All Woman

The songs don't come much more diverse than on this three-disc compilation raising money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

Styles range from soul, jazz and blues to disco, soft-rock and hip-hop, as modern as Joss Stone and Missy Elliott and as historic as Judy Garland.

There are obvious tracks -- I'm Every Woman, Fields of Gold and Fame -- and little-heard tracks like Twist in My Sobriety, Chuck E's In Love and Don't Get Me Wrong.

Sometimes the mix of styles clashes a little but it certainly makes for a more interesting selection than the usual predictable compilations.

David Knights

Mick Harvey -- One Man's Treasure

Stepping out from the shadow of his musical collaborator, Nick Cave, Harvey releases his first solo recording and it is very much in the same melancholy mood of his musical partner.

Musically very similar to his work with Cave, the vocals are very much like Hugh Cornwell -- Come On Spring wouldn't be out of place on a Stranglers album. Louise and Bethelridge have more than a hint of Mark Knopler about them.

When you look at the choice of cover versions -- Lee Hazelwood's First St Blues, Tim Buckley's The River -- you know exactly the mood this album sets.

Graham Scaife

Katie Melua -- Piece By Piece

No surprises on this follow-up to the 1.8 million-selling Call off the Search, just more of the same laid-back bluesy-jazz.

Exciting it ain't but it's far from forgettable thanks to that unique voice and a varied selection of stand-out songs.

Some make the most of Katie's quirky style -- including a clutch of potential singles -- while others come across like standards.

There's neither the show-off-manship of Jamie Cullum nor the audio wallpaper of Norah Jones -- just classy music-making.

David Knights

Dandy Warhols -- Odditorium or Warlords of Mars

"You are listening to a piece of history."

Not my words but those of Bill Curtis, the voice of VH1's Behind the Music, at the outset of this album.

It's a bold claim indeed for any musician to make. And one you then have to pull off.

To some extent the Dandies have achieved that. Because the final words of that misguided opening babble roll straight into one of the highlights of this well-sculpted, pop-rock album, Love is the New Feel Awful.

The rest of the album is strangely directionless. And while that sounds like an insult, it certainly isn't, because the chaotic vagaries and intricacies of Odditorium work a treat.

This is another gem from a band who are fast becoming one of music's experimental pioneers.

Paul Cook