the place of guitars on most tracks (particularly unusual for a band that boasts three guitarists). In fact, this is an album that succeeds without rock's bombast, from the looping keyboards of album opener "Everything In Its Right Place" to the bouncing, bass-led "The National Anthem" to the album's hauntingly atmospheric highlight, "Idioteque". Meanwhile, more traditional Radiohead tracks like "How To Disappear Completely" and "Optimistic" offer a natural bridge between the electronic noodlings of Kid A and the (slightly) more mainstream-sounding OK Computer. Radiohead may well be the most innovative popular band since the Beatles; as such, Kid A represents the most successful evolution of a major British act since Sgt Pepper's. -Robert Burrow.

Apparently there's nothing in Kabbalah that disallows sweaty, head-spinningly good dance music, because here comes a flame-haired Madonna hawking a dozen songs' worth: Confessions on a Dance Floor darts seamlessly from Madge's early days, when she emerged as the genre's enduring darling, through the political, kiddie, and acoustic pap that drove a wedge between her and early adopters of the fingerless glove look. Songs like the pop-leaning "Jump" and first single "Hung Up"-an adrenaline drip on high that, like many of these tracks, will inspire mild shame among those who've thrilled to the much thinner disco-dusted outpourings of younger divas recently-represent both a return to form and an unmistakable march into the future. "Get Together" is a sonic freak-out in the best sense; "Push" traffics in gut-level futuristic trance; and "Forbidden Love" loops in '80s blips and bleeps for a follow-me-into-the-past effect that's both neo and retro. For all the image-affirming innovations here, though, these confessions find Madonna framed in her share of reflective moments too. "Was it all worth it/How did I earn it?" she asks on "How High," a song featuring vocoder. "Nobody's perfect/I guess I deserve it," comes the answer. A later lyrical inquiry is left for the listener to judge: "Does this get any better?" Madonna wants to know. But that opens the door to a dizzying proposition-few of us would have guessed, after all, that it got this good. -Tammy La Gorce More to Explore Immaculate Collection (CD) GHV2 (binding) Madonna ~ Lotsa De Casha (Hardcover) Official Madonna Calendar See more Madonna.

A good overview of Sting's radio hits and popular album tracks with no major omissions, Fields of Gold also offers three previously unreleased songs. "This Cowboy Song" and "When We Dance" appear on no other album, while "We'll Be Together" is an alternate interpretation. The import version of this collection offers a substantially different and expanded track listing, dropping "Fortress Around Your Heart", "Be Still My Beating Heart", and "Why Should I Cry for You"; and adding "Nothing 'Bout Me", "Mad About You", "Seven Days", "It's Probably Me", "Love is the Seventh Wave", and "Demolition Man". -Gavin McNett.

By their very nature, best-of collections lend themselves to nostalgia, and Depeche Mode's instantly identifiable sound and string of pervasive, catchy singles are undoubtedly the soundtrack to many memories-memories served well by this fine collection of beautifully remastered songs. If you've heard any of the band's double-disc rereleases, you'll have an idea of just how good their remastered songs can sound. While there are some obvious omissions ("Somebody," "Policy of Truth"), compiling a career-spanning collection of Depeche Mode's best would be considered a challenge for just about anybody; and as this is Vol. 1, it seems obvious that there's more to come. There are a couple odd choices in the mix ("See You," "New Life") and the obligatory new track ("Martyr"), but the non-chronological mix makes these classics sound fresh and better than ever. -Alan Wiley.

Was it homesickness that compelled long time Los Angeles resident KD Lang to fashion her one woman campaign for Canadian nationalism, or just plain good sense? As an organising tool, all Canadian content has long been a mainstay of the Canadian Broadcasting System but few have selected their material with such a fine hand and a high aesthetic. The ex-patriot singer has taken great pains to create a sophisticated homage to her Canadian roots, elegantly reinterpreting 11 songs penned by some of her more illustrious countrymen (and women) such as Jane Siberry, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Leonard Cohen. The idiosyncratic chanteuse turns Cohen's "Bird on a Wire" into an aching monochromatic lament, exploring new tributaries of pain that didn't exist in the original, while recasting Neil Young's "Helpless" into haunting anthem of memory and comfort, all the while sounding anything but helpless. Hymns of the 49th Parallel is a gorgeous love letter to her brethren, complete with an intelligent and understated orchestration. -Jaan Uhelszki.

In 2002, Joni Mitchell-folk legend and creator of timeless albums like Blue, Hejira and The Hissing of Summer Lawns-went into retirement. Following the release of that year's Travelogue album, she denounced the music industry and at the same time announced plans to pursue her other passion: painting. Shine, Mitchell's 17th studio album and her first collection of new songs in almost a decade, is therefore something of a surprise. Inspired by the need to speak out against warmongering politicos and environmental myopia, Mitchell has written ten elegant, sparse songs that match idiosyncratic arrangements (think chamber folk merged with curious 80s drum sounds and painterly daubs of sax and guitar) with incisive lyricism and her classic story-telling technique. Opening instrumental "One Week Last Summer" sets an optimistic tone, but the album veers mostly between melancholy, introspection, bitterness and even misanthropy. Mitchell's voice is more cracked than it used to be-but there's no denying her passion, nor her continued ability to write engaging tunes. - Paul Sullivan.

Thanks to the long shadow cast by the group's blockbuster Rumours, this 1987 effort was inevitably regarded as something of a letdown. That's too bad, since it's an underrated set that contains plenty of inventively catchy tunes, with a quirky sonic edge that gives the songs added sonic and emotional depth. Lindsey Buckingham's eccentric, vaguely menacing "Big Love" is a standout, as is Christine McVie's brightly bittersweet "Little Lies", along with such dark-horse winners as "Seven Wonders", "Caroline", "Mystified", and Stevie Nicks's typically mystical "Welcome to the Room. Sara". -Scott Schinder.

Created as a benefit project for Artists' Project Earth, an organization devoted to protecting the environment, reversing climate change, and tendering disaster relief, this compilation pairs Western pop stars (U2, Sting, Artic Monkeys, et al) and their hits with all-new arrangements performed by members of Cuba's Buena Vista Social Club plus other Havana-based talent. The overall effect is of a well-meaning but not entirely simpatico mutual admiration society. Coldplay's "Clocks" is a good example; the lead vocal is coolly lethargic, engulfing the spiky crags of the rhythm section like syrup on a waffle. But then, most of the singers sound strangely unconnected to the frisky 1-2-3/1-2 of the clavé beat. The contrast between the two groups of players could have been bracing, and to many ears it perhaps will be, but most of the time, they seem to transmitting from parallel universes. Not surprisingly, the best tracks are those in which hometown icons are left to do what they do best. But the late, great Ibrahim Ferrer's marvelous interpretation of "As Time Goes By" (his final recording) and Omara Portuondo's wistful yet powerful cover of "Killing Me Softly" only serve to further showcase what's amiss with the rest of the album. -Christina Roden.

The title of this compilation tells the truth-almost. Although one is moved to question the validity of including the Raven Maize club hit "Real Life"-selected on account of it sampling the tonal poetry of "Theme From Great Cities"(a prime slice of the early Minds' funked-up Eurosynth futurism) and slapped on the end as if to convince a jaded public that Simple Minds really are "contemporary" and have a profound relevance to today's dance scene-this really contains the best of Simple Minds. Which is a very good thing indeed-but where's "Changeling"? These trifling grievances aside, this compilation does Simple Minds' chart-history justice. Sometimes unduly castigated for blustery over-expression and much ado about nothing, re-familiarisation with much of the post-Sparkle In The Rain material reveals a band at ease with an astute musical economy-the grand gesturing of "Mandela Day", for example, may well sound monumentally sincere and overwrought but it consists of a measly three chords, while the trotting-horse bass-line to "Waterfront" is one note repeated for over four minutes (and that note was "D" if you're interested). Some great pop singles aside-"She's A River", "Alive And Kicking", "Up On The Catwalk" and "Promised You A Miracle", a song cut from the same tartan cloth as early Spandau Ballet-the most interesting thing about Simple Mind's evolution is how they started to get more successful once they'd stopped impersonating Roxy Music only to hit pay dirt with a song which Bryan Ferry didn't have enough time to record, namely Keith Forsey's "Don't You Forget About Me". -Kevin Maidment.