Off the radar in the States since its European issue on Frontiers Records last summer, a new heavy masterpiece from hard-rock royalty is released domestically next week. The former voice of Deep Purple and Trapeze, Glenn Hughes may have turned 55 last year, but let the legend show what a frontman is really all about. With his classic, soulful, golden tone refreshingly grand in response to so many whiny emo broken hearts and edgy malcontents, the new album - Music for the Divine - is also one heck of a players' album, ready to feed a nation of hungry, head-banging guitarists and drummers. Fueled by the beat of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and the expressive guitar work of J.J. Marsh, the album also features Chili Pepper guitarist John Frusciante on two tracks, including the lone cover on the album, The Moody Blues' "Knights in White Satin." Recorded in Smith's Hollywood Hills home - the former residence of Gary Grant - the magic is bristling and alive.

Only a few weeks into 2007, an ambitious new CD from Spanish-Danish vocalist Christina Rosenvinge is an early pick for one of the most seductive albums of the year. A simply shimmering collection of 10 sparse songs that transcend her past pop success as half of the Latin hit-makers Alex y Christine, Continental 62 is mature, caressing, dangerous, and hypnotic, casting angels and demons in both English and Spanish with a vocal range slowly swirling in the smoke of Nico, Marlene Dietrich, Diamanda Galas, Nick Cave, and Francoise Hardy. Recorded in Madrid and polished in New York City with Tim Foljahn of Two Dollar Guitar and Lee Ronaldo and Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth, the new CD is her third release on Shelley's own Smells Like Records imprint. Rosenvinge's soft wail cascades over Spanish guitar and her frail piano work, inviting the listener into her private, redemptive waltz. Highly recommended.

Looking forward to a new year, a handful of new artist tributes have my inner "cover-crazy kid" smiling in anticipation.

Back in the day when the vinyl LP ruled the world, one of the greatest thrills a record collector could stumble upon was the odd, privately pressed "bootleg" album - a secret, magical experience in which rabid fans met outlaw commerce, demanding that live concerts and other unsanctioned recordings be set free. Often hit-or-miss in terms of sound quality, one surefire way to pick a winner was to look for those LPs stamped with the image of a portly American Yorkshire hog and the words "Trade Mark of Quality." Bootlegging the bootlegger, Cleopatra Records uses that iconic image and the "swinging pig" logo to grace the cover of its new "underground" three-CD set, This Is Remixed Hits: Mashups & Rare 12-Inch Remixes. Highlights include a Razed in Black remix of Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy" that sounds like a Nine Inch Nails outtake, Funkstar De Luxe's thumping reconstruction of Tom Jones' "She's a Lady," and a Sigue Sigue Sputnik remix of Warrant's "Cherry Pie" that sounds like a lost Zodiac Mindwarp session. The set features two more must-hear mashes: the Swing Cats' "surf guitar" remix of Little Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly" that could make a great game-show theme, and KRS-ONE giving Stephen Pearcy of Ratt a real smackdown in his rock-versus-rap mashup of "Round & Round."