Neko Case is what happens when punk rock goes country. Needless to say, it's a beautiful thing.

Rhapsody says: "Neko Case bridges the gap between honest-to-gosh country music and Alt Country with a voice that could make a dog cry."

All Music Guide says: "Her big, bold, but silky smooth voice is a thing of beauty. She has won a steadily growing cult audience for her smoky, sophisticated vocals and the downcast beauty of her music."

About her latest album, Blacklisted, Amazon says: "Neko Case's third solo effort is a moody, atmospheric affair that both satisfies and mystifies. Recorded in Tucson with a stellar band, Blacklisted charms you with its haunting, reverb-soaked songs, most of which were written by Case herself."

"The overall mood of the album is one of loss and melancholy. Soaring above it all is Case's remarkable Patsy Cline-meets-Judy Garland voice, which she uses to great effect."

Neko Case

If you don't know fado, Mafalda Arnauth's first US album is a good place to begin.

All Music Guide says: "The crop of young fadistas currently singing have made Portugal's fado style a thing of international joy. On her third album (the first to be released in the U.S.), Mafalda Arnauth shows that among her contemporaries, she's the one with the most traditional heart.

There's no denying that, from the first note, she has the purity and emotion that fado demands of a singer.

Exquisite as the backing is -- and there's no doubting the virtuosity of the musicians -- it's Arnauth's voice that is the centerpiece here. Liquid and limpid, it's a gorgeous thing, perfectly suited to fado. Hers is a voice with depth; there's none of the shallowness of pop music here.

With a very tasteful choice of songs, expressed in an almost perfect manner, you have an artist who's keeping the flame of traditional fado burning very bright indeed."

The Rhapsody review for "Encantamento" reads: "Mafalda Arnauth is the young Portuguese singer who's almost single-handedly reviving fado, Portugal's sea-faring version of the blues. Her voice is a peerless instrument: supple, warm and shot through with longing. The backing is (thankfully) simple and traditional, allowing the material and the artist to fully shine."

Mafalda Arnauth

On the other hand, some skeptics question whether the notion of Germans enjoying and profiting from a largely decimated Jewish cultural tradition may be just another postwar injustice.

In general, I often consider myself a skeptic, but that is pretty damn skeptical.

... klezmer, defined less as a genre than as a musical-spiritual approach that could be applied to any music ...

German klezmer may be evolving into the ground for a sort of proxy dialogue.

Klezmer's Final Frontier

All Music Guide calls it "her strongest album in years, rivaling her indie pop breakthrough, Hey Babe" and "arguably her most consistent set of tunes to date, making this not just a pleasant surprise but an album that grows in stature with repeated listens." They conclude with the advice that "listeners who came of age during the alt-rock revolution and were disappointed, even outraged, at Liz Phair's Matrix makeover in 2003 should find In Exile Deo is exactly what they were looking for."

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Juliana Hatfield - In Exile Deo

LORETTA LYNN: THE GOSPEL SPIRIT (MCA Nashville/UMe) brings together the best of the Country Music Hall Of Famer's three albums of inspirational music -- HYMNS, WHO SAYS GOD IS DEAD! and GOD BLESS AMERICA AGAIN -- each produced by Bradley and recorded from 1965 to 1970. Featuring both traditional and original songs, many of these recordings make their CD debuts; several have never before been reissued. The compilation includes 'Peace In The Valley,' 'In The Sweet Bye And Bye,' 'The Old Rugged Cross' and 'Harp With Golden Strings' (both with The Jordanaires), 'If God Is Dead (Who's This Living In My Soul)' and 'Just A Little Talk With Jesus.'

You'll find the album on Amazon at

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002MRPFY/

It's also on Rhapsody, as are two of the other albums in the series.

Loretta Lynn: The Gospel Spirit

Such are the perils of using Shuffle, a genre-defying option that has transformed the way people listen to their music in a digital age. The problem is, now that people are rigging up their iPods to stereos at home and in their cars, they may have to think twice about what they have casually added to their music library.

Tunes, a Hard Drive and (Just Maybe) a Brain

In brief, the new album from Sahara Hotnights is 34 minutes of up-tempo punk-pop fun.

Reviews from Muze/Rhapsody and All Music Guide:

Instead of digging up age-old guitar riffs from long-dead bluesmen, Sweden's Sahara Hotnights seem intent on playing up the celebratory aspect of basic rock 'n' roll. The songs are big and loud, but the exuberance is all pure pop and glam rock. If you dig handclaps, low-slung guitars and chicks, you'll love this.

Vocalist Maria Andersson shines as a singer; she's vocally focused in her delivery while the harmonies coming from the Asplund sisters are equally fine-tuned, making Kiss & Tell fun right from the start. From the brassy cheers of "Hot Night Crash" and "Who Do You Dance For?" to the foxy Runaways-like impression of "Walk on the Wire," the energy of Kiss & Tell seduces you to twist your hips like never before.

Sahara Hotnights

Review from All Music Guide:

The sophomore album from the "Arabic Tracy Chapman," it is made of an extremely eclectic mix of sounds. The base for it all is in Algerian and Andalusian musics, with rai, flamenco and Arab classical music being the main keystones. On top of that, though, is layer after layer of other genres. Western folk is certainly one of the top factors in some of those, as well as hints of Western classical music in the backing violins and cellos that show up from time to time. East African jive and West African juju both seem to make appearances for a time, and hints of tabla from the subcontinent also creep in when you're not paying attention. The main highlight of the album isn't so much the eclecticism though, as it is Massi's abilities in songwriting, singing, and on the guitar. Her voice projects the proper emotion for powerful flamenco vocal runs, and soft French songs alike. Equally versatile, her guitar can make flamenco solos and folk-rock runs easily, along with more careful ballad picking. It's a very versatile album, with some top-notch musicianship from Massi, as well as some top-notch songwriting.

Pick it up for a nice relaxed listen.

The Guardian said: Massi's songs are rendered irresistible by a combination of gorgeous melodies, sumptuously multicultural instrumentation and a production that glitters.

Souad Massi

The songs on her stunning, award-winning debut album, La Llorona, are all in Spanish, which adds to the veil of mystery that is woven into every song, as Lhasa mines the rhythms and melodies of Latin folklore, poetry in the Andalusian tradition of Federico Garcia-Lorca, European gypsy and klezmer music, and norteño canciones along with more conventional French (and French-Canadian) café styles.

Lhasa de Sela

Joss Stone's highly anticipated new album goes on sale September 28.

Three of 14 tracks are now available for streaming from her web site.

Joss Stone - Mind, Body, & Soul